Southern Oregon University

Infobox University
name = Southern Oregon University
established = 1872
type = Public
president = Mary Cullinan
staff = 749
students = 5,000
city = Ashland
state = Oregon
country = USA
campus = College town
colors = Red and Black color box|red color box|black
nickname = Raiders
mascot = Red Tailed Hawk
athletics = NAIA
affiliations = Cascade Collegiate Conference
website = [http://www.sou.edu/ www.sou.edu]

Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public liberal arts college located in Ashland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1926, it was formerly known as Southern Oregon College (SOC) and Southern Oregon State College (SOSC). The university is known for its criminology, natural sciences, Shakespearean studies and theatre arts programs. It is also the headquarters for Jefferson Public Radio and public access station Rogue Valley Television. SOU is also a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges.

The Institute

Southern consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, and the School of Education. In addition to Southern's main campus, classes are also offered on the University's satellite campus in downtown Medford. The main campus is also home to an Oregon Health Science University satellite campus.

The College of Arts and Sciences was formed in 2007 by combining the SOU School of Arts & Letters, School of Sciences, and the School of Social Sciences. [http://www.sou.edu/CAS/] The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) was formed in 2007 by combining the SOU School of Arts & Letters, School of Sciences, and the School of Social Sciences. [http://www.sou.edu/CAS/]

History

Southern Oregon University began as Ashland Academy in 1872, founded in part by Reverend Henry Skidmore of Oregon's Methodist Episcopal Church.Kreisman, Authur. Remembering: A History of Southern Oregon University . Eugene, Ore.: University of Oregon Press, 2002.] In 1878, the school was renamed Ashland College, and then renamed Ashland College and Normal School in 1879. In 1887, the State of Oregon proclaimed the school an official state normal school. However, the state did not provide any funding for the school, and in 1890 the school closed before reopening in 1895. In 1892, the school selected a new site in the city with financial assistance from Methodists in Portland, and construction began on what was then named the Ashland Collegiate Institute. The school then reopened in 1895 as the Southern Oregon State Normal School (SOSNS), with state funding, beginning in 1899. [History of Ashland http://www.move2ashland.com/ashland/history_of_ashland.htm]

In 1904, the school became a full state school, but funding was eliminated in 1909, leading to the closing of the campus.Fact|date=September 2008 In 1926, the state reestablished Southern Oregon State Normal School in Ashland at a new location on land donated by the city, the site on which the university is currently located. [Oregon University System: http://www.ous.edu/about/chanoff/files/history.pdf] The residents of Ashland passed the "Normal School Site Bonds" to build the new facility. The building was later named Churchill Hall after SOSNS' president Churchill who oversaw the relocation project. Churchill now serves as Southern's administrative building, with the president's office on the first level. Churchill Hall closesly resembles Eastern Oregon University's Inlow Hall. Both buildings were built at during the same time from the same architecture semantics. The buildings were designed by architect John Bennes and retain their original Renaissance style.

In 1932, the Oregon State Board of Education renamed the institute Southern Oregon Normal School. In 1939, the state board eliminated normal schools in Oregon. The university received full accreditation from the American Association of Teachers Colleges. With the accreditation, Oregon Governor Charles A. Sprague signed into law the bill changing the institution's name to Southern Oregon College of Education. In 1956, the university underwent another name change, to Southern Oregon College (SONS) to reflect the institute's diverse degree options. In 1975, SONS was renamed 'Southern Oregon State College (SOSC) and finally in 1997, SOSC became Southern Oregon University.

RCC/SOU Higher Education Center

Southern Oregon University and Rogue Community College have worked in a spirit of collaboration and cooperation to implement the guidelines of the white paper, "Annexation of Jackson County to the District of Rogue Community College," signed on March 6, 1996. During the 1997-99 biennium, RCC and SOU received Regional Partnership funding from the Legislature to jointly launch several new initiatives to provide additional access for a larger number of residents in southern Oregon. Construction on the downtown Medford center broke ground March of 2007 and finished September 2008 [RCC-SOU joint project breaks mold by John Darling, March 21, 2007
Medford Mail Tribunehttp://archive.mailtribune.com/archive/2007/0321/local/stories/rcc-sou-jd.htm] . The three-story, 68,700-square-foot, includes classrooms, science labs, computer labs, a Prometric Testing Center and the Business Center. The RCC/SOU Higher Education Center represents a one-of-a-kind partnership in Oregon.

With SOU and RCC side by side, classes are offered on the lower- and upper-division level, as well as three masters’ degree programs: Master in Business Administration (offered in a cohort format with classes held on Saturdays) Master in Management (courses offered online and at night), and the Master of Arts in Teaching (a two-year, part-time version of the SOU one-year MAT program [rcc-sou.org]

Activities on campus

There are many clubs, groups, and larger organizations working under the advice and guidance of the [http://www.sou.edu/su/sal/ Student Activities and Leadership Office] . These groups include clubs for the majors that SOU offers, hobbies, sports, music, as well as continued support for multiculturalism focused by the [http://www.sou.edu/su/mcc/ Multicultural Coalition] . Additionally, there is a Newman Center for Roman Catholic students, the LDS Student Association, and several Protestant organizations, such as the Campus Crusade for Christ to the Bible Club.

Student activities and support are also supplemented by a number of resource centers on campus. The [http://www.sou.edu/wrc/ Women's Resource Center] , [http://www.sou.edu/su/ecos/ Ecology Center of the Siskiyous] , and the [http://www.sou.edu/su/qrc/ Queer Resource Center] all provide services, resources, and events to their respective communities. The University is also represented on the Board of Directors of the Oregon Student Association.

Athletics

The school's sports teams are called the Raiders (its mascot is the Red Tailed Hawk).Fact|date=September 2008 They participate in the NAIA and in the Cascade Conference; for football, SOU is an NAIA independent, in Wrestling SOU competes in the NAIA west Regional, they have won the National Wrestling Championship four times in 1978, 1983, 1994, and 2001.Fact|date=September 2008 The wrestling team has 171 All-Americans, more than twice of all other sports combined.Fact|date=September 2008

Culture and recreation

Ashland is home to the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival with an annual repertoire of 11 Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean plays that run from February through October, and to the [http://www.ashlandfilm.org/ Ashland Independent Film Festival] . In nearby historic Jacksonville, the Britt Festival provides classical and popular music concerts. Ashland is also known for a monthly art gallery walk known as [http://www.atasteofashland.com/firstfriday.html "First Friday"] and is also home to the [http://www.sou.edu/sma/ Schneider Museum of Art] .

SOU students are involved in community arts as well. The SOU Public Domain Players co-produces the annual 10-Minute Plays Festival each July. They work together with [http://www.AshlandNewPlays.org/ ArtWork Enterprises] , a group devoted to supporting the development of new play for national stages.

"Outside" magazine rated SOU 20th on a list of U.S. universities, based on recreational opportunities." [http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200309/200309_college_towns_4.html Outside University] ". "Outside". Retrieved 2006-05-05.] Mount Ashland offers winter sports from snowboarding to downhill and cross country skiing. Crater Lake is 90 miles away. Mount Shasta, a 14,162 ft composite volcano of the Cascade Range, is approximately 90 miles away. The Rogue, Klamath and Illinois Rivers offer fishing, white water rafting and kayaking. Klamath Lake, about 160 miles away, offers some of the best birding in the continental United States.

Residence life

There are several Residence Halls on campus, as well as family housing complexes.

*The [http://www.sou.edu/housing/reshall/cascade.html Cascade Complex] is built around the Cascade Food Court. It consists of: Baker Hall, which houses only students 21 years or older (it is a 14 hour quiet hall); Cedar Hall; Diamond and Emerald Halls, which are drug and alcohol free; Forest Hall, which has a community kitchen; Glacier Hall; Hawthorne Hall, which is a multi-cultural hall; and Ivy Hall, a 24 hour quiet hall. All the halls in the Cascade Complex are smoke free.

*The [http://www.sou.edu/housing/reshall/greensprings.html Greensprings Complex] consists of four halls, designated as A, B, C, D. Only students 20 years of age and younger are allowed to stay in the Greensprings Complex.

*The oldest residence hall on campus, [http://www.sou.edu/housing/reshall/susanne.html Susanne Homes] (affectionately called Suzy by those who live there) was built in the 1940s.

*The newest residence hall on campus is the [http://www.sou.edu/housing/reshall/madrone.html Madrone Apartment] complex. The rooms are set up in quad style apartments. Each "quad" consists of four bedrooms, two bathrooms (one shower and either one bathtub or one ADA compliant shower), and one kitchen/living room area. The Madrone Apartments opened in September of 2005.

*The [http://www.sou.edu/housing/famhousing/ Old Mill Village] is a complex of apartments specifically for students attending SOU who have families. The university also has houses available to qualified students.

Notable people

In 1983, future Academy Award nominated filmmaker, Todd Field attended SOU on a music scholarship.

SOU Professor Emeritus Lawson Inada was named Oregon Poet Laureate in 2006, a position that had been vacant since poet William Stafford vacated the post in the early 1990s.

SOU Music Department alumnus Brent Watkins has won a number of national and international piano competitions and prizes.

Actor Joel Moore graduated from SOU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2001.

SOU's Shea Washington was named NAIA Basketball Player of the Year in 2006.

Past presidents

*Elisabeth Zinser (2000-2006)
*Stephen Reno (1994-2000)

References

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/30/education/edlife/gems.html?pagewanted=print]

External links

* [http://www.roguetv.org Rogue Valley Television website]