Employee Profile

10 Questions With… Janet Nishihara, executive director, Educational Opportunities Program

By Molly Rosbach on May 9, 2025

Nishihara is retiring at the end of June after 42 years of working at OSU, serving thousands of students. A celebration in her honor takes from 2-5 p.m., May 15, in the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center.

What originally brought you to Oregon State?

Growing up in Eastern Oregon, my parents always told us we had to go to college (at least partially because they had not had the opportunity), that we needed to go to an Oregon college because of cost, and it could be any big college in Oregon – just not that hippie one in Eugene!