Tag Archive for: Southern Oregon University Board of Trustees

SOU board condemns racial injustice

SOU board receives national Nason award for exceptional leadership

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(Ashland, Ore.) — The Board of Trustees of Southern Oregon University has been selected to receive the 2019-20 John W. Nason Award for Board Leadership, given by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) – the premier organization representing higher education governing boards.

The Nason Award, established in 1992, is presented in partnership with TIAA to higher education governing boards that demonstrate exceptional leadership and initiative.

This year’s honoree, SOU, was chosen from among more than 30 nominations illustrating the critical work of boards from both public and private institutions, statewide systems and institutionally related foundations.

“The Board of Trustees of Southern Oregon University is thrilled to be recognized for our accomplishments since 2015 when the board was created,” said Lyn Hennion, SOU Board Chair. “We share this award with all of the bright students at SOU who motivate our work and all of the dedicated employees at SOU, whose everyday efforts have contributed to this tremendous honor.

“I am deeply proud of the collaborative work our board has undertaken with our campus, our community, and our state, to advance higher education in Southern Oregon and for our Great State of Oregon.”

In less than five years, the SOU Board of Trustees has exhibited courageous leadership to advance the institution and the enduring value of higher education. During a major period of transition and a statewide higher education governance transition, the newly-formed SOU board hired a new president and revitalized community relationships.

It also collaborated with the university’s administration on a broad and inclusive strategic planning committee to adopt a new mission and create and implement a transformative strategic plan. SOU’s strategic plan aims to transform curriculum and pedagogy; addresses demographic shifts; supports sustainability and the university’s ecological bioregion; focuses on creativity and innovation; aims to create a truly diverse and inclusive campus; and highlights regional economic, cultural, and social development.

“During this time in higher education when nationwide, regional universities are facing unprecedented challenges, the SOU Board is just getting started,” Hennion said. “We look forward to building on this momentum to ensure an even brighter future for SOU.”

SOU is one of six institutions receiving this year’s Nason Award. Anne Arundel Community College Board of Trustees, Arizona State University Enterprise Partners Board of Directors, Loyola Marymount University Board of Trustees, McDaniel College Board of Trustees, and Parker University Board of Trustees also are honorees.

“The AGB Nason Award recognizes boards that demonstrate exemplary and courageous leadership to advance student success and institutional vitality,” said Henry Stoever, the president and CEO of AGB. “We congratulate Southern Oregon University and look forward to honoring them before their peers at our national conference.”

The SOU Board of Trustees will be honored at AGB’s 2020 National Conference on Trusteeship in Washington, D.C., on April 5-7.  AGB also will present the award to SOU’s Board of Trustees on April 21, at the next regular meeting of the SOU Board.

The Nason award is named for higher education leader John W. Nason, who served as the chair of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council and helped more than 4,000 interned students continue their college studies across the nation during World War II. Learn more about AGB’s Nason Award at www.agb.org/award.

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Dylann Loverro to join SOU Board of Trustees

SOU Honors College student joins university’s Board of Trustees

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(Ashland, Ore.) — Dylann Loverro, a Southern Oregon University Honors College student who has held various positions on campus, has been appointed by Gov. Kate Brown and confirmed today by the Oregon Senate to serve on the university’s Board of Trustees.

Loverro succeeds Shanztyn Nihipali, who graduated in June, as the university’s student member for the 15-person board. Her two-year appointment is a voting position.

“I am excited and honored to be a part of my university’s governing board,” Loverro said. “I look forward to supporting the strategies and vision that will increase student success and the great work happening at SOU.”

Loverro, who is working toward a 2021 bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies, is currently chief justice of the Associated Students of Southern Oregon University (ASSOU) and student representative on the Faculty Senate’s University Assessment Committee. She has also served as the international senator and vice speaker of the Student Senate.

She completed the Leadership Fellows Program during her freshman year at SOU, has participated in an Alternative Spring Break trip to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity in Colorado and next spring will lead a Raider Alternative Weekend trip.

“We are pleased to welcome Dylann to SOU’s Board of Trustees,” said Lyn Hennion, the board’s chair. “She is a very involved and high-achieving student, and her voice will be a welcomed addition to the board.

“The board also thanks its retiring trustee, Shanztyn Nihipali, for his years of dedicated service to the board and his alma mater – SOU. We wish Shanztyn the best in all of his future endeavors.”

Loverro is from Ellensburg, Washington, where her mother is an associate professor of psychology and her father is chair of the Department of Curriculum, Supervision and Educational Leadership at Central Washington University.

She is fluent in French, and studied abroad in Lyon, France, during the 2017-18 academic year. During her senior year of high school, she served on the bipartisan Youth Advisory Board to former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert of Washington’s 8th Congressional District.

Loverro intends to pursue master’s and doctorate degrees after completing her undergraduate studies at SOU. She hopes for a career with the U.S. State Department, the United Nations or another international organization.

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SOU Janelle Wilson

SOU Student Life manager joins university’s Board of Trustees

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NEWS RELEASE

(Ashland, Ore.) — Janelle Wilson, who has served since 2005 in various Student Life positions at Southern Oregon University, has been appointed by Gov. Kate Brown and confirmed today by the Oregon Senate to serve on the university’s Board of Trustees.

Wilson succeeds Joanna Steinman as the university’s non-faculty staff member on the 15-person board. Her two-year appointment is a voting position.

“I am honored to continue my service to SOU as a trustee of university’s governing board,” Wilson said. “I look forward to supporting the strategies and vision that will ensure the continued success of our university and students.”

Wilson has served since 2015 as the university’s associate director of student life for social justice and service. She served from 2005 to 2015 as coordinator of the Queer Resource Center and has taught various courses as an adjunct instructor.

“We are pleased to welcome Janelle to SOU’s Board of Trustees,” said Lyn Hennion, the board’s chair. “Her long and distinguished background in student affairs and social justice is valued highly and complements our board’s areas of expertise. The board looks forward to the great work we will all do together.”

Steinman, a graduate program specialist for the provost’s office, served a pair of two-year terms that ended earlier this year but she agreed to remain on the board until her successor was confirmed.

“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Joanna for her service and dedication to the university,” Hennion said. “We appreciate her many contributions to SOU over two consecutive terms as an inaugural trustee.”

Wilson has been heavily involved in the university and the community throughout her career at SOU. She is a founder and member of the university’s Bias Response Team, has served on numerous other committees and panels, and has led or participated in many presentations and trainings.

Her roles in the community include service as a board member of the Pride Foundation Leadership Action Team, co-organizer of the Southern Oregon Pride Parade, volunteer with the Ashland Independent Film Festival and SOU representative on the Rogue Valley Transportation District’s citizen advisory committee for master planning.

Wilson received her bachelor’s degree in multicultural and gender studies at California State University-Chico and her master’s degree in women’s studies in religion at Claremont Graduate University.

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SOU Trustees

New slate of officers named for SOU board

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NEWS BRIEF

(Ashland, Ore.) – Lyn Hennion, an original member of Southern Oregon University’s Board of Trustees, has been elected to serve as the board’s second-ever chair. Her term as chair began July 1 and will continue for a year.

Paul Nicholson, another trustee who has served since the board was empowered by the Oregon Legislature three years ago, will serve as vice chair for the coming year. Nicholson previously served as chair of the board’s Finance and Administration Committee for three years.

Trustee Bill Thorndike served as board chair since the board’s 2015 inception, and Hennion was the 2017-18 vice chair. Thorndike did not seek a fourth year in the lead position, but remains a member of the 15-person board.

The board chair and vice chair are elected by their fellow trustees. Hennion will appoint chairs to lead the board’s Finance and Administration Committee and Academic and Student Affairs Committee. As board chair, she also will lead the Executive and Audit Committee.

Five of the SOU trustees – Hennion, Nicholson and Thorndike, along with Les AuCoin and Steve Vincent – began their second full terms as members of the board on July 1. Sheila Clough was appointed to fill a board vacancy last year, and the Oregon Senate recently confirmed Gov. Kate Brown’s appointment of new board members Deborah Rosenberg, Jonathon Bullock, Megan Davis Lightman, Shaun Franks and Barry Thalden.

Other continuing trustees are Daniel Santos, Joanna Steinman and student Shanztyn Nihipali. President Linda Schott serves in a non-voting, ex officio capacity on the board.

For more information on trustees, visit governance.sou.edu/board-members.

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SOU Trustees Thorndike Slattery

Eleven trustees appointed to SOU Board

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NEWS RELEASE
(Ashland, Ore.) – Five new and six continuing members have been appointed by Gov. Kate Brown and confirmed Wednesday by the Oregon Senate to serve on the Southern Oregon University Board of Trustees.

The new trustees are SOU faculty member Deborah Rosenberg; Jonathon Bullock, executive director of the Redmond Proficiency Academy; organizational development consultant Megan Davis Lightman; SOU alumnus Shaun Franks, who works in the solar energy industry; and Barry Thalden, a retired architect and local philanthropist.

“The Board of Trustees is excited to welcome these fine Oregonians to SOU,” said Bill Thorndike, the board’s chairman. “The individual expertise of each will enhance and complement our board’s composition.

“We appreciate Gov. Brown’s appointment and legislators’ confirmation of these community leaders to our board,” Thorndike said. “Trustee service allows SOU to continue nimbly preparing for and responding to the changing landscape of higher education and the unique needs of our students.”

Returning to serve second terms as trustees are Thorndike, who has served as the board’s chair since its inception; fellow original board members Lyn Hennion, Les AuCoin, Paul Nicholson and Steve Vincent; and Sheila Clough, who was appointed last year to fill a board vacancy.

The terms of all new and reappointed trustees begin July 1 and run through June 30, 2022, except for that of the faculty member, Deborah Rosenberg, whose term is two years.

Outgoing SOU faculty member Dennis Slattery and community members April Sevcik, Teresa Sayre and Shea Washington are completing their service June 30 as members of the SOU Board of Trustees.

“I thank those trustees who are retiring from our board for their dedication and contributions to the good of the university,” Thorndike said. “SOU is stronger today because of their service.”

Continuing trustees are student Shanztyn Nihipali, SOU alumnus Daniel Santos of Salem and SOU staff member Joanna Steinman.

“On behalf of the university, I would like to thank all of our trustees – whether new, continuing or retiring – for their commitments to serving SOU,” President Linda Schott said. “As we continue our journey of advancement at SOU, we recognize the essential role of our trustees in helping advance our higher education goals in the region and state.”

SOU was granted authority by the state to form its own independent Board of Trustees beginning July 1, 2015, following the legislature’s dissolution of the Oregon University System and State Board of Higher Education. SOU’s board is responsible for governance and oversight of the university.

Trustees are gubernatorial appointees, subject to confirmation by the Oregon Senate. As many as 11 at-large trustees serve four-year terms and one position each is reserved for an SOU student, a faculty member and a non-faculty staff member, each of whom serve two-year terms.

Trustees are limited to serving two consecutive full terms. The university president serves in a non-voting, ex officio capacity on the board, bringing total membership to 15.

New trustees

Deborah Rosenberg
Rosenberg is a professor who teaches costume design, costume construction, stage makeup and costume history in the SOU Theatre Department. She is the outgoing chair of the university’s Faculty Senate. Rosenberg served previously as costume designer and costume shop supervisor at Ithaca College in New York, and has designed costumes for the State University of New York at Brockport and at New York’s Niagara University. Her professional credits include costume designs for the Alley Theatre in Houston; the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Mass.; and Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Mass. Rosenberg holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Trent University in Ontario and a master of fine arts degree in costume design from North Carolina School of the Arts.

Jonathon Bullock
Bullock is executive director and co-founder of the Redmond Proficiency Academy, a Central Oregon charter school that emphasizes proficiency-based learning in a personalized environment. He served the Oregon Association of Student Councils as a counselor and motivational speaker, and is a past executive council member for the National Association of Student Councils. Bullock has also taught administrative and teacher preparation courses at Portland’s Lewis & Clark College and Concordia University. He received his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences from Oregon State University, his master’s degree in secondary education from Willamette University and his doctorate in learning assessment and system performance from the University of Oregon.

 

Megan Davis Lightman
Davis Lightman is the CEO and founder of The Davis Consulting Group, Inc., a Medford organizational development consulting firm for boards of directors and leadership teams nationwide. She has led the strategic transformations of various companies and non-profit organizations. She serves on the boards of directors of the Rogue Community College Foundation and the Chicago-based SmithBucklin management company, and serves on the Southern Oregon Leadership Council for the Oregon Community Foundation. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Tulane University and her master’s degree in organizational development from the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago.

 

Shaun Franks
Franks is a 2014 SOU alumnus who studied business, environmental studies and corporate sustainability. He studied renewable energy in Germany in 2011 through the SOU School of Business. As director of sustainability for student government a year later, he helped establish the SOU Green Fund, which invests student fees in local energy, water and campus sustainability projects – including three solar installations at SOU, the purchase of water offsets and creation of The Farm at SOU. Franks works in sales and marketing for True South Solar, an SOU alumni-owned local business in Ashland. He serves on the policy committee of the Oregon Solar Energy Industry Association; is a founder and board treasurer of Rogue Climate, a local environmental nonprofit; and is chair of the McKenzie River Gathering Foundation’s grant-making committee.

Barry Thalden
Thalden and his wife, Kathryn, retired to Ashland in 2012, after he founded and guided the Las Vegas architectural firm Thalden Boyd Emery Architects for 43 years. The firm – which also had offices in St. Louis, Tulsa and Phoenix – specialized in designing resorts, casinos and other large-scale projects. Thalden is a retired member of the American Institute of Architects and was elected as a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects after serving as its national vice president. Since moving to Ashland six years ago, the Thaldens’ generosity has led to the flower basket program in downtown Ashland; murals outside the Ashland Emergency Food Bank and on Calle Guanajuato on the Ashland Plaza; and an Ashland-themed mural in Ashland’s Mexican sister city of Guanajuato. Their philanthropy is responsible for the new Thalden Pavilion at The Farm at SOU. Thalden received a double degree in architecture and engineering at the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in planning at the University of Michigan.

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