SOU Leadership

Bill Thorndike passes away unexpectedly

SOU to host official memorial service for William Thorndike, Jr.

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University will host a public gathering and celebration of the life of William Downie (Bill) Thorndike, Jr. – a prominent statewide civic servant, the university’s first board chair and recipient of SOU’s highest honor – on Sunday, April 27. Those who attend the event, at 1:30 p.m. in the SOU […]

SOU shows up at sustainability conference

SOU participants make a splash at regional sustainability conference

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University students, staff and faculty made their presence felt at last week’s Washington Oregon Cascadia Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WOHESC) in Portland, where SOU participants shared the university’s stories of success in sustainability with peer institutions. The conference was hosted this year by Portland Community College and was attended by […]

Freshman Ryan Goodrich named to SOU Board of Trustees

SOU freshman joins Board of Trustees

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University freshman Ryan Goodrich, a business administration student from Medford, has been appointed by Gov. Tina Kotek and confirmed today by the Oregon Senate to serve on the university’s Board of Trustees. Goodrich succeeds Mimi Pieper, who had served as one of two undergraduate student members of the 17-member board […]

Bill Thorndike passes away unexpectedly

SOU loses friend and mentor with passing of Bill Thorndike

Bill Thorndike – a member of the SOU Board of Trustees since its inception in 2015 and the board’s first chair – passed away unexpectedly while vacationing with his wife Angela last weekend at their family cottage on Whidbey Island, Washington. “Bill was to SOU what each of us cherishes in our closest of friends […]

Drs. Roy and Barbara Saigo

SOU’s Saigo Multicultural Alcove rededicated

Southern Oregon University recognized the importance of providing a diverse perspective with its recent rededication of the Drs. Roy and Barbara Saigo Multicultural Alcove in SOU’s Hannon Library. The collection, near the library’s third-floor lobby, was originally established during Roy Saigo’s tenure as SOU’s interim president and then president, from 2014 through August of 2016. […]

Provost and VP for Academic and Student Affairs Casey Shillam

Former University of Portland administrator to become SOU’s top academic leader

(Ashland, Ore.) — Casey Shillam, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N, who served most recently as dean and professor of the University of Portland School of Nursing & Health Innovations, will be the next Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Southern Oregon University. She will begin her duties at SOU on Friday, March 1. Shillam is […]

SOU faculty members picked for AASCU leadership institute

Four from SOU chosen for AASCU leadership institute

(Ashland, Ore.) — Four Southern Oregon University faculty members are among 36 educators selected from higher education institutions across the country to take part in the inaugural Department Chair Leadership Institute, an initiative of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities that is intended to help participants develop critical skills and prepare for future […]

Andrew Gay, director of SOU School of Arts & Communication

Internal candidate hired for SOU director position

(Ashland, Ore.) — Andrew Kenneth Gay, a professor and chair of Communication, Media & Cinema at Southern Oregon University, has been hired as director of SOU’s new School of Arts & Communication – which includes the Oregon Center for the Arts at SOU. Gay has taken on numerous leadership roles since joining the SOU faculty […]

Age-friendly designation for SOU

SOU achieves “age-friendly university” status

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has been accepted for membership in the Age-Friendly University Global Network – a collection of more than 100 universities across five continents that have committed to age diversity and intergenerational interactions on their campuses and in their communities. “This is a timely and impactful distinction for SOU,” President Rick […]

Jason Mendoza appointed to SOU Board of Trustees

Current chair and university employee appointed to new terms on SOU board

(Ashland, Ore.) — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has appointed Jason Mendoza, an area coordinator for Southern Oregon University’s Housing Department, to serve on SOU’s Board of Trustees, and reappointed current board chair Daniel Santos to his second full, four-year term. Both were confirmed on Friday by the Oregon Senate and their service to the board […]

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