Welcome to OSU Today
Your daily news source about all things Oregon State.
OSU Today is published by University Relations and Marketing and is the university’s primary internal communications publication. Submit events, lectures and other activities via the OSU Main Calendar. To submit story ideas and general announcements, email us at [email protected]. Fill out the form here to subscribe to the twice-weekly digest.
On OPB this week
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Oregon State University, where veterans on staff can gain support and find community from a new affinity group.
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Oregon State University, whose researchers found playful people were the most resilient during the pandemic.
Campus News
News from the Colleges
News Releases
Photo of the Day
Hummingbird visitor: Zuzana Vejlupkova, FRA II in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, says “I took this Anna’s hummingbird photo on our backyard feeder the morning of Feb. 14 as the snow was melting.” We are accepting photo submissions at [email protected]. To view past submissions, visit us on Instagram at @osutoday1.
Take Note
Spring Break: OSU Today's digest will only publish on Monday next week for Spring Break. Our website will continue to be updated through the week.
NEW! 2025 Bray Health Leadership Lecture with sports medicine doctor April 8: Dr. Kimberly Harmon, MD, has built a career caring for college athletes’ health and serving and advising organizations such as the NCAA, Pac-12, NBA, NFL and NHL. Hear her lecture at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, in the MU Horizon Room. Two student-focused forums will be held on careers in health and sports medicine, and building a research portfolio. Visit health.oregonstate.edu/bray to RSVP for the lecture and learn more about the forums and Dr. Harmon.
NEW! It’s time to accelerate your startup, technology and/or business idea: The OSU Advantage Accelerator is offering a virtual Accelerate program starting this April. In just nine weeks, streamline your value proposition, get to market faster, and validate your product-market fit. The Accelerate program is open to OSU researchers, students and staff, and the Corvallis community who intend to start or grow an entrepreneurial venture and can qualify teams to receive NSF I-Corps funds. The fun starts April 8. Learn more and apply here.
NEW! Spring Family Weekend: Spring Family Weekend is about six weeks away, with events happening throughout the weekend of May 2-4. We’d like to encourage you to host an event for students and their families to attend together. Our most successful events are simple and fun, like Bingo, walking tours, and research lab visits. Consider hosting an event and letting us know about your plans through our Qualtrics link. The deadline to submit your event is just three weeks away, April 8 by the end of the day, so that we have time to advertise and promote your events. Reach out to [email protected] for help or questions.
NEW! Mid-Month Emergency Preparedness Topic: Medications. Do you have three weeks of medication in case of an emergency? Keeping an ongoing supply of medication may be imperative if a disaster strikes and pharmacies are shut down. English and Spanish versions of this bulletin can be found here.
Timely Teaching Tips: The end of the term is an apt time to think about improving a course for future terms. See Enhancing Course Quality by Ecampus senior instructional designer Deborah Mundorff. Collecting ongoing feedback from students, utilizing tech tools such as Copilot, seeking support from colleagues, and embracing constructive criticism can contribute to improvements in course quality.
Discontinuation of Lifetime Email Forwarding Service for Alumni: OSU’s lifetime email forwarding service will be retired on June 30, 2025. The service provided graduates with a lifetime.oregonstate.edu email alias, which forwarded messages to their chosen accounts. Due to evolving email security standards, this service will be discontinued. University Information and Technology (UIT) will be communicating with lifetime email alias holders and supporting this transition. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Service Desk.
Applied Sustainability: The Oregon Applied Sustainability Program (OASIS) is a paid 11-week (June 16 - Aug. 29) internship program that places 3rd and 4th year undergraduate and graduate level students into Oregon based businesses to achieve sustainability and pollution prevention goals while gaining hands on experience. Eligible students will be passionate about environmental science, engineering, sustainability, green chemistry or environmental policy and work that prevents pollution and waste. More information can be found on the OASIS website. The application deadline is 4 p.m., April 16.
2025-2026 PRAx Student Fellowships: This one-year fellowship offers Oregon State graduate and advanced undergraduate students the opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary creative project connected with OSU research. Fellows will receive $1,000, engage in ongoing networking and professional development with mentors and present their projects in a public exhibition. Applicants will be asked to provide a sample of previous work and the name of one confirmed mentor. Faculty are encouraged to invite students who might benefit to apply. Visit the PRAx Student Fellowship opportunity page for info. Deadline: March 21.
Yoga & Meditation Scholarships for OSU Students: Students are invited to apply for financial support to attend classes and programs at Marigold. We offer drop-in yoga, meditation, yoga nidra, and dance classes. Upcoming contemplative programs include Intro to Buddhism and Poetry as Portal. Marigold is a contemplative practice center located in downtown Corvallis. Apply for a scholarship or contact us.
Crossroads Conversation School for Women invites international women to join us this spring for English conversation classes. Students will practice English, explore other cultures, and develop friendships in volunteer-taught classes. We offer both in-person classes (open to students of all levels) and an online class (for intermediate and advanced English learners). Classes begin on April 1. For more details and registration information click here or contact Kara Hanson at [email protected].
Change in work request system for Facilities Services. Starting March 10, the user interface system for entering and updating work requests for Facilities Services is updated. This change leverages the existing interface provided by the current system used to enter and track the management of university facilities, including work requests. These changes are designed to provide better transparency into the status of work requests.
Student employment: National Student Employment Week is April 14-18. Please consider ways to show appreciation for your student staff. Tips to celebrate your student employees can be found on NSEA. Tell us how you plan to highlight your student workers during National Student Employment Week.
Stater Awards: The College of Engineering is now accepting nominations for the 2025 Oregon Stater Awards. The Oregon Stater Awards honor outstanding alumni for their contributions to the engineering profession and to Oregon State University. There are three award categories determined by length of career and accomplishments. Awards include the Engineering Hall of Fame, Academy of Distinguished Engineers, and the Council of Outstanding Early Career Engineers
Oregon Savings Growth Plan: Employees can meet with David Rayburn, financial consultant from OSGP to discuss your financial goals and savings plans for retirement. There is no cost for these consultations and they are available to all employees no matter what stage you are at in your career. Appointments are available on OSU Corvallis Campus Tuesday March 25, Schedule online at https://osu-osgp1-1s.timetap.com/
Employee Connections: Employee Connections is a virtual place for staff to meet, discuss, and connect! It doesn't matter how long you've worked for OSU--whether six weeks or six years, this is a place to discuss relevant OSU topics, events, and successes. We highlight belonging resources and local events after group icebreakers and discussion(s). Register here.
Expenses policy: We are seeking feedback on a new policy for prepaid expenses. For more information and instructions on how to provide your valued feedback, please visit Policy Review on the CU Policy Program website.
Calendar
Around Campus
OSU in the News
Oregon colleges and universities are not wavering amid federal attacks on DEI (OPB News)
Oregon State University, as well as other institutions in the state, believe their programs and curriculum are already compliant with both state and federal civil rights laws and no changes are necessary. In a letter sent to the Oregon State campus community on Feb. 17, OSU Vice President of University Relations Rob Odom said OSU does not make admissions, hiring, housing or other related decisions based on race, color or national origin.
OSU Board of Trustees approves 2025-26 tuition hikes averaging 4.9% on Corvallis, Bend campuses (KTVZ)
The Oregon State University Board of Trustees on Friday approved increases in tuition rates and student fees for the 2025-26 school year. The average undergraduate tuition and fee increase will be 4.9% for students at Oregon State’s Corvallis campus and OSU-Cascades in Bend. Continuing students will see a 4.8% increase, and rates for new students will increase 5.3%, the university said in a news release.
Massive shark is being tracked near Florida coast, just in time for spring break (Penn Live)
“If sharks wanted to eat people, there would be a whole lot less surfers in the water,” said Taylor Chapple, assistant professor and founder of the Big Fish Lab at Oregon State University, in an interview with told Fox News Digital. “We’re just not on their menu.”
First there were gray whales. Now Dungeness crab, tufted puffins and big sharks are competing to be on your car (Yachats News)
Oregon State University’s Big Fish Lab this month began floating a “Vibrant Ocean” plate, which features three shark species commonly found in the waters off the coast. Project backers say that proceeds from the plate could go a long way toward both financing future shark research and educating the public about the role these so-called “apex predators” play in Oregon’s coastal marine ecosystem.
Learn about the caddisfly with ecologist Judy Li (OPB News)
Oregon State University professor emeritus Judy Li’s lifelong love of all the critters that make their homes in our local creeks is contagious.
Organic seed conference a place to ‘scheme and dream’ (Farm Progress)
The conference drew 400 to the Oregon State University campus and another 200 to 300 participated virtually on Feb. 28 and March 1.
AI scientists are skeptical that modern models will lead to AGI (New Scientist)
The hype around AI technologies may explain why 80 per cent of survey respondents also said current perceptions of AI capabilities don’t match reality. “Systems proclaimed to be matching human performance – such as on coding problems or mathematics problems – still make bone-headed mistakes,” says Thomas Dietterich at Oregon State University, who contributed to the report. “These systems can be very useful as tools for assisting in research and coding, but they are not going to replace any human workers.”
OSU-Cascades Child Care Center under construction (My Central Oregon)
An on-campus child care center at Oregon State University – Cascades will serve children ages infant through preschool and is anticipated to open in August.
Is it too early to start planting? Essential gardening tips no matter where you live (USA Today)
"I’m anticipating a renewed interest in budget gardening and learning how to grow food," said Brooke Edmunds, a community horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. "We did a seed and houseplant swap recently that had 347 people attend Our 'gardening on a budget' classes all have waitlists. Folks are really trying to stretch their dollars."
Cynthia Engel rejoins OSU-Cascades to lead student career development (KTVZ)
Cynthia Engel, a leader with nearly 25 years of experience in higher education, has rejoined Oregon State University-Cascades as director of career services.
OSU facility aids in return of tribal cultural items and ancestral remains (Think Out Loud)
Oregon State University recently opened a new facility designed to advance its NAGPRA obligations. The two buildings house a records room, a laboratory and a space to consult with tribal members as they move through the repatriation process. The new buildings are also better equipped than the old facility to store cultural items and remains of tribal ancestors awaiting return.
Food Drive Events
Traffic and Maintenance
NEW! Scheduled: Street Closure, South Bound 30th Street between North Orchard and Campus Way: Due to the pruning of trees, south bound 30th Street between North Orchard and Campus Way (see map) will be closed March 25, from 7 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. For questions or comments on this closure, contact Chris Trine at 541-737-3488.
NEW! Dixon: Due to construction and roofing work happening at Dixon Recreation Center, the ADA accessible path that runs along the north and east sides of Dixon will be closed starting on Monday, March 24. This will be a long-term closure which is scheduled to end on Friday, Oct. 10. Bike parking on the east side of Dixon will be closed for the duration of this project. All bikes must be removed from the bike racks before Monday, March 24. Any remaining bikes will be removed by the OSU Department of Public Safety. The east entrance to Dixon Rec Center will be closed.
Use extra caution & avoid construction zones on Washington Way: Infrastructure along SW Washington Way is currently undergoing improvements and the area around SW Washington Way and SW 17th St. is an active construction site. For your safety, please detour around work zones (marked with barriers). We recommend allowing more time to travel around campus as this project continues. For more information about construction work on SW Washington Way and the current closure schedule, click here. If you require accommodations or assistance crossing the SW Washington Way construction zone, please contact [email protected].
Features
