What Makes SOU So Unique?

As a member of the SOU community, you are a part of a university that is regionally responsive, nationally recognized, and internationally engaged. Our faculty and staff work closely and collaboratively to prepare future generations for a lifetime of leadership and service in their chosen career fields. If you value a small, highly educated community and big ideals, consider joining the 650 faculty and staff working to provide a high-quality, challenging, and rewarding experience for the 5,500 students who have chosen SOU for their post-secondary education. SOU enjoys a collegial, shared governance system and independent faculty collective bargaining organization.

The University

Southern Oregon University (SOU), known affectionately as "Southern," is a contemporary public liberal arts and sciences university. SOU offers 100 areas of study including 35 majors in the schools of arts and letters, sciences, education, social sciences, and business at the bachelor's and master's levels. An Accelerated Baccalaureate Degree Program and other special opportunities and certificates are also available. It is one of seven universities in the Oregon University System (OUS). Its purpose is to provide intellectual and personal growth through quality education. Southern emphasizes critical thinking, career preparation, and capacity to live and lead in a multicultural, global society. The University's student-to-faculty ratio is19:1, making it ideal for personalized undergraduate instruction. Faculty research and creative work is heavily grounded in partnerships with colleagues, engagement of students, and practical applications in organizations and communities.

Regionally Responsive - SOU serves the whole of southern Oregon and the northernmost counties of California. The University is a major partner in the economic, cultural, and environmental developments of this vast area, offering students valuable opportunities to participate. Southern is the OUS-designated Center of Excellence in the Fine and Performing Arts, and it has emerging strengths in scientific fields and selected professional programs important to the region and state.

SOU serves a growing number of students who commute as much as four hours daily, in addition to providing many educational programs and services at its satellite campus located fifteen miles away in Medford, and through numerous distance-learning programs. Southern has fruitful and growing partnerships with community colleges, especially Rogue Community College (RCC) and the College of the Siskiyous, and with such universities as Oregon Health & Science University.

Nationally Recognized - SOU's rising national reputation is based on the notable research and creative talents of its faculty and staff, as well as its practical liberal learning. Students get valuable hands-on experiences in research and community projects that complement their classroom, laboratory, and studio learning. Southern is one of twenty-one institutions across the nation selected for membership in the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC). It is an active participant in key initiatives of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Faculty members and programs are in leadership roles in national organizations, and their research and teaching endeavors result in a steady stream of recognitions and grant awards.

Internationally Engaged - SOU is engaged internationally through a significant proportion of students from other nations, many exchange programs, and longstanding sister university alliances. Its flagship relationship with the Universidad de Guanajuato, Mexico is well known to international educators throughout North America. SOU's international work grows through the work of faculty around the world including teacher training consultations in Australia and New Zealand, piano performances in China, wine industry research in Spain, France, and South Africa, among others. The number of faculty with international reputations is impressive and increasing.

Ashland Campus

The University's beautiful 175 acre campus is located in the community of Ashland, touted in popular guidebooks, such as The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America and Great Towns of America. The University itself was ranked twentieth in the nation by Outside Magazine (2003) as an ideal place to study, live, and work.

SOU is nearing completion of a major renovation and expansion of the Hannon Library, slated for grand opening in May 2005. The project will nearly double the size of the library and yield a new learning center with contemporary services and technologies, ample study spaces, seminar rooms, reading areas with fireplaces, and a coffee shop.

Ashland and SOU house many special facilities and services, such as the nation's only Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory and the nationally recognized Jefferson Public Radio (JPR). It offers the only Native American Studies certificate and minor programs in Oregon, in addition to providing a popular education program for Native American youth in the summertime. Among its extensive array of programs for youth is the Academia Latina program for middle school Hispanic and Latino children. Southern has an established reputation for the size and scope of its extended programs for senior citizens. It hosts a wide range of special institutes and conferences.

The University's Schneider Museum of Art (SMA) provides major art exhibitions and youth programs, and the Center for the Visual Arts (CVA) features artworks by faculty, student, and visiting artists. SOU is home to the Southern Oregon Singers, the Rogue Valley Symphony, and the Chamber Music Concert Series (CMC). Its Music Department also provides frequent concerts and recitals by exceptional faculty and students. The Department of Theatre shows two seasons with student works. In the summer, Southern hosts the American Band College, a masters program for teachers of band, and the new Theatre Teacher Training Program.

Accreditation

Southern Oregon University is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges. The Department of Chemistry programs have earned approval of the American Chemical Society. The programs of the School of Education are accredited by the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. The Department of Music is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music.

Southern Oregon and Ashland

The southern Oregon region is a uniquely diverse geographic, geological, and ecological area. It is distinguished by rivers; numerous parks including Crater Lake National Park; many lakes; and the convergence of three mountain ranges: the Cascades, the Siskiyous, and the Coast Range. Such qualities give rise to the University's distinctions in environmental studies, as well as its tremendous recreational opportunities.

Steeped in cultural opportunities, southern Oregon and Ashland are focal points for rich cultural activities and organizations - most notably the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) in Ashland and the Britt Music Festivals in Jacksonville - in addition to abundant art galleries and more than two dozen cultural and art museums.

With a population of 20,000, the charming city of Ashland is the home of Southern's main campus. It is a five-hour drive, or a one-hour flight from the Medford International Airport, north to Portland or south to San Francisco.

Ashland benefits from a mild four-season climate. The average rainfall is twenty inches, less than half that of Portland or Eugene. The valley floor is generally free of snow with ample winter recreation opportunities within an easy thirty minute drive.