SOU Budget Update
Over the past two years, we have worked hard to achieve SOU's fiscal stability. We have successfully increased student enrollment and retention as well as our reserves. Winter headcount enrollment reached 5490, a 4.2 percent increase over winter 2008. Our fund balance is almost twice the amount we targeted for this year in our retrenchment plan. We have made outstanding progress.
Now, of course, we face an unprecedented economic crisis throughout Oregon and the nation. SOU has already been asked to return funds allocated for the current biennium, and we may be required to return more before the end of this fiscal year. We undoubtedly will face cuts in the next biennium. I do not know exactly what awaits us; however, we must be prepared to respond strategically.
We need to continue supporting our academic mission and our commitments to student success. We need to continue setting priorities through our planning in academics, enrollment and budget management, fundraising, facilities, and branding. I have asked the vice presidents to review their areas for ways to be more efficient; we need to be prepared to reorganize within and across areas. We will have to do so as appropriate to strengthen our position.
I am also appointing a Financial Strategies Task Force, an ad hoc group that will begin in mid-February and work through June 2009. Composed of members from UPC and the Budget Committee, as well as representatives from students, faculty, and staff, the Task Force will make regular recommendations to the President and the Executive Cabinet during this challenging time.
The group will assist the campus in addressing strategic, big-picture issues. For example: As tuition is the major source of our revenue, how should it be structured to best meet both the financial and enrollment needs of SOU? As compensation is the major cost area of the campus, how can we best address cost savings while minimizing impacts on campus priorities? This group will serve as a think tank to help ensure that a variety of ideas come forward for careful consideration.
Both SOU and higher education have many supporters throughout the state that will work to make our case with the legislature. I remain confident that we will weather this fiscal storm and emerge stronger than ever. However, the coming months will be extraordinarily difficult.
I deeply appreciate the support of this campus and our friends throughout the region. And, as always, I will appreciate your feedback and recommendations as we work through the challenges that lie ahead.
College of Arts and Sciences Presents Darwin Week
To commemorate the 2009 bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species, the College of Arts and Sciences is hosting a weeklong program highlighting Darwin's contributions. The presentations are free and open to the public. See the calendar below for details.
The Alchemy of Mind
Congratulations to international student Flamur Vehapi. On January 29, he gave a reading from his new book of poetry, The Alchemy of Mind. His work is inspired by Rumi and other poets and philosophers, as well as by his own experiences during the 1998–1999 war in Kosovo. The war forced Vehapi and his family (who are Kosovar Albanians) from their country. The book's sixty poems are laced with irony and emphasize our common humanity. His message is one of peace and unity. This is his second book. While still in Albania, he published a book of poems in Albanian featuring drawings of his destroyed home and other wartime scenes.
You can view a video clip of Flamur's reading at the Ashland Daily Tidings website, as well as the accompanying article here.
Oregon Is Indian Country
A special traveling exhibit of Oregon's Native American heritage is on display from February 5 through March 1 in Hannon Library. A reception featuring keynote speaker Agnes Baker Pilgrim (2002 Distinguished Alumna) was held Friday, February 6, at 3 pm. A multi-year collaboration between the Oregon Historical Society's Folklife Program and Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes, the exhibit coincides with the Oregon 150 events celebrating Oregon's 2009 Sesquicentennial.
This groundbreaking project brings all nine Oregon tribes together. To educate people on the stories of Oregon's contemporary tribes, the project presents art forms, historical artifacts, and photographs as well as information on indigenous cultures.
Hannon Library Celebrates Chinese New Year
A special event was held on February 6 at Hannon Library to celebrate the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox, which began on January 26. Dr. Jeff Barlow presented on the History of the Chinese in Oregon, and Kathy Gong Greene performed her Songs of a Chinese Family. Chinese roots can be traced back to the early 1850s in southern Oregon, when the first immigrants arrived in search of gold. Many activities, including a parade in downtown Jacksonville, the site of the first Oregon gold mines, commemorate Chinese contributions to the Rogue Valley.
The February 6 event, as well as a series of events sponsored by the Southern Oregon Chinese Cultural Association, was also part of the Oregon 150 project celebrating Oregon's 150th anniversary.
Gala Choral Concert Celebration
Three of the Rogue Valley's leading community choruses—Siskiyou Singers, Rogue Valley Chorale, and SOU Repertory Singers—along with the SOU Chamber Choir performed a joint concert at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater to celebrate the birthdays of two of the choral canon's greatest composers—Joseph Haydn and George Frideric Handel.
The choirs performed works that included Haydn's Creation and Handel's Judas Maccabeus. The final event of the evening was an ensemble choir of nearly 400 voices (including the audience) performing Handel's Halleluia Chorus. The concert was a tribute to the choral talent of the Rogue Valley and to partnership among the featured organizations.
I hope you enjoy this audio clip of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" from the February 4 concert:
Distinguished Alumnus of the Year
More than eighty alumni and friends gathered in the Rogue River Room on Saturday, January 31, to celebrate the 2008 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Kurt Barthel (Class of 2001). Above is a slideshow of highlights from the event. You can view a high-resolution version at the Alumni website.
Guests were treated to the music of Aaron Blenkush (Class of 2011) and Nick Waroff (Class of 2010). The four-course meal featured local, sustainable products, including EdenVale Wines from the Eden Valley Winery, donated by Anne Root (Class of 1990) and her husband Tim. Anne is president of the SOU Foundation Board.
Kurt began his law enforcement career with the military police when he was a nineteen-year–old in the Air Force. After serving four years of active service and twenty-two years in the Reserves, he eventually retired as a Special Agent with the Office of Special Investigations. Kurt served his country in Vietnam and in the aftermath of 9/11.
In civilian law enforcement, Kurt has worked for twenty-eight years with the Oregon State Police, retiring at the rank of Captain and holding the position of Region Commander.
Kurt's first class at SOU was in 1973; he completed his degree in 2001. He has served his university as an adjunct professor and advisor to many aspiring law enforcement students. He counts his greatest achievement as his thirty-year marriage to his wife, Barbara, and his three very successful daughters, Stephanie Barthel (Class of 2001), Lyndsay Barthel Huffman, and Sara Barthel Corbett.
Below are some of the special guests in attendance that evening:
Alumni Board
Distinguished Alumni
Women's Basketball
The 23rd-ranked Southern Oregon University Women's Basketball Team clinched a first-round home game for the Cascade Conference playoffs with their 70-55 victory over the Warner Pacific Knights Saturday at McNeal Pavilion.
SOU improved to 21-4 overall and 13-3 in Cascade Conference play with the victory. Warner Pacific dropped to 12-13 overall and 8-8 in conference action.
With the win, the Raiders increased their winning streak to 10 games going all the way back to January 6 when they fell to Oregon Tech on the road.
SOU Softball Goes 1-1
The Raiders Softball Team opened up the 2009 season by splitting a pair of games during the first day of the Cal Baptist Lancer Invitational in Riverside, California.
The Raiders fell to Belhaven 3-2 in the opener and then rolled to a 9-1 victory over Indiana Tech in the second game.
Tennis Is 2-0
The Women's Tennis Team improved to 2-0 on the season with an 8-1 victory over Willamette last Saturday in Salem.
SOU defeated Linfield 6-3 Friday night in McMinnville.
Against the Bearcats, the Raiders swept through the singles competition with Charlotte Duren scoring an impressive 6-0, 6-1 victory over Kristen Dedijer in the No. 2 singles match.
Nine to Play Football at SOU
Six high school seniors and three transfers have signed National Letters of Intent to play football at SOU next fall.
Prep stars Zach Barge (South Medford), Tim Pinkerton (Grants Pass), Justin Avriett (Amador Valley), Brett Trimble (San Ramon Valley), Cole McKenzie (Red Bluff) and Wade Kittle (Red Bluff) all signed. Transfers Chad Draper (Modesto Junior College), Kevin Boden (Santa Ana College), and Ben Running (Eastern Oregon) will also suit up in red and black in 2009.
Please join me in welcoming our new Raiders!
Current Events
Arts and Culture
Theatre
Music
Community Events
Darwin Week
Photo Credits (top to bottom, left to right)
A sunny day at Churchill Hall (Paul Talley).
Charles Darwin (public domain).
Librarians Dale Vidmar and Deb Hollens study the "Oregon Is Indian Country" exhibit; Granny Agnes Baker Pilgrim speaks (Rory N. Finney).
Chinese New Year images (courtesy of Hannon Library).
SOU Chamber Choir performance (courtesy of the Ashland Daily Tidings) and audio clip (courtesy of the Music Department).
Highlights from the Distinguished Alumnus Dinner (photos by Jamie Lusch; slideshow by Melissa L. Michaels). Thanks to Professor of Music Rhett Bender and the Siskiyou Saxophone Orchestra for providing the music. The composition, Scott Joplin's "Bethena," was arranged for the orchestra by Associate Dean Vicki T. Purslow.
Women's Basketball Team climbing toward victory (courtesy of Athletics).
