The air is turning crisp, faculty are dusting off their syllabi and University Day is almost here.
The annual fall tradition is a chance for university employees to get together in a casual setting and learn about what’s new at Oregon State University for the coming year.
“I think of it as one of the main opportunities I have every year where I know I’ll be able to interact with people from various departments,” said conference manager Skylar Gunderson-Erhardt, who’s been helping to organize the event within Marketing Services and Solutions. “It’s a chance for us to share the changes that our different offices have gone through that we may not always hear about.”
University Day is Tuesday, Sept. 16, this year and has three main components. First, the new employee welcome breakfast will be from 8:30-10 a.m. at the Toyota Club in Reser Stadium and is open to those who started at OSU on or after Sept. 15, 2024. Breakfast is by invitation only and registration is required.
Next, the keynote address with nonprofit Aspen Institute CEO Daniel Porterfield will be in Detrick Hall in the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts (PRAx) from 10:30 a.m. to noon. It will also be livestreamed.
The University Day Expo in PRAx is the largest portion of the event, with close to 70 vendors tabling this year and an expected attendance of more than 1,000 OSU employees. It offers a free buffet-style lunch (with vegan and gluten-free options included) and runs from noon to 2 p.m.
This year, event planners had to expand into the PRAx parking lot to accommodate all the vendors who wanted to participate in the expo, placing 29 tables outdoors under large tents. The lunch buffet will also be out there, along with covered seating and even picnic blankets for attendees to sit on if they want to eat lunch out in the garden.
The expo is perhaps best known for the unique OSU swag attendees can find there.
“The expo is a fantastic opportunity to explore the many corners of campus and discover what different departments are working on,” Gunderson-Erhardt said. “And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love walking away with some fun OSU swag? I still use tons of stuff I got at the expo last year.”
Last year, for example, Marketing Services and Solutions’ posters of a lumberjack Benny the Beaver flew off the shelves. Other units will have stickers, passes for free meditation or exercise classes, easy sign-ups for faculty-staff programming and other interactive giveaways. And candy — plenty of candy.
Overall, it’s a fun, informative time to share with colleagues, Gunderson-Erhardt said.
“To have a large portion of our campus community in the same place at the same time is a rare opportunity,” she said. “We’re student-focused, and we should be, but it’s good to be looking at each other and what we’re working on, too.”
In addition to the public events, on Monday night, OSU is holding an invitation-only University Day awards banquet to honor faculty and staff who have made outstanding contributions in teaching, advising, mentoring, scholarship and more. The 51 awardees are listed online here.
