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Oregon State University

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Template:OSU taxobox

Oregon State University (OSUTemplate:Fn) is a public research and degree-granting four-year university located in Corvallis, Oregon. Total student enrollment (undergraduate and graduate) is more than 19,000, 79% of whom are Oregon residents, while 6% hail from other countries.

OSU offers more than 200 academic degree programs and is most noted for engineering, environmental sciences, forestry, oceanography and pharmacy. The school has more majors, minors, and special programs than any other college in Oregon and offers a University Exploratory Studies Program for students who wish to investigate their options for a major field. The university also receives more research grant funds annually than the rest of the Oregon University System schools combined.

The 577 acre (2.34 km²) campus, located in the middle of the fertile Willamette Valley, is in proximity to a good deal of farmland, an excellent foundation for its agricultural programs. Corvallis, with more than 50,000 permanent residents, is noted for its extensive public library, and it's home to the second largest Hewlett-Packard manufacturing site in the world. OSU was recently rated the "Safest campus in the Pac-10" in a study by the University of Southern California.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classifies Oregon State as Doctoral/Research-Extensive, one of only four such universities in the Pacific Northwest. Research is done by the university at many locations throughout the state, including its Seafood Laboratory in Astoria, Food Innovation Laboratory in Portland, and at the Mark O. Hatfield Marine Science Center on Yaquina Bay in Newport. OSU manages approximately 14,000 acres (57 km²) of forest, including the McDonald-Dunn research forest.

OSU has a branch campus (OSU-Cascades Campus) in Bend, Oregon.

History

Early Action

File:Oregon State University clock tower.png
Oregon State University Bell Tower

1851 marks the first action in the formation of what was originally known as Corvallis Academy, the area's first community school for primary and preparatory education. In 1858 the name was changed to Corvallis College and it was formally incorporated by six local citizens.

The first college level curriculum was offered in 1865 when the school was under the administration of the Methodist Episcopal Church. OSU dates its history back to October 27, 1868, known as OSU Charter Day. On that day, the Oregon Legislative Assembly designated Corvallis College as the "Agricultural College of the State of Oregon" and the recipient of Land Grant fund income derived from the sale of 90,000 acres (364 km&sup2) in southeast Oregon. As part of this designation, the college was required to comply with the requirements set forth in the First Morrill Act signed by President Lincoln when Land Grant colleges were established in 1862. The name was changed to Corvallis State Agricultural College and was then authorized to grant the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Master of Arts degrees. The first degrees were granted, that of Bachelor of Arts in 1870.

Oregon Agricultural College (OAC)

In 1890 the college became known as Oregon Agricultural College (OAC). Orange was adopted as the school color, with black as the background. The noted Olmstead Brothers developed the first Campus Master Plan in 1909, emphasizing trees and an architectural harmony showcasing basic classical forms in brick with dignified entrances. The current campus stays mostly integrated to this original plan, laid on a grid of wide, tree-lined streets with the well-spaced buildings highlighted by open lawns and tall, clustered trees.

File:Memorial Union at Oregon State University.png
Memorial Union

The current beaver mascot was adopted in 1910, replacing "Jimmie," the coyote, selected in 1893 to be the school's original mascot. The college was also one of the four charter members of the Pacific Coast (Athletic) Conference formed in 1915, and is now known as the Pac-10. The Army ROTC became active in 1917, replacing the original Cadet Corps formed by students studying Military Science.

OAC began a horticultural products processing program in 1919, the first of its kind in the United States. The modern maraschino cherry was developed by the program in 1925 by Prof. Ernest H. Weigand. Accreditation was granted in 1924 by the Northwest Association of Higher and Secondary Schools.

Oregon State Agricultural College (OSAC)

1927 marked yet another name change, this time to Oregon State Agricultural College. The Oregon Unification Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly in 1929 placed the school under the auspices of newly formed Oregon State Board of Higher Education.

Doctoral education was first provided in 1935 with the conferral of four Doctor of Philosophy degrees, three in Agriculture and one in Science. This year also saw the creation of the first summer session, starting a system of year-round operation for the college. At this point, the degree programs offered were sufficiently diverse to warrant yet another name change in 1937, simply to Oregon State College.

Naval ROTC, and the program of Naval Sciences, were added to the existing Army ROTC program in 1946. The Air Force ROTC program was included in 1949, making Oregon State one of only 33 universities in the country to offer officer training for all branches of the United States Armed Forces.

File:Osu-beavers.jpg
Logo of the OSU Beavers

Although OSU's focus was solidly on agriculture, engineering and other vocational subjects, the novelist Bernard Malamud spent the 1940s and 1950s teaching English Composition there. His experiences as a professor were the basis for his novel A New Life. He was also awarded the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Fixer, which derives its name from a store in downtown Corvallis.

The current costumed mascot Benny The Beaver made his first appearance in 1952. The next year, 1953, saw the opening of the football facility, Reser Stadium (originally named Parker Stadium). Linus Pauling, Class of 1922, became Oregon State's first alumni Nobel Laureate in 1954 when he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work studying atomic bonds.

Oregon State University (OSU)

The Reser Stadium, home to the OSU beavers

The current name, 'Oregon State University', was adopted on March 6, 1961 by a legislative act signed into law by Governor Mark Hatfield. The next year, former student Linus Pauling received the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign against nuclear weapons testing. He became one of two people ever to receive the Nobel Prize in two fields (the other being Marie Curie), and the only one to hold two unshared Prizes. 1962 also saw OSU's first Heisman Trophy winner for excellence in collegiate football, Quarterback Terry Baker, also honored that year as Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. He was the first west coast player to win the Heisman.

The National Sea Grant College Program began in 1966, selecting OSU as one of the original three universities to participate in the program when it became operational in 1968.

In 1967 the Radiation Center was built at the edge of campus, housing a 1.1 MW TRIGA Mark II Research Reactor using Uranium-235 for fuel. Rankings published by U.S. News & World Report in 2005 placed Oregon State 9th in the nation in graduate nuclear engineering.

Trysting Tree is the name of Oregon State's golf course, dedicated in 1988, and has been recognized by GolfWeek Magazine as one of the top five collegiate golf courses on the West Coast. Its name is traced to a tree near Benton Hall where student couples would meet (or "tryst") and make dates.

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Oregon State University Valley Library

OSU was designated as a federal Space Grant institution in 1991, making the university one of only 13 in the United States to serve as a Land Grant, Sea Grant, and Space Grant designate. In 2003 it was designated as a federal Sun Grant institution, one of only two universities and the only public institution with all four designations (Cornell University is the other).

In 1999 Oregon State rededicated the new $40 million 'Valley Library', selected by The Library Journal as their 1999 Library of the Year, the first academic library so named.

Organization

Presidents

The position of President was created in 1865 and is the chief executive officer, providing overall leadership and direction for the University; there have since been fourteen presidents (including six acting Presidents), with President Ray appointed on June 5, 2003:

  1. William A. Finley (1865-1872)
  2. Joseph Emery (1872, acting)
  3. Benjamin L. Arnold (1872-1892)
  4. John D. Letcher (1892, acting)
  5. John M. Bloss (1892-1896)
  6. H. B. Miller (1896-1897)
  7. Thomas M. Gatch (1897-1907)
  8. William Jasper Kerr (1907-1932)
  9. George Wilcox Peavy (1932-1934, acting) (1934-1940)
  10. Frank Llewellyn Ballard (1940-1941)
  11. Francois Archibald Gilfillan (1941-1942, acting)
  12. August Leroy Strand (1942-1961)
  13. James Herbert Jensen (1961-1969)
  14. Roy Alton Young (1969-1970, acting)
  15. Robert William MacVicar (1970-1984)
  16. John V. Byrne (1984-1995)
  17. Paul G. Risser (1996-2002)
  18. Timothy P. White (2003, acting)
  19. Edward John Ray (2003-present)

From 1868 to 1929 the president reported to the institution's own Board of Trustees/Regents. Since the creation of the Oregon University System (OUS), the president has reported to the OUS chancellor.

Colleges and Schools

The academic programs are divided among twelve colleges and two schools, each with a dean responsible for all faculty, staff, students, and academic programs. Colleges are divided into departments administered by a department head or chair. Each department is responsible for academic programs leading to degrees, certificates, options, or minors.

  • College of Health and Human Sciences
    • Design and Human Environment (Department)
    • Exercise and Sport Science (Department)
    • Public Health (Department)
    • Human Development and Family Sciences (Department)
    • Nutrition and Food Management (Department)
  • University Honors College
  • College of Engineering
    • Bioengineering (Department)
    • Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering (Department)
    • Chemical Engineering (Department)
    • Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (School)
    • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (Department)
    • Mechanical Engineering (Department)
    • Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics (Department)
  • College of Veterinary Medicine
  • College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences
  • Defense Education College (ROTC)
    • Air Force Studies (Department)
    • Military Science (Department)
    • Naval Science (Department)
  • College of Liberal Arts
    • American Studies (Department)
    • Anthropology (Department)
    • Art (Department)
    • Speech Communication (Department)
    • Economics (Department)
    • English (Department)
    • Ethnic Studies (Department)
    • Foreign Languages & Literatures (Department)
    • History (Department)
    • Liberal Studies (Department)
    • Music (Department)
    • New Media Communications (Department)
    • Philosophy (Department)
    • Political Science (Department)
    • Psychology (Department)
    • Sociology (Department)
    • Twentieth Century Studies (Department)
    • Women Studies (Department)
  • Graduate School
  • College of Science
    • Biochemistry and Biophysics (Department)
    • Biology (Department)
    • Botany and Plant Pathology (Department)
    • Chemistry (Department)
    • Entomology (Department)
    • Geosciences (Department)
    • General Science (Department)
    • Microbiology (Department)
    • Molecular and Cellular Biology (Department)
    • Mathematics (Department)
    • Physics (Department)
    • Science and Mathematics Education (Department)
    • Statistics (Department)
    • Zoology (Department)
  • College of Pharmacy
  • College of Forestry
    • Forest Engineering (Department)
    • Forest Resources (Department)
    • Forest Science (Department)
    • Wood Science and Engineering (Department)
  • School of Education
    • Counseling (Department)
    • Education (Department)
  • College of Business
  • College of Agricultural Sciences
    • Agricultural Education and General Agriculture (Department)
    • Animal Sciences (Department)
    • Agricultural and Resource Economics (Department)
    • Crop and Soil Science (Department)
    • Food Science & Technology (Department)
    • Fisheries & Wildlife (Department)
    • Genetics (Program)
    • Horticulture (Department)
    • Rangeland Ecology and Management (Department)
    • Environmental and Molecular Toxicology (Department)

Famous alumni

Athletics

Politics

Other

Student life

Corvallis

Corvallis is a relatively small community, and most of the local events have a strong connection to the university. Oregon State offers over 300 student groups, the most of any university in the Oregon University System. Oregon has a wide variety of natural recreation areas, including tall mountains, a rugged coastline, several large forests, a desert, and many rivers. OSU students are only a few hours drive away from any number of outdoor recreation opportunities. Portland, Oregon, Oregon's largest city (2000 population: 529,121) is only 85 miles north of the campus.

On Campus

Oregon State University's on campus housing is a total of 13 residence halls, in which each resident is part of an organization called the Residence Hall Association. The Residence Hall Association elects 5 people, known as the RHA Exec, to manage this organization and to oversee the hall government for each hall. Each student who lives on campus pays approximately $30 in fees annually to this organization. Half of the collected fee is returned to the hall for which it was collected, and the other half is placed into an account which the RHA Exec has access to, pending approval of the halls. This money is used to put on all hall / campus events. All RHA events are alcohol free.

The LaSells Stewart Center is the Conference and Performing Arts center at the Corvallis campus. The Corvallis/OSU symphony frequently plays in Austin Auditorium. Many famous speakers have graced the stage in Austin Auditorium, as well as many Fraternity and Sorority philanthropy functions. The OSU Office of Conferences and Special Events is located within.


Notes

Template:Fnb OSU is an acronym also used by Ohio State University and Oklahoma State University.

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