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The RegionSouthern Oregon is a geographically diverse and historically rich area. The seven-county region served by Southern Oregon University is distinguished by the Rogue River, Crater Lake, the coast, and three mountain ranges: the Cascades, the Siskiyous, and the Coast Range. The 200-mile Rogue River is famous for fishing, rafting, and other recreational activities. This beautiful wild river originates in the Cascade Mountains near Crater Lake and flows southwest and west across the Coast Range to the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach.
Just eighty miles from Ashland, Crater Lake National Park is home to Oregon's most spectacular natural feature. This pristine mountain lake was formed when Mount Mazama erupted 6,600 years ago, leaving behind an enormous caldera. The second deepest lake in North America, Crater Lake measures six miles across and is more than 6,000 feet above sea level.
Tourism, retail sales, and a burgeoning computer industry are the driving forces of the Rogue Valley economy. The region is surpassed only by the Portland area and coastal region in its number of tourist facilities. Ashland alone boasts eighty-five restaurants and ninety-three lodging facilities, sixty-six of which are bed and breakfasts.
Cultural and recreational facilities abound in the Rogue Valley. The region hosts five fairs and thirteen festivals, in addition to twenty-eight art galleries and more than two dozen cultural and arts museums. Recreational facilities include 151 public and 110 commercial campgrounds, seventeen golf courses, three racetracks, two ski areas, two iceskating rinks, and four horse stables. There are sixty-four registered guided tours in the region, many of which are on the Rogue River.
AshlandSOU is located in Ashland at the base of the Siskiyou Mountains in the Rogue Valley. With a population of 20,000, the town is surrounded by forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers, which provide a spectacular setting for outdoor sports and ecological studies. Ashland is also home to the nation's only Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory.
Ashland benefits from a mild four-season climate. The average rainfall in the area is twenty inches, less than half the annual rainfall of Eugene or Portland.
Although the valley floor is generally free of snow, winter recreational facilities are just a thirty-minute drive from campus at the Mount Ashland Ski and Snowboard Resort. At 7,500 feet elevation, the resort provides day and night skiing and has twenty-two downhill runs, ranging from beginner to expert levels. The slopes are served by four chairlifts. The area has numerous cross-country ski opportunities in the nearby Siskiyou and Cascade Mountains. Just minutes from campus, Emigrant Lake offers waterslides, sailing, and a park.
SOU and the community are focal points of cultural activity and have gained national recognition for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and associated theatres, which draw 385,000 patrons annually. Music festivals also abound.
Dozens of restaurants, delis, bakeries, banks, bookstores, ice-cream parlors, specialty shops, and clothing stores are within easy walking distance of campus. A bicycle path leads from SOU to downtown Ashland and beyond.
In addition, Ashland offers an ideal setting for picnics and strolls in Lithia Park, with its duck ponds, paths, arboretum, and gently flowing creek.
The UniversityThe mission of Southern Oregon University is to provide excellent study programs in the liberal arts and sciences, select professional programs, and research and service programs. Degrees are offered at the bachelor's and master's levels.
SOU places strong emphasis on teaching and scholarship. The University's student-to-faculty ratio of 17:1 is ideal for undergraduate instruction. More than 93 percent of SOU faculty hold a PhD or the highest degree in their field.
StudentsNearly 90 percent of SOU's 5,465 students are undergraduates, distributed across thirty-five baccalaureate degree programs ranging from the arts to computer science. More than 10 percent are pursuing graduate work in one of five areas of study. Approximately 900 students reside in the thirteen residence halls located in three main complexes on campus. An additional residence hall is used for educational groups visiting campus. Family housing is also available in Old Mill Village, a 165-unit apartment complex located near campus.
The student body represents a variety of cultures. In addition to students predominantly from the western U.S., more than 129 international students from thirty-three countries are currently enrolled at SOU. SOU alumni are located in forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and many other countries. SOU's international programs also offer study and work exchanges in various parts of the world.
CampusSOU occupies a 175-acre campus with fourteen academic buildings, thirteen residence halls, and other multiuse facilities. All classrooms on campus are accessible to disabled students. Beautifully landscaped grounds and architecturally pleasing buildings provide a pleasant environment for academic endeavors.
Built in 1925, Churchill Hall is the oldest building on campus. It houses many of the administrative offices. The majority of campus buildings were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. Recent projects include the Family Housing Complex, the McNeal Pavilion addition, the Stevenson Union Bookstore addition (1990), the Computing Services Center (1991), the Student ACCESS Center (1995), the Schneider Museum of Art addition (1996), and the Center for the Visual Arts (2000). SOU is currently in the midst of a major renovation and expansion project that will modernize and nearly double the size of its library.
Established in 1984, the Medford Campus provides off-campus students with access to many of the programs and services available on the main campus in Ashland, including degree completion and graduate programs, classrooms, computer labs, registration, academic advising, a bookstore, and distance-learning facilities.
HistorySouthern Oregon University is one of seven institutions in the Oregon University System. A group of Ashland citizens originally founded the School as a private institution in 1869. It was approved as a state normal school by the state legislature in 1882. Along with other normal schools in Oregon, Southern was discontinued due to lack of state support in 1909.
After the normal school closed, a number of local citizens attempted to reopen the Institution. In 1925, the state legislature appropriated funds to establish the Southern Oregon State Normal School. The doors reopened in 1926 for summer session, with enrollment reaching 258 students. Formerly known as the Administration Building, Churchill Hall housed the entire School, including the office of the first president, J. A. Churchill, for whom the building was later named. Churchill was succeeded by the following presidents: Walter Redford, 1932 to 1946; Elmo Stevenson, 1946 to 1969; James K. Sours, 1969 to 1979; Natale A. Sicuro, 1979 to 1986; Joseph W. Cox, 1987 to 1994; and Stephen J. Reno, 1994 to 2000. Ernest Ettlich served as interim president prior to Cox's appointment in 1987, while Sara Hopkins-Powell was president for the interim from July 2000 until August 2001. Dr. Elisabeth Zinser became the University's tenth president in 2001.
All Oregon normal schools were officially renamed colleges of education in the 1940s. As Southern Oregon College of Education (SOCE), the Institution experienced rapid growth following World War II. In 1956, with more than 900 students, it became Southern Oregon College (SOC) to signify its transition to a regional liberal arts college. In 1975, the state legislature changed the name to Southern Oregon State College (SOSC). The Institution was renamed yet again in spring 1997, this time as Southern Oregon University (SOU). This name reflects the present role of the University as a contemporary liberal arts institution serving the state of Oregon and the southern Oregon region through instruction, research, and public service programs.
AccreditationSouthern Oregon University is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. The facilities, faculty, and curricula of the Department of Chemistry are approved by the American Chemical Society. The Education Department is accredited by the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. The Department of Music is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music.
Web SiteSouthern Oregon University's Web site is located at www.sou.edu. The site includes an electronic version of the current catalog, the class schedule, and information about various University facilities and programs.
While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this catalog, Southern Oregon University and the Oregon State Board of Higher Education have the right to make changes at any time without prior notice. This catalog is not a contract between Southern Oregon University and current or prospective students.
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This material is from the 2002-2003 Southern Oregon University Course Catalog. SOU HOME
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