SOU Latest News

SOU Ashland graduate Thilini Dissanyake stars in "Earnest" at OSF

Recent SOU alumna stars in OSF production of “Earnest”

(Ashland, Ore.) — Sitting in the backseat of her family’s car after a third-grade play, Thilini Dissanayake surprised her mother with a bold declaration: “I wanna be famous.” That moment – following her turn as the Little Red Hen in her class play – sparked a love for acting that would lead Dissanayake to Southern […]

Creativity Conference at SOU Ashland set to begin

Creativity Conference at Southern Oregon University set to begin May 15

(Ashland, Ore.) — The 7th annual Creativity Conference at Southern Oregon University will offer something for everyone in four days of presentations, May 15 through 18. The conference delivers a wealth of information for those who study the science of creativity, seek to leverage research on creative thinking or simply consider themselves to be creative. […]

Tacit knowledge grant awarded to SOU Ashland's Boscoe

SOU’s Boscoe awarded second “tacit knowledge” grant

(Ashland, Ore.) — Bernadette Boscoe, an assistant professor in the Computer Science Department at Southern Oregon University, has been awarded a second grant to fund her study of tacit knowledge in research settings – gathering, storing and retrieving the unspoken practices of academic teams that sometimes are lost when a project is disrupted or ends. […]

McNair Scholars program at SOU Ashland

McNair Scholars: Apply or nominate potential grad students

Undergraduate students who have stood out in the classroom and have an interest in graduate school can apply or be nominated to join the next cohort of SOU’s McNair Scholars Program. The application deadline for spring interviews is Friday, May 30. The McNair program, a U.S. Department of Education initiative that began at SOU in […]

SOU Ashland Board of Trustees member Micelle Fuentes

SOU student joins Board of Trustees

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University student Michelle Fuentes, a Criminal Justice and Sociology major from Central Point, has been appointed by Gov. Tina Kotek and confirmed Wednesday by the Oregon Senate to serve on the university’s Board of Trustees. Fuentes, whose two-year term begins July 1, will succeed Garima Sharma as one of two undergraduate […]

Taran Cross is bound for Oxford after receiving bachelor's degrees at SOU Ashland

Unorthodox path: recent SOU graduate bound for Oxford

(Ashland, Ore.) — Achieving success wasn’t the issue for Taran Cross. He had risen to the position of vice president with a Medford-based healthcare technology company, despite dropping out of college soon after he began back in 2007. But he had unfinished business and higher ambitions. “I dreamed of going to Oxford as a kid […]

Distinguished Teaching Award recipient Alena Ruggerio at SOU Ashland

SOU’s Ruggerio receives Distinguished Teaching Award

(Ashland, Ore.) — Alena Ruggerio,  a professor of communication at Southern Oregon University, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award by the Western States Communication Association (WSCA), one of the leading academic organizations in the field of communication studies. The WSCA Distinguished Teaching Award is presented annually and honors educators who […]

Criminology & Criminal Justice students from SOU Ashland

SOU Criminology & Criminal Justice class visits historic UK sites

A group of Criminology & Criminal Justice students from SOU spent their spring break on an immersive academic journey to Nottingham, London and other locations in the United Kingdom, delving deep into the UK’s rich legal and criminal justice history. The students in Alison Burke’s CCJ 389 class visited two prisons, a British courtroom and […]

"Raising Aniya" by SOU Ashland's Chris Lucas

SOU professor presents “Raising Aniya” West Coast premiere at AIFF

SOU assistant professor of Digital Cinema Christopher Lucas will present the West Coast premiere of his feature documentary “Raising Aniya” at this year’s Ashland Independent Film Festival. “Raising Aniya” presents the story of Aniya Wingate, a young dance artist in Houston, Texas, who embarks on a journey to heal her spirit and find her voice […]

outh Programs department brought local high school students to the university campus recently for the César E. Chávez Leadership Conference returns to SOU Ashland

César E. Chávez Leadership Conference returns to SOU

Southern Oregon University’s Youth Programs department brought local high school students to the university campus recently for the César E. Chávez Leadership Conference, which began at SOU in 2012 to celebrates the late civil rights leader’s heritage and teach young people to carry on his legacy of leadership. Last month’s 14th annual César E. Chávez […]