(Ashland, Ore.) – The Theatre Arts program of the Department of Performing Arts at Southern Oregon University presents “Menagerie: The New Vaudeville” featuring James Donlon, Alina Cenal, Terry Longshore and Jeff Richmond on Thursday-Friday, Oct. 3-4 at 8:00 p.m. in the SOU Center Stage Theatre. Read more
(Ashland, Ore.) – The Music program of the Department of Performing Arts at Southern Oregon University presents saxophonist Kenneth Tse, winner of the prestigious New York Artists International Award and the National Alliance for Excellence’s Alex Award, in addition to many others. Tse’s singular performance in Southern Oregon will be held at 7:30 pm on Monday, Oct. 7 in the Music Recital Hall on the SOU campus. Admission is free of charge. Read more
(Ashland, Ore) Southern Oregon University (SOU) is among the top 25 campuses in America that are friendly to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, according to Campus Pride, the leading national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to support LGBT-friendly learning environments at colleges and universities. SOU is the smallest public university to make the top 25 list. Read more
(Ashland, Ore.) Southern Oregon University (SOU) has reached a new milestone in its growth as an environmentally-conscious campus. The new issue of Sierra, the bi-monthly magazine of the Sierra Club, ranks SOU #26 on its “Cool Schools” annual list of America’s green colleges and universities. Read more
(Ashland, ORE.) A new writing program at Southern Oregon University is inviting local residents and visitors to participate in several admission-free panel discussions, readings and social events August 12-17. The activities are part of the inaugural Institute for New Writing / Ashland (INWA). INWA focuses on three writing genres – fiction, poetry, and noir literature – and features faculty from SOU plus published writers from across the U S, and students from many states. Read more
Dr. Diana Maltz, a faculty member at Southern Oregon University, has received a Fulbright Scholar Award to enable her to pursue research at the University of Liverpool on one of the most prestigious and selective scholarship programs operating world-wide. Read more
(Ashland, OR) – The Schneider Museum of Art presents a performance by the electro-acoustic duo Todd Barton and Bruce Bayard Friday, July 26th at 12:00 PM. Barton and Bayard will create improvisational music in response to the museum’s current exhibition, Betty LaDuke: Celebrating Life. Barton plays shakuhachi, Bayard plays cello and violin-uke, and both operate an assortment of electronic instruments and processors. They will present solos and duets, and create music in the moment. Admission is free. Read more
Betty LaDuke in her studio.
(Ashland, OR) – Join the Schneider Museum of Art in celebrating Betty LaDuke’s life of making art – sixty-five years of creating drawings, paintings, and sculptures that embrace cultural understanding throughout the globe. Betty LaDuke will be honored at the opening reception of her exhibition, Betty LaDuke: Celebrating Life onThursday, June 27 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. At the opening, patrons will have the opportunity to meet LaDuke and sample delights from Inti Latin Soul Cantina and Restaurant and Panaderia Del Pueblo Mexican Bakery.
South Stage Cellars is generously donating and pouring wine at the event. The festivities will be enlivened with music by the Rhythm Kings.
Betty LaDuke, an artist and Professor Emeritus at Southern Oregon University, has had a remarkable career traveling and sketching images of rural life across the world. She has received numerous awards for her work and has exhibited throughout the United States. LaDuke states that her “sketches, prints, acrylic paintings, and shaped wood panels often embrace the following themes: spiritual traditions that connect us to our past, present, and future; honoring the earth—plowing, planting, and harvesting; peace that brings an end to conflict and war; and transitions that recognize our life cycle from birth to bonding to ultimately letting go.”
Schneider Museum Acting Director Erika Leppmann wrote in the preface to the publication accompanying Betty LaDuke: Celebrating Life: “To view the work of sixty-five years spent making art is both a humbling and inspiring experience. As Betty LaDuke and I looked through stack after stack of drawings, then etchings, racks and racks of paintings, and then the work in progress in her studio, I was overcome by the energy, industry, and passion evident in the work and the artist.”
Betty LaDuke: Celebrating Life will be on view at the Schneider Museum from Friday, June 28 through Saturday, September 14 during the Museum’s regular hours of 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Mondays through Saturdays.
WHAT: Security drill to practice “active assailant” readiness on campus. The drill will be as realistic as possible including blank gunshots, and the exercise will provide training for as many participants as possible.
WHEN: Wednesday, June 19, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., News media center will be open 10:00 a.m. – Noon for interviews, photos and video.
WHERE: Southern Oregon University, 1250 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR
Media center will be located on the lawn off Indiana Street, in front of the Student Health and Wellness Center.
WHO: Ashland police, Medford SWAT team, emergency medical personnel, SOU emergency management team, SOU campus public safety, and other agencies will be involved.
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(Ashland, Ore.) Approximately 1,356 students will receive degrees and certificates at Southern Oregon University’s commencement exercises on Saturday, June 15. The ceremony begins in Raider Stadium at 8:45 a.m. and will be broadcast live on Rogue Valley Community Television, cable channels 9 and 15, and rebroadcast the same day at 6 p.m. on cable channel 9.
SOU will award 983 Bachelor’s and 225 Master’s degrees, plus an additional 101 academic certificates, and 47 nursing degrees for Oregon Health Sciences University students; 64 percent of the graduates are Oregon residents; 63 percent are female and 37 percent are male. The youngest graduate is 19 and the oldest is 69. Jackson County, Oregon is the home of 722 of the recipients. Business Administration is the most popular major for this year’s graduating class, followed by Psychology.
The commencement speaker is George Pernsteiner, Chancellor Emeritus of the Oregon University System. Representing the Oregon University System (OUS) is Kirk Schueler. The student speaker will be Shane Boyd.
George Pernsteiner served as chancellor of the Oregon University System from 2004 until 2013 when he was named chancellor emeritus. As chancellor, he oversaw Oregon’s seven public universities, served as the principal staff for the State Board of Higher Education, and was the link between the universities and Oregon’s state government. He also has been vice chancellor for administrative services for the University of California, Santa Barbara, vice president for finance and administration at Portland State University, and vice provost and chief financial officer for the University of Oregon.
Kirk Schueler was appointed to the State Board of Higher Education in March 2009. Currently, Schueler is the chief administrative officer for the St. Charles Health System, a position to which he was appointed in 2011. Previously, Schueler was the president and a member of the board of Brooks Resources Corporation, a real estate development firm in Bend, Oregon, since 1993. Prior to this, he was an audit manager with KPMG Peat Marwick in Portland from 1987 to 1993.
Shane Boyd is a double major in Sociology and Mathematics, with a minor in Philosophy. He is a Ronald E. McNair Program Scholar who has been accepted into the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program to pursue teaching mathematics at the middle/high level. Boyd holds a 3.53 Grade Point Average; he hopes to eventually pursue a doctorate in a quantitative area of Sociology.
Boyd is a non-traditional student who has taken an unconventional, often challenging path to graduation. He served in the military in Iraq (2004-2006), for which he received military awards. His recently published undergraduate research into the anti-vaccination movement in our region serves as an excellent example of community-based social research.
SOU’s commencement ceremony underscores the university’s commitment to sustainability. Graduates will be wearing robes made from natural wood sourced exclusively from renewable managed forests; the fabric is proven to completely decompose in soil within a year. SOU students have coordinated a program to collect commencement gowns at the end of this ceremony to be reused next year by graduates in need.
Drinking water is available before and during the commencement ceremony at a number of water stations. Biodegradable and compostable drinking cups are located at the stations. The commencement program is printed on recycled paper, and recycling will be encouraged at the end of the ceremony.
SOU officials are expecting a large number of graduates and guests, so those attending the ceremony should plan accordingly. The gates will open at 7:00 a.m., and guests are advised to arrive early.
Free parking during Commencement is available in all parking lots on the SOU campus. A free shuttle service will run from the Mountain Avenue parking lot to the Mountain Arena approximately every 15 minutes. Please visit the Commencement web site (sou.edu/commencement) for parking and shuttle details in light of nearby construction.
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