ASHLAND, Ore. — On the heels of a successful fall sports season that saw Southern Oregon University finish No. 1 in the NAIA Directors’ Cup standings, win an NAIA championship in football, win a Cascade Collegiate Conference championship and finish second in the nation in men’s cross country and share the CCC volleyball title, SOU has announced the formation of two new intercollegiate athletic programs.
Beginning in fall 2015, SOU will feature a men’s soccer team that will compete in the CCC and a women’s wrestling team to go along with the perennial power of a men’s squad.
“Bolstering our already outstanding athletics program with these two sports makes sense in our region and within our department,” SOU Director of Athletics Matt Sayre said. “This will not only provide an opportunity to recruit even more student-athletes to SOU, but will further enhance the college experience of all our students and contribute to our campus community.”
SOU will join 198 other schools in the NAIA that already have men’s soccer. The eight-team CCC men’s soccer circuit hasn’t added a new member since Oregon Tech formed its program prior to the 2008 season, but will welcome the Raiders and Eastern Oregon’s start-up program in 2015.
SOU also competes in the CCC in women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s track and field, and softball. The Raider football team is a member of the Frontier Conference.
Women’s wrestling is not yet an NAIA-sponsored activity but is one of the fastest growing sports in intercollegiate athletics. SOU will join nearby small institutions like Warner Pacific College, Pacific University and Menlo College (Calif.) that have both men’s and women’s wrestling.
“The women’s wrestling team will compete in the same tournaments as the men against women competitors from other colleges,” Sayre said. “Women’s wrestling is a growing sport with more than 1,000 high school participants on the West Coast alone. This will be a great benefit to our University.”
Coaching searches for the programs will get underway immediately.
“We want to continue to build on our recent successes, and in order to do that, we first need to get quality coaches involved,” Sayre said.
SOU last added to its athletic department with women’s soccer and softball prior to the 2000-01 school year.
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

(Ashland, Ore.) — Building on priorities set by Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and the Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB), Southern Oregon University will provide professional development opportunities for early childhood education professionals throughout the region in early 2015.
Professors Younghee Kim and Erin Wilder, faculty leaders within SOU’s Early Childhood Development program will work with the OEIB-sponsored Early Learning Hub and others to offer a Jackson County Association for the Education of Young Children professional development conference during the 2015 winter term.
Additionally, during the 2015 spring term, Professors Kim and Wilder will work with Central Oregon Community College to offer a similar professional development conference in central Oregon. “Our ECD program is recognized throughout the state as a leader in the training of early learning providers,” said Dr. Steven Thorpe, interim director of SOU’s Division of Education, Health, and Leadership. “These conferences will be very positive for early childhood professionals throughout our region and for the children with whom they work on a daily basis.”
Participants will have the opportunity to earn professional development credits, which are mandatory for many early childhood education professionals.
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University is making two winter term courses available to the public. Working in the Wine Industry and Digital Marketing Strategies will both not only be offered for credit to admitted SOU students, but will also be available at a special tuition rate for members of the community who are not admitted students to SOU.
“This is in direct response to the needs of our community,” said SOU Professor Greg Jones, director of the University’s Division of Business, Communication and the Environment. “The wine industry is booming in Southern Oregon and more and more people are turning to the industry for employment. We want to make sure that not only our students, but anyone in the community interested in a career in this exciting field has the opportunity to learn the basics through this course.”
Working in the Wine Industry is a seminar-style course that will focus on the many facets and possibilities of pursuing and working in the wine industry. The course covers vineyard operations, winemaking, and the marketing and selling of wine. Wine’s place in history, culture, science, and economics are all incorporated into the curriculum as well.
“Anyone who is interested in wine and would like to have a more robust understanding of it will benefit from this course,” Dr. Jones said, “but it is particularly well-suited for those working in the hospitality and tourism industries that would like to expand their skillset.”
Working in the Wine Industry will meet Fridays from 8:30-10:20 a.m. from Jan. 5 to March 20, 2015, on SOU’s main campus in Ashland.
Digital Marketing Strategies will also be offered Friday’s at the University’s main campus in Ashland. It runs Feb. 13 to March 13, 2015, and will meet from 8:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.
“Digital Marketing Strategies is an introductory course designed to create a foundation in various digital marketing methods, including social media, search engine optimization, paid digital advertising, content writing, and more,” according to Dr. Jones. “It will be a great asset to small business owners and managers who may not be familiar with the various digital and online marketing opportunities available to them,” he said.
Participants in the class will have the opportunity to apply their learning by designing a marketing strategy for a selected business of their choosing.
The special tuition rate for community members is just $150 for each course. Admitted students taking the classes for credit will pay the standard tuition rate. Anyone interested in learning more or registering is encouraged to contact Connie Lynn at 541-552-6899 or via email at lynnc@sou.edu.
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

(Ashland, Ore.) — During a year in which sexual assault on college campuses has received a lot of attention nationwide, Southern Oregon University continues to be lauded for the manner in which it handles such reports.
A collaborative relationship between SOU’s Campus Choice program and the Ashland Police Department’s You Have Options program is at the center of the positive attention that the University has received regarding its handling of reported sexual assault on campus.
Angela Fleischer, SOU’s Assistant Director of Student Support and Intervention for Confidential Advising, has been invited to testify at a U.S. Senate hearing. “As you well know, the Ashland program—and the partnership SOU and the Police Department have—are seen as models around the country,” read an email from the office of U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. “We would love to hear your views as to what makes collaboration between schools and law enforcement successful and how the federal government might be able to help incentivize such collaboration,” the email continued.
“It truly is an honor to be invited to testify before a Senate hearing on the issue of campus sexual assault,” Fleischer said. “I’m extremely pleased that the hard work and effort of those of us at SOU and the Ashland Police Department to do what is right has garnered such positive response and results.”
The hearing, “Campus Sexual Assault: the Roles and Responsibilities of Law Enforcement,” is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 9 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.
“I hope that other law enforcement organizations and college campuses will adopt programs like these, offering more options to survivors, and contributing to the safety of both campuses and communities,” Fleischer said.
A bipartisan bill, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, has previously been proposed by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO). The bill, which was co-sponsored by 17 Senators, was introduced in July and is expected to receive a hearing in early 2015. Among other guidelines, it would increase campus coordination with law enforcement similar to the partnership between SOU and APD.
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About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100% of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.

(Ashland, Ore.) – The Music program of the Oregon Center for the Arts at Southern Oregon University presents “Contact!,” an innovative, audio visual experience performed by the SOU Percussion Ensembles on Friday, December 5 at 7:30 pm in the SOU Music Recital Hall.
“Contact!” is inspired thematically by the piece, “Contactual Constellations,” composed by Bryan Jeffs, SOU adjunct faculty and an alumnus of the SOU Music program. “Contactual Constellation” features graphic musical scores manufactured onto bass drum heads, played upon by the performers, captured in real time and projected for the audience. The ensembles are directed by Dr. Terry Longshore, director of percussion studies at Southern Oregon University,
“Seeing the musical score, while hearing it being played, and, in real-time, getting to follow along visually to see how the artists interpret the score is an amazing experience for the audience,” said Longshore. “The SOU Graduate Percussion Group will have just premiered this piece at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis in November. This concert will be the West Coast debut of this piece.”

The concert will also include a classic percussion work, “The Drums of Orpheus” by Lou Harrison; “Dance of the Little Fox” by Celso Ruiz for clarinet quintet, arranged by his son, Grant Ruiz, a local flamenco guitarist, for three marimbas and vibraphone; “Reunion,” a new piece for marimba ensemble, written in the style of the Zimbabwe marimba tradition by Lucas Sennhauser, a SOU freshman music major; “Akadinda Trio” by Emmanual Séjourné, for marimba trio in the Uganda “Akadinda” style; “Piru Bole,” a hand drum ensemble piece by John Bergamo, featuring guest artist Daniel Kennedy from California State University, Sacramento; and “Tin Play” by Per Andreasson for percussion quartet.
For lovers of the “Rebel Frog” series composed by Bryan Jeffs, the Percussion Ensembles will introduce “The Rebel Frog Wassails.” Longshore characterizes it as “Frank Zappa meets Christmas music.”
Tickets are $10 general admission, $5 for senior citizens and free to full-time students. The Performing Arts Box Office is located in the Music Recital Hall lobby. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and two hours prior to each performance. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card over the phone by calling 541-552-6348 or online at sou.edu/performingarts. Contact the box office for discounts offered to SOU alumni, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute participants and SNAP/Oregon Trail cardholders.
About Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University provides outstanding student experiences, valued degrees, and successful graduates. SOU is known for excellence in faculty, intellectual creativity and rigor, quality and innovation in connected learning programs, and the educational benefits of its unique geographic location. SOU was the first university in Oregon—and one of the first in the nation—to offset 100 percent of its energy use with clean, renewable power, and it is the first university in the nation to balance 100 percent of its water consumption. Visit sou.edu.
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