Duo SOU Heads to New York’s Carnegie Hall

Ashland, Ore. — It’s not every day an undergraduate music major has the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall—twice.
It hasn’t really sunk in for her, but that’s exactly what Southern Oregon University music student Beatriz Abella, 21, will do before she graduates.
“I still can’t believe it,” she said, shaking her head in amazement. Her first trip to Carnegie Hall was in April, when she sang during the National Young Musicians Showcase Competition’s Winners Recital after receiving the Grand Winner prize. Read more

SOU Showcases the Rise of Credit Unions with Rogue Federal Credit Union CEO Gene Pelham Nov. 17

Gene Pelham


Ashland, Ore. — As large banks continue to see a decline in customers, credit unions across the United States are signing up members in record numbers.
It’s no different in southern Oregon, where Rogue Federal Credit Union is increasing its numbers at a rapid rate. To find out more about this movement and what it means on a local and national scale, Gene Pelham, Chief Executive Officer at Rogue Federal Credit Union will share his thoughts during Southern Oregon University’s Masters in Management Distinguished Alumni Series event Nov. 17. Pelham is an SOU graduate, earning his undergraduate degree in 1983 and his Masters in Management in 2006. Read more

SOU Hosts Oxfam Banquet to Benefit Ashland Food Angels

Ashland, Ore. — Southern Oregon University’s Civic Engagement Program will be hosting an educational banquet on local and global issues of hunger to benefit the Ashland Food Angels on Thursday, Nov. 17 in the Stevenson Union’s Rogue River Room at 7 p.m. Donations will gladly be accepted.

The Oxfam Banquet is an event held worldwide by the organization, an international collective of groups and countries working to end world hunger. Oxfam provides information and support to raise awareness through hunger banquets, which have become renowned as the banquet where participants leave hungry, but with a larger perspective on hunger and access to food.

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SOU Sets Another Enrollment Record

RCC Transfers, Californians and Hispanic Students Lead Growth

(Ashland, Ore.) –Southern Oregon University is experiencing the largest and most diverse fall enrollment in its history. Headcount has reached 6,744, a 4.7 percent increase over last fall’s figure that was up a dramatic 26 percent over fall 2009. The categories showing the strongest growth were transfers – especially from Rogue Community College, Hispanic students, Californians and international students. Read more

Archaeology at Fort Lane State Heritage Site opens to public viewing

Oregon State Parks Shield
The Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology (SOULA), in collaboration with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD), will be conducting archaeological investigations at Fort Lane, a U.S. Army post occupied from 1853-1856 that was used during the Rogue River Wars. The site opens to the public on Sunday, November 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Visitors are invited to take the opportunity to learn about the importance of protecting Oregon’s archaeological sites and some of the aspects of archaeological field work. They will have the opportunity to walk around the site and talk with members of the archaeology team and OPRD staff, view uncovered artifacts, learn how they are cared for and how archaeological sites are treated with minimal impact to the environment. Read more

SOU Alum Jeff McJunkin Takes Top Honors

Cultivating Civility at Home and Abroad Subject of SOU Civility Series

(Ashland, Ore.) – Is “agreeing to disagree” a sufficient goal for citizens in an increasingly pluralistic society? Can individuals or groups who disagree passionately about certain issues reach a point where they can listen to and learn from one another? These and other questions will be the subject of an interactive presentation by SOU professors John King and Margaret Perrow Thursday, November 3, at 7 p.m. in the Meese Room of the Hannon Library on the SOU campus. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Dr. Margaret Perrow, assistant professor of English education.

Drs. King and Perrow will draw upon research from Northern Ireland and South Africa, areas recovering from years of conflict and opposition over racial or religious differences. The presentation will examine educational efforts to help students listen to and learn from those whom they have been conditioned to distrust, demean, or even dehumanize. By drawing on the experiences from these areas of intense conflict and disagreement, professors King and Perrow explore implications for our own daily interactions. Read more

Local Eighth Graders Pledge to Work Hard, Attend SOU After High School

(Ashland, Ore.) — The room was packed at Talent Middle School on Thursday evening as students and their families came to learn about “Pirates to Raiders,” a new partnership designed to open doors for Hispanic students.
The program forms an alliance with eighth-grade students, their families, the Phoenix-Talent School District and Southern Oregon University. Each member of the partnership agrees to participate in ensuring that these students take all the right steps over the next five years. If they do, they will be accepted to SOU.

“I’ve been envisioning a program like this ever since I came to Oregon,” said SOU President Mary Cullinan. “It really does take a village to help students get to college. This program creates that village. With Pirates to Raiders, these students can fulfill their dreams.”

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SOU’s Distinguished Lecture Series Continues Nov. 9 with Professor Diana Maltz

(Ashland, Ore.) — As part of Southern Oregon University’s Insights: Distinguished Lecture Series, English and Writing professor Diana Maltz, will give a talk Nov. 9 about a cultural group in England—known as the Fellowship of New Life—that pursued peace, environmentalism and equality in the 1890s.
President Mary Cullinan initiated the lecture series last year to highlight the work of SOU faculty.
“Our faculty are doing outstanding scholarship and creative activity in every field,” she said. “I very much want our community and our campus to gain insight into the work being done at SOU.”
Maltz will review writings by novelists who participated in the rural colonies, as well as satires by writers who simply found New Life initiatives impractical and their practitioners self-important and deluded. Read more

Geteducated.com Gives SOU’s Online Business Program High Marks

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University’s online business degree was recently ranked as a top best value in online education by GetEducated.com.
Logo - Best Buy online bachelors in businessSOU’s bachelor’s degree in business administration was ranked number 19 out of more than 100 programs. The Get Educated online university affordability rankings are based on a comprehensive nationwide survey of online learning costs at 67 regionally accredited colleges that offer 136 online degrees in business administration at the bachelor level.
“Online learning allows non-traditional students to attend America’s best universities in terms of brand reputation and affordability,” said Vicky Phillips, founder of GetEducated.com. “Southern Oregon University is an undisputed Best Buy for students nationwide looking for a quality online business school with a top consumer ranking.” Read more