SOU News Archives

Smoke blankets the Ashland hills

SOU steps up as smoke moves in

Significant smoke moved into Ashland on Thursday night for the first time this summer and Southern Oregon University acted quickly to protect students and employees, and offer refuge for community members seeking to escape the poor air quality. Smoke from the Milepost 97 fire, which had burned more than 1,650 acres near Canyonville as of […]

Paul Kirby in "Lodestar," which has a busy film festival schedule

SOU student’s documentary on recreational therapy hits the film festival circuit

“Lodestar,” a short documentary film by SOU graduate student and Army Ranger veteran Paul Kirby, has a busy schedule on the film festival circuit. It has been selected for the St. Lawrence International Film Festival, the Miami Independent Film Festival, the 2019 Impact DOCS Awards, the First Time Film-Makers Review and the Digital Monthly Online […]

SOU's public safety officers will train with APD in downtown Ashland

SOU public safety officers to get code-violation training with APD

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University’s Campus Public Safety officers may occasionally be seen in downtown Ashland beginning this week, citing people for smoking, intrusive panhandling and other minor infractions as part of a new training program with Ashland Police. CPS officers, who typically work on or adjacent to the SOU campus, are authorized by […]

Southern Oregon Higher Education Consortium members meet again this week

Consortium of Southern Oregon colleges and universities work together on student success

(Ashland, Ore.) — Collaboration to benefit the region’s students and economy is continuing this month as the new Southern Oregon Higher Education Consortium holds two separate meetings for academic and enrollment leaders. The chief academic officers from the four schools – Klamath Community College, Oregon Institute of Technology, Rogue Community College and Southern Oregon University […]

SOU's Alison Burke finishes Western States Endurance Run

SOU criminology professor completes ultra dream: Western States 100

SOU faculty member Alison Burke compared her feat to the experiences of her students after she recently achieved any ultramarathoner’s dream. She not only finished her first 100-mile race, but the race just happened to be the “granddaddy of them all” – the Western States Endurance Run. “The big take away from this experience is […]

SOU women's wrestling gets new head coach

Joel Gibson named Raider women’s wrestling head coach

Joel Gibson, a former Raider All-American and longtime assistant coach for Southern Oregon University men’s wrestling, has been chosen to lead the SOU women’s wrestling program. Gibson will become the first full-time head coach for the team, which completed its fourth season in 2018-19. He has spent a total of eight seasons on Mike Ritchey‘s men’s […]

Students in outdoor classroom at SOU, ranked among top 20 U.S. public liberal arts colleges

SOU rated among top 20 public liberal arts institutions in U.S.

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has been named one of the nation’s top 20 public liberal arts colleges in a new rating by College Values Online, a website that helps prospective students evaluate colleges and universities. SOU is the only university in Oregon to make the list, and joins Washington’s The Evergreen State College […]

SOU's entirely online Master of Science in Education degree program

SOU introduces 100 percent online master’s programs in education

(Ashland, Ore.) — Southern Oregon University has expanded its selection of online advanced degrees with this month’s launch of a master of science in education program with three areas of concentration. The program, designed primarily for working adult learners, provides pathways for career advancement and leadership roles in schools, corporations and nonprofit agencies. Students choose […]

Van Delden holding baby

Van Delden: Returning kindness with compassion

Service has been a way of life for Dr. James Van Delden (’70). He has delivered babies in war-torn nations, cared for children on Native American reservations of the Great Plains and served on medical missions in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. “I was a family doctor; I wanted to help wherever families and kids […]

SOU's Jessica Pistole, NAIA Softball Coach of the Year

Pistole honored as NAIA Coach of the Year

Southern Oregon University softball coach Jessica Pistole, who guided her team last month to SOU’s first-ever national championship in a women’s sport, was the NAIA Softball Coach of the Year on Wednesday. The fifth-year head coach has led the Raiders to three consecutive NAIA World Series appearances. This year’s team made it through the winners […]