Every year, around 30 civic-minded undergraduates from across OSU get firsthand experience with state policymaking through the University Legislative Scholars program.
Participants visit the Oregon Legislature in Salem, advocate on behalf of OSU with lawmakers and hear from guest speakers including elected officials, lobbyists and OSU President Jayathi Murthy, all to help them understand how policy is developed and goes on to affect society.
“I think we have a responsibility as a university and as faculty to train students to think critically about the most important issues of the day,” said David Rothwell, program director and an associate professor in the College of Health, where he also holds the Knudson Endowed Chair in Family Policy. “That’s the mission of this program.”
ULS is structured as a two-credit class that participating students take in fall, winter and spring term, meeting a total of 30 times per year. Juniors and seniors from all majors at OSU are eligible, and Rothwell said he’d like to see a greater diversity of disciplines, as the majority of students currently come from the School of Public Policy within the College of Liberal Arts.
“I want more students in other schools and colleges to see that whatever field you’re studying, there’s a policy connected to it, whether that’s AI and technology, microplastics or marine offshore energy,” Rothwell said. “We all have a role to play in making society a better place.”
The program was created in 2018 by Jock Mills, the now-retired former director of OSU’s Government Relations team. He called it Presidential Student Legislative Advocates and recruited students who had been nominated by their deans to advocate for OSU’s legislative priorities in Salem during the 2019 session. In 2024-25, the program was officially brought under the Provost’s Office as experiential learning. Rothwell, who is affiliate faculty in SPP, also became program director last year.
A major component of the curriculum is guest speakers, Rothwell said. Students get real face-time with leaders like Murthy, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, multiple state senators and representatives, Oregon Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson and influential lobbyists in fields like health and the environment.
ULS has an advisory board made up of state lobbyists and campaign strategists who play an active role in the curriculum by facilitating connections and relationships between the program and state leaders.
OSU academic faculty also speak to the class about their areas of expertise, and going forward Rothwell hopes to host more faculty speakers whose work has a policy component.
The program's end-of-year banquet, with Rothwell in the back row in a blue shirt.
Each year, OSU organizes “lobby days” where university leaders and student representatives visit the Capitol to discuss university priorities with elected officials. Last year, students in ULS participated in these events as well as a separate class visit to the Legislature.
“Elected leaders want to hear from students. It was surprising to me the welcome and the open arms they get when they go to the Capitol and represent OSU and talk about being students,” Rothwell said. “Many of Oregon’s elected leaders have OSU connections, and they represent people going to college — they want to know about these issues from their key constituents.”
Regardless of their major or background, the students who join ULS share a passion for getting involved and making a difference in their community, Rothwell said.
“They have an interest in shaping the future of society through policy, and they happen to be leaders and exceptional students in many ways,” he said. “They’re engaged in society; all of them are doing internships and research, thinking about grad school, thinking about law school, volunteering on political campaigns. For me as a professor, it’s an amazing opportunity to work today with OSU students who will be society’s leaders tomorrow.”
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