Today in the News Media


Today in the News Media is a synopsis of some of the most prominent coverage of OSU people and programs. Inclusion of any item constitutes neither an endorsement nor a critique, but rather is intended only to make the OSU community aware of significant items in the media. For more about this section, see: https://today.oregonstate.edu/email/submission-guidelines
 

Superabundant (OPB News)

You may have noticed them in your own garden, sucking the juice from your backyard blackberries: marmorated stink bugs. OPB’s “Think Out Loud” looked at the struggles Oregon farmers are facing battling these invasive insects. You can help Oregon State University track the extent of the problem around the state — check out this information page and follow the link to report sightings.


The best place to live in Oregon (House Digest)

Oregon's cities run the gamut from densely populated Portland to tiny Bellfountain with a population of eight. But you can't go wrong by choosing Corvallis as the best place to live in this multifaceted state. Corvallis earned the No. 11 spot on Livability's Best Places To Live in America list. International study specialists at INTO praise it as one of the nation's top college towns, giving it additional high marks for safety and green initiatives.
 

Strategic reserves in Oregon's forests to prevent biodiversity losses, protect water, and mitigate climate change (ScienMag)

The team of experts led by Dr. Beverly Law at Oregon State University developed a framework for identifying the highest priority areas for protection in Oregon and produced detailed maps that can guide immediate action on biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.
 

Focus on Fruit (PNW Ag Network)

What's being done to help pear growers keep their crop safe after harvest? Oregon State University's Achala KC updates us on the latest research taking place in southern Oregon.
 

New Oregon college scholarships leave some Indigenous students out (Oregonian)

Portland State UniversitySouthern Oregon UniversityOregon State University and other state universities also announced this year that members of federally recognized tribes based anywhere in the country can qualify for in-state tuition. The University of Oregon went a step further and waived tuition and fee costs for undergraduates who live in Oregon but belong to a tribe in other states. It’s common, for example, for Indigenous Oregon residents to be enrolled in one of Alaska’s 228 recognized tribes.
 

Today's photo


Ice flowers: Rae Sidlauskas, professional counselor associate at OSU, submitted this photo of frost on her garden. We are accepting photo submissions at [email protected].

Timely Teaching Tips: Thinking about alternate approaches to assessment in future courses? Looking for ways to put more emphasis on learning and less on grading? See Assessment Design Considerations for Ungrading and Part 2: Strategies by Ecampus senior instructional designer Nadia Jaramillo for an overview of the concept of ungrading and its practices, potential benefits and challenges to implementation. 

Today 

OSUsed Store Public Sales: The OSUsed Store carries furniture, computers, household items, office supplies and more, at 644 SW 13th St. Public sales are open to all shoppers this Tuesday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. and Friday, noon to 3 p.m.; details here. Staff may shop for their department Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; details here.

Meat Center: The Clark Meat Science Center retail store will be open Friday from noon to 6 p.m. Products include fresh and cooked/smoked sausages, bacon, retail cuts, jerky and snack sticks. The store is at 3260 SW Campus Way, next to the Motor Pool. Contact [email protected] for questions regarding the store.

Department of Integrative Biology Ph.D. defense seminar: Dan Schneck will present “Phenotypic and Transcriptomic Evolution of the Circadian Clock Network in an Intertidal Marine Crustacean” on Friday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. in person in LINC 314. Or join via Zoom: https://beav.es/DanSchneckPhD. Schneck is completing his Ph.D. in integrative biology under the guidance of Felipe Barreto.

Events

Cutest pet photo contest: Hosted by the Fish and Wildlife Graduate Student Association, this fundraiser is open until 5 p.m. Dec. 16. Photo entrance fees are $5 for students and $15 for other folks per photo. After that, you'll get emails to vote through weekly brackets (it’s a great dopamine rush), and the winner’s human gets a free portrait of their cute pet. Submission link: https://forms.gle/D3QwRptPFMVHydpF7.

Retirement Celebration for Jon Dolan: Jon Dolan, Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO) has formally announced that he will retire from OSU on Dec. 31. Please join University Information and Technology (UIT) and the OSU IT community for an open house at the Memorial Union, Room 109 on Dec. 13 from 3-5 p.m. to congratulate Jon on his retirement and thank him for his extraordinary service to OSU. 

Lectures, Workshops, Webinars

NEW! EMT Seminars: Tyler Radniecki will speak on “Making wastewater surveillance useful: Going from fringe laboratory concept to state-wide implementation in 4 months,” Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 3:30 p.m. This will be a hybrid seminar, in person in ALS 4001 and via Zoom. Join Zoom meeting: https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/93596989146.

Adult & Higher Education Doctoral information session: You’re invited to learn about the College of Education’s Adult & Higher Education Ed.D. program Thursday, Dec. 15, noon to 1 p.m. Please RSVP for the Zoom link and password. Contact [email protected] for questions or accommodation requests.

Floor Monitor Training: Training for Floor Monitors and Building Managers on roles and responsibilities when evacuating their building. Training is the second Wednesday of every month via Zoom. Sign up for Zoom Floor Monitor Training at: https://oregonstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1ZhCgowN8AukjPf.

Coaches Clinic: Teambuilding and Culture, Jan. 18. OSU kinesiology faculty show you how to support connection, encourage learning and create community as a youth sports coach. The College of Public Health and Human Sciences' next Coaches Clinic event is Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hallie Ford Center 115. Create a positive culture with rituals, routines and practices for your team. Registration required

Environmental and Molecular Toxicology Research Symposium: Come explore the intersections between chemistry, biology, epidemiology and regulatory science on Friday, Jan. 20 in The LaSells Stewart Center. Speakers include current students and staff and EMT alumni from industry, government and academia. There will be a career Q&A and a poster session. Registration is free. https://emt.oregonstate.edu/research-symposium.

Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue: Learn skills for creating alignment and agreement by fostering open dialogue around high-stakes, emotional or risky topics. Discover how to speak and be heard (and how to encourage others to do the same), surface the best ideas, make the highest-quality decisions and act on your decisions with unity and commitment. View dates for the Winter 2023 and Spring 2023 courses and register here. There is a $100 fee to attend this workshop.

SJEI workshop registration open through spring 2023, with in-person and remote options. The Social Justice Education Initiative is a professional development program for all faculty, staff and graduate students. SJEI workshops are infused with expertise, empathy and humor while embracing a guiding principle of “more curiosity, less judgement” to achieve robust learning objectives. Learn more, see the workshop schedule and register on the SJEI registration page or contact SJEI director Jane Waite at [email protected].

Take Note

NEW! 25 Year club: Congratulations to Peggy Nichols, medical assistant manager, for being inducted into the 25 Year club at OSU. You can read more about their time at OSU and others inducted into the club by clicking on their name.

NEW! Why should I give via the Charitable Fund Drive? When you give through the CFD, 100% of your donation goes to the organization(s) you designate! All CFD costs — less than 10% of funds raised — are paid by the participating charities. And by giving during this OSU campaign, you help boost OSU’s reputation as a kind, generous neighbor, all while making a positive impact in Oregon. It’s easy with online pledging and payroll deduction: https://www.ipledgeonline.org/_cfduniversities/

NEW! English conversation classes: Crossroads Conversation School for Women invites international women to join us this winter for English conversation classes. In volunteer-taught classes, students will explore other cultures, practice English and develop friendships. This term we are offering both in-person classes (for students of all levels) and an online class (for intermediate and advanced English learners). Classes begin Jan. 10. For more details and registration information see https://www.facebook.com/CrossroadsConversationSchool or contact Kara Hanson at [email protected].

MLK event submissions: Event submissions for the 41st annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration are now open. An important part of the Commemoration are events organized by Oregon State community members across the state to collaboratively carry on the legacy and teachings of Dr. King. We encourage community members to submit an event or learn more by going to the event page. Event submissions will be accepted until Dec. 21.

Grants to support undergraduate student experience and improve retention! Since 2003, the OSU Women's Giving Circle has supported the university with 178 awards totaling over a million dollars. They are seeking applications for programs and projects which enhance the OSU undergraduate student experience and improve student retention. The average grant amount is $5,000-$10,000. Application deadline: Jan. 9 at 9 a.m. Applications, additional criteria, and further information can be found at fororegonstate.org/wgc_grant or by contacting the Women’s Giving Circle staff liaison, Sara Dier.

GCE4All Free Webinar Series: Register for the International Genetic Code Expansion Webinar, a free monthly webinar series, open to all, featuring talks focused on cutting-edge applications of GCE technologies as well as advances in the GCE field. It is organized by the Oregon State University GCE4All Research Center and hosted by Rick Cooley and John Lueck. To register: https://oregonstate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vTb9mXiISqSNSeNfnzKJrQ. The webinars run from October through June and occur on the third Thursday of each month at 7 a.m. Learn more on the International GCE Webinar webpage

Honors College Colloquium Proposals: OSU tenured/tenure-track, senior instructor and emeritus faculty are invited to submit honors colloquium proposals for 2023-2024 at honors.oregonstate.edu/course-proposals. Any general catalog course can also be offered as a small, highly-engaged honors course; interested faculty should contact [email protected] for details. Faculty may apply for Meehan course development grants of up to $3,000 to develop experiential learning opportunities for honors courses and colloquia. More information: [email protected] or 541-737-6412. Deadline: Jan. 15.

Deadline Extended: OSU's Open Educational Resources Unit is accepting proposals for the Affordable Learning Grant until Dec. 15. The grant provides funding to adopt, adapt or author an open educational resource, such as a textbook. An open textbook is one that is published under an open copyright license and is made freely available online for students, faculty and the public. All funding is a department-to-department transfer. Please talk to your department head about how this applies to the grant. Questions? Contact OERU Director Stefanie Buck

OSU Women’s Giving CircleEach year the OSU Women's Giving Circle funds vital and innovative grants for university programs. Last year, the Women’s Giving Circle awarded more than $70,000 to 11 OSU programs. If you have an idea for a funding opportunity to enhance the OSU undergraduate student experience and improve student retention and the determination to directly impact as many OSU students as possible, consider applying for an OSU Women’s Giving Circle grant by Jan. 9. For more information, visit the Women’s Giving Circle proposal site or contact Sara Dier.

Free COVID tests: Free iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Tests are available on the Corvallis and Bend campuses and at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Each box contains two tests. While supplies last, OSU community members can pick up these self-test kits without restrictions. Please note the FDA has extended the self-test kit expiration dates by six months.

Traffic and Maintenance

NEW! Fairbanks Hall: As part of the Fairbanks Hall renovation project, the parking lot west of Fairbanks Hall will be closed for Winter Break to allow for scheduled contractor work to be executed efficiently. Spaces with EV stations and ADA spaces located in this lot will be offline for use. (view map)

Washington Way traffic disruption: As part of the Washington Way Improvement Project, significant traffic impacts will occur the week of Dec. 12-16, along and near SW Washington Way. Dec. 12: The intersection of SW 26th Street & SW Washington Way will be flagged. Only northbound traffic will be allowed on SW 26th Street north of SW Washington Way to SW Intramural Way. Dec. 13: The intersection of SW 26th St & SW Washington Way will be closed for waterline installation. Dec. 14-15: SW Washington Way closed from 26th Street to 30th Street for waterline installation. Dec. 16: SW Washington Way closed from 17th Street to 26th Street & 26th Street to 30th Street for paving. The intersection at SW 26th Street & SW Washington Way will be open.  View map.

Student Legacy Park South parking lot: As part of the Washington Way Improvement Project, Student Legacy Park South parking lot, the parking lot directly north of SW Washington Way, will be permanently closed. (view map). For questions or comments on this closure, contact construction manager Derek Bennett at 541-609-6111.

Street and sidewalk closure on Washington Way: As part of the Washington Way Improvement Project, SW Washington Way will be closed daily between SW 26th and SW 17th Streets to begin water line replacement. Work will occur Nov. 30, 2022 through Jan. 6 from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. This portion of Washington Way will reopen to vehicle traffic after 5 p.m. daily. (View map) The sidewalk on the north side of Washington Way will also be closed, and an alternate pedestrian route will be identified with signage. For questions or comments on this closure, contact construction manager Derek Bennett at 541-609-6111.

Weather

"Obviously, you would give your life for your children, or give them the last biscuit on the plate. But to me, the trick in life is to take that sense of generosity between kin, make it apply to the extended family and to your neighbour, your village and beyond." ~ Tom Stoppard

Corvallis: Chance of showers and then rain, high of 46, low of 38. Rain and showers through the weekend.

Central Oregon: Slight chance of snow today, high of 34, low of 29. Chance of snow through the weekend.

Newport: Rain and breezy today and tomorrow, high of 48, low of 38. Chance of showers Sunday.

Statewide: For OSU employees around the state, find your local forecast here: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/.