Oregon Institute of Technology

"OIT" redirects here. For other uses, see OIT (disambiguation).

Oregon Institute of Technology
Established	1947
Type	Public
Endowment	$42,465,000
President	Chris Maples
Provost	Brad Burda
Academic staff	139
Admin. staff	222
Students	3927
Undergraduates	3907
Postgraduates	20
Location	Klamath Falls, Oregon, United States 42.25648°N 121.78551°W / 42.25648; -121.78551
Campus	Rural 190 acres (77 ha)
Former names	Oregon Vocational School Oregon Technical Institute
Colors	Blue & Gold
Athletics	NAIA Cascade Collegiate Conference
Sports	11 Varsity Teams
Nickname	Hustlin' Owls
Mascot	Hootie
Affiliations	Oregon University System
Website	www.oit.edu

Oregon Institute of Technology, also known as Oregon Tech or OIT, is an accredited university in the Oregon University System, and the only public institute of technology in the northwest United States. Located in Klamath Falls, Oregon, it provides undergraduate and graduate degrees in many technical and health-related fields. Oregon Tech also maintains four sites in Portland, Oregon, one site in La Grande, Oregon and a partner location with Boeing in Seattle, Washington.

Academics

Oregon Tech has earned a substantial regional reputation for excellent academic programs in the various professional disciplines of engineering, technology and health professions, resulting in its graduates being heavily recruited by companies in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California. Admission information reported by the university indicates an average SAT score and GPA of 1060 and 3.51, respectively, with 85% of the student population being residents of the state of Oregon. Oregon Tech has a dual enrollment agreement with Portland Community College.

Oregon Institute of Technology earned a spot among 650 other four-year baccalaureate colleges in the Forbes 2011 America's Best Colleges list. Oregon Tech also earned U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2012 awards. The awards included placing #8 in the West's best regional baccalaureate colleges and placing alongside the 60 other educational institutions with the best engineering programs in the United States.

Engineering and engineering technology

Oregon Tech currently offers a variety of degrees in engineering and engineering technology, including a well-established program in Civil Engineering, as well as the undergraduate curricula in Renewable Energy Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering Technology, and Electrical Engineering. A study of Civil Engineering graduates revealed 92% were successfully employed within 6 months of earning their degree, with a further 6% enrolled in graduate school.

The college of engineering is recognized for producing graduates with a more comprehensive knowledge of practical design principles (in addition to standard engineering theory) than many other institutions, and has seen extensive recruitment by top corporations and design firms as well as state and federal agencies. Starting salaries for Oregon Tech engineering grads have exceeded the national average in each of the last 5 years.

Geomatics

Oregon Tech currently offers two BS Degrees in Geomatics, one in Professional Land Surveying (PLS) and the other in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Health, arts and sciences

Medical Imaging Technology, Respiratory Care and Dental Hygiene are some of the programs offered by Oregon Tech's College of Health, Arts and Sciences. The programs offered by the College of Health, Arts and Sciences are highly sought after, but also exceptionally competitive. In the summer of 2006, Oregon Tech began construction on a new $22.5 million facility designated the Oregon Center for Health Professions (OCHP), or more locally known as the Martha Anne Dow Center for Health Professions, which is now the new home for its medical-related education.^{[citation needed]} Oregon Institute of Technology is considered one of the regional leaders in health care training, and the university has made clear its intentions to extensively expand its curriculum and enrollment in this area. While the recognition of these programs has been good exposure for the university, there is growing criticism that the ambitious expansion plans propagated by university and state higher education officials will transform the school into simply a health care training institution while traditional university programs like engineering, science, business and management will suffer.^{[citation needed]}

Renewable energy research

Oregon Tech is the only completely geothermally-heated university campus in the United States, and is home to the Geo-Heat Center, a national resource for geothermal development, and the Oregon Renewable Energy Center (OREC), which conducts applied research on photovoltaic power systems, ground-source heating systems, fuel-cell systems, wind, biomass, biodiesel and integrated systems. In 2005, Oregon Tech introduced the first Bachelor of Science degree in Renewable Energy offered in North America. The new program uses electrical and mechanical engineering fundamentals combined with upper-division coursework in renewable energy and energy systems classes to prepare students for careers in the energy sector in general, and renewable energy in particular. The Renewable Energy Engineering degree is offered in both Klamath Falls and Portland.

Information technology

Health Informatics, Application Development, Systems Analysis, Accounting are some of the programs offered by Oregon Tech’s Department of Management in the College of Engineering, Technology and Management. Following the Oregon Tech tradition that supports applied learning, these programs are designed to prepare students for advanced degrees and to be ‘work-ready’ in their chosen careers. One specific example is the Health Informatics Simulation Lab that offers hands-on experiential learning using a wide range of current Healthcare IT applications. Information Technology degrees are offered in both Klamath Falls and Portland.

Many of the courses in all of the Information Technology options are available online. Three programs area available as fully online bachelor degree programs, Information Technology, Operations Management, and Technology and Management B.A.S.

History

Oregon Tech was founded as the Oregon Vocational School in 1947 to train and re-educate returning World War II veterans. Under the direction of Winston Purvine, the first classes were held in a deactivated Marine Corps hospital three miles northeast of Klamath Falls. The following year, the fledgling school's title was changed to the Oregon Technical Institute. In 1953, Associate degree programs in Surveying and Structural Engineering Technologies were first accredited by the Engineers Council for Professional Development. The campus was transferred to its current location in 1964, followed by another name change to the Oregon Institute of Technology in 1973.

Campus

The present Tech campus overlooks Upper Klamath Lake on the outskirts of Klamath Falls, and is directly adjacent to Sky Lakes Medical Center. While the physical location of the school often elicits a favorable response with its views of the lake and mountains, the campus architecture, designed by the architect who designed the U.S. Air Force Academy buildings, is generally regarded as bland, but pragmatic (a common symptom of institutes of technology). The architecture has even been described by one Oregon Tech professor as brutalist. Newer buildings such as Purvine Hall, the Martha Anne Dow Center for Health Professions, the College Union, and the renovated Owens hall embraced a more modern, aesthetically appealing collegiate style. Oregon Tech has a residence hall adjacent to the College Union, and on the West side of campus. The residence hall is often referred to as "The Castle" by students because of its concrete appearance and elevated placement. The university opened a second housing unit titled "The Sustainable Village," or just "The Village," adjacent to the original residence hall for the start of the fall term, in 2009. The Village features an apartment style complex, housing a range of three to five students and one to two bathrooms per one apartment. Many students live off-campus in the residential area south of the college along N. Eldorado Avenue, or elsewhere in Klamath Falls.

Athletics

Oregon Tech competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC), participating in cross-country running, track and field, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball. The mascot for Oregon Tech Athletics is the Hustlin' Owl and is a source of pride for many Tech students.

Oregon Tech's traditional athletic nemesis is Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. The close proximity of the schools and alternate academic foci (science and technology at Oregon Tech, liberal arts at SOU) result in a natural rivalry between the two.

Basketball

Oregon Tech basketball has been consistently competitive in the CCC and at the national level, while earning a somewhat infamous reputation within the conference for its passionate crowds and rowdy student section. In March 2004, the Oregon Tech men's basketball team made school history by winning the NAIA Division II National Championship. They won the NAIA National Championship once again in 2008.

National championships

The Oregon Tech men's basketball team won their first NAIA Division II National Championship against Bellevue University of Bellevue, Nebraska 81-72, on March 18, 2004. They won their second national title in a rematch exactly four years later, to the day, against the Bruins from Bellevue, 63-56 in 2008.

Danny Miles

As of the 2011-2012 season, men's basketball head coach Danny Miles will be in his 41st season at Oregon Tech, and has accumulated a 937-378 record (0.731). This record has earned him the rank of 2nd winningest coach in men's collegiate basketball history at a four-year institution (second to Harry Statham of McKendree University with 1043 wins).

In Miles' tenure at Oregon Tech, he has achieved two nationals wins, one national runner-up, one national third place, two elite eights, 13 district or conference titles, seven district runners-up. His team has ranked in the NAIA Division 2 top-20 on 28 occasions and averages more than 23 wins per season.

Miles earned his 800th win on December 8, 2006 with a 84-73 victory over George Fox University. Miles again, reached a benchmark win at 900 on February 13, 2010 against Southern Oregon University with a final score of 101-76.

Clubs and activities

The university has many different clubs and activities on campus which operate under the umbrella of the school's student government organization, Associated Students of OIT (ASOIT). Among these are student chapters of professional societies, such as the American Society of Civil Engineers and American Dental Hygienists' Association, Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, Phi Delta Theta fraternity, recreational activity programs, special interest groups, cultural awareness organizations, student media, and academic honor societies. Also, Oregon Tech's student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers competes in the annual SAE Mini Baja event.

Degree programs

Master of Science

• Civil Engineering
• Manufacturing Engineering Technology
• Renewable Energy Engineering

Bachelor of Science

• Allied Health Management
• Applied Mathematics
• Applied Psychology
• Biology
• Civil Engineering
• Clinical Laboratory Science (joint degree with OHSU)
• Communication Studies
• Computer Engineering Technology
• Dental Hygiene
• Diagnostic Medical Sonography
• Echocardiography
• Electrical Engineering
• Electronics Engineering Technology
• Environmental Sciences
• Geomatics
• Health Sciences
• Information Technology, with options in:
  • Applications Development
  • Business/Systems Analysis
  • Accounting
  • Health Informatics
• Management, with options in:
  • Accounting
  • Entrepreneurship/Small Business Management
  • Marketing
• Manufacturing Engineering Technology
• Mechanical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering Technology
• Nuclear Medicine Technology
• Nursing (through OHSU School of Nursing)
• Operations Management
• Radiologic Science
• Renewable Energy Engineering
• Respiratory Care
• Software Engineering Technology
• Vascular Technology

Associate Degrees

• Associate of Applied Science
  • Emergency Medical Technology Paramedic (joint degree with OHSU)
  • Respiratory Care
  • Polysomnographic Technology
• Associate of Arts (Oregon Block Transfer)
• Associate of Engineering
  • Computer Engineering Technology
  • Electronics Engineering Technology (only offered in Portland)
  • Software Engineering Technology

External links

• Oregon Institute of Technology (official website)