SOU News Archives

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. […]

Snow storm causes postponements and cancelations

SOU campus weathers snow storm

This week’s snow and freezing temperatures have resulted in all SOU classes, events and activities being canceled for two consecutive days, and also for a variety of events later in the week being postponed or canceled. Affected events include the women’s and men’s basketball double-header that has been moved from tonight to Wednesday night; the […]

Senior living proposals sought by SOU Ashland

SOU seeks development proposals for senior living

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has begun the process of identifying a private-sector partner for the construction and operation of a senior living center on a 4.3-acre parcel where a defunct dormitory complex is currently being demolished. A “request for qualifications” – an invitation for developers and operators of retirement facilities to submit proposals […]

SOU president receives contract extension

SOU president receives contract extension

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University President Rick Bailey has been awarded a new, three-year contract – three years after taking the helm at SOU, steering the university through an organizational realignment and charting an entrepreneurial course forward. The SOU Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Friday to approve the new contract, which essentially extends […]

Cascade Complex demolition underway

Demolition underway at SOU’s Cascade Complex

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University’s Cascade Complex, an obsolete cluster of nine residence halls and a cafeteria that have been largely unused since 2013, is being demolished over the next three months to make room for the anticipated development of a senior living center on the five-acre site at the southwest corner of campus. […]

Solar projects underway at SOU Ashland

Construction underway on SOU’s latest solar projects

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University is making headway in its march toward becoming the first public university in the U.S. to produce all of the daytime electricity used on its campus, with more than $5 million in recent state, federal and student funding and multiple solar projects underway. SOU completed a rooftop solar  installation […]

At wildlife crossing site, SOU students Shawn Johnson, Emily Heller

Funding in place for wildlife crossing with key SOU role

(Ashland, Ore.) — A total of $37 million in federal and state funding has been secured to build a wildlife crossing over Interstate 5 south of Ashland, in a project that Southern Oregon University faculty and students have supported by monitoring wildlife patterns in the area. Oregon recently was awarded a federal grant of $33.2 […]

Klamath dam removal workshop at SOU

Klamath dam removal workshop at SOU fosters collaboration

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University recently hosted the Klamath Dam Removal Research Collaboration Workshop, a follow-up seminar for the numerous groups and agencies working together on the world’s largest-ever dam removal and river restoration project. The November workshop brought together nearly 150 researchers, Tribal leaders and agency representatives to share information about ecological and […]

Scavenger Hunt contestants at SOU Ashland

SOU Scavenger Hunt teaches academic skills to pre-college youth

Middle and high school students from across the southern Oregon region recently competed in the annual Scavenger Hunt event held by SOU’s Office of Youth Programs. Scavenger Hunt is a three-day academic “hunt,” in which students search for answers to clues provided by the hunt’s director, Jim Impara. Answers to the dozens of questions provided […]