Volume II: Issue 20
Celebration of Life: Karl Ayers
Nearly 150 family and friends gathered in the Stevenson Union last Tuesday, October 27, to celebrate the life of Karl Blake Ayers. During his time on the SOU campus, Karl was actively involved in student government and the campus community. He had a passion for the sciences, especially math, and Karl shared that passion by tutoring many students and grading papers for math and chemistry professors.
Last year, Karl moved to Central Valley to pursue his dreams of skydiving and becoming a videographer. He spent the past year working as an aerial photographer filming skydives at Parachute Center in Lodi, California.
He is the son of Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice Lee Ayers. We extend our deepest sympathy to Lee and the rest of her family during this time of grief.
Anyone wishing to make a donation in Karl’s name may do so at the Sparrows Club, a group Karl worked with that assists children in medical crisis through community service and fundraising projects.
SOU’s EPA Standing
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named SOU to the Top 20 list of Green Colleges and Universities at the recent National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference. This is great news for us.
The EPA’s Green Power Partnership is a collaboration between the EPA and Fortune 500 companies, regional and federal governments, and a growing number of colleges and universities to buy renewable power.
By purchasing more than 26 million kilowatts in renewable energy certificates, SOU has been admitted into the Green Power Leadership Club—designed specifically for organizations that meet ten times the minimum requirements. Thanks to support from the campus and community, SOU met the minimum requirements by a staggering fifty times!
Election News Coverage
I am very proud of all our students who played such a crucial role in registering voters for this historic presidential election. Congratulations to the Student Vote Coalition and ASSOU for registering more than 1,300 students over the past month alone.
Our faculty and students have also joined forces to bring us up-to-the-minute election news. Howard Schreiber's Video Production class, Terrie Claflin's reporting class, and Dennis Dunleavy’s photojournalism and University Seminar classes have created a blog to provide election night coverage. You can visit their blog here.
The Medford Mail Tribune recently featured an article on our politically engaged students.
Master Academic Plan
Provost James Klein seeks input from faculty, staff, and students on the Master Academic Plan. With implementation scheduled for spring 2008, the plan will feature goals to improve student and faculty support, enhance our national profile, and increase enrollment and academic planning for graduates and undergraduates.
The current draft is posted on the Provost’s website, and subsequent drafts will be added as amendments are made. Comments or questions are welcome. You may send any suggestions for additions and changes to the first draft by Friday, November 7.
Soccer
The Women's Soccer team scored the first playoff win in program history with a 1-0 victory over Northwest Saturday night at Lake Washington High School. The Raiders travel to the College of Idaho on Wednesday for the Cascade Conference semifinals. SOU's Chelsey O'Neil scored at the 35-minute mark on a beautiful pass from Kelly Cates to give SOU the only score of the match. The Raiders’ victory was highlighted by three key late saves by freshman keeper Jessica Kuehlwien.
Volleyball
Our volleyball team scored a key five-set victory over Oregon Tech last week, taking the upperhand in the battle for second place in the Cascade Conference standings. The Raiders are now one match back of the College of Idaho with one week of regular season action remaining. Last Friday was senior night for SOU's lone senior Mia Wortel. The All-American ranks among SOU's career leaders in kills, blocks and attack percentage.
Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees
Congratulations to Vern Dulany, Tommie Smith, Jill Carrier, Kerm Bennett, and Melissa Bogh for being inducted into the SOU Athletics Hall of Fame during this year's Homecoming! We are proud of their achievements and grateful for their continued involvement with the University.
