Oregon State University
Oregon State University (
OSU) is a four-year research and degree-granting
public university, located in
Corvallis, Oregon in the
United States. Total student enrollment (undergraduate and graduate) is more than 19,000. 81% of students are
Oregon residents, while 5% hail from other countries.
Over 200,000 people have attended OSU since its founding.
OSU offers more than 200
academic degree programs and is most noted for
engineering,
environmental sciences,
forestry,
oceanography and
pharmacy. In recent years, however, OSU's
liberal arts program has grown significantly, with the College of Liberal Arts now the largest at the school. The university has more majors, minors, and special programs than any other college in Oregon. In a 2005 study conducted by the
Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranking the world's top 500 universities by academic merit, OSU placed within the category of 101st-152nd place. [
1]
The 2005
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education lists OSU as "Comprehensive Doctoral with Medical/Veterinary", one of only three such universities in the
Pacific Northwest. In 2006 Carnegie also classified the university as having "very high research activity", making OSU the only university in Oregon to hold that honor. [
2] It receives more research grant funds annually than the rest of the
Oregon University System schools combined.
The 577-acre (2.34 km²) main campus, in the middle of the fertile farmland of
Willamette Valley, provides a location ideal for agricultural programs. Corvallis, with nearly 53,000 permanent residents, is noted for its extensive public library and rich community life. In
1994 OSU was rated the "Safest campus in the
Pac-10" in a study by the
University of Southern California.
OSU has a branch campus, the
OSU-Cascades Campus, in
Bend.
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.
Early years
The university traces its roots back to
1856, when
Corvallis Academy, the area's first community school for primary and preparatory education, was founded. In
1858 the school's name was changed to
Corvallis College and it was formally incorporated. The school offered its first college-level curriculum in
1865, under the administration of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
October 27,
1868, is known as OSU Charter Day, the day that 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 km²) in southeast Oregon. Many consider this the founding date, despite Corvallis College being formally incorporated in 1858. As part of this designation, the college was required to comply with the requirements set forth in the
First Morrill Act. 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 graduating class was in 1870, granting
Bachelor of Arts degrees.
Oregon Agricultural College
In
1890 the college became known as
Oregon Agricultural College (OAC). Orange was adopted as the school color, with black as the background. The
Olmstead Brothers developed the first Campus Master Plan in
1909, emphasizing trees and an architectural harmony showcasing basic classical forms in brick. 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.
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. A new brine method which led to the modern
maraschino cherry was developed by the program in
1925 by Prof.
Ernest H. Wiegand. Accreditation was granted in
1924 by the
Northwest Association of Higher and Secondary Schools.
Oregon State Agricultural College
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. The growing diversity in degree programs offered warranted yet another name change in
1937, when the college became
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.
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, named after a store in downtown Corvallis.
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; six years later he receives the
Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign against nuclear weapons testing. This made him one of only two people ever to receive the
Nobel Prize in two fields (the other being
Marie Curie), and the only person to be awarded two unshared prizes.
Oregon State University
The current name was adopted on
March 6,
1961 by a legislative act signed into law by Governor
Mark Hatfield.
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 ninth in the nation in graduate
nuclear engineering.
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 (the other being
Cornell University) and the only public institution with all four designations.
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.
An aerial view of the campus can be found on
Google Maps.
Colleges and Schools
|
The Memorial Union, which opened in 1928. OSU hosts a webcam featuring the building. |
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 [
3]
**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)
**Economics (Department) [
4]
**English (Department)
**Ethnic Studies (Department)
**Foreign Languages & Literatures (Department)
**History (Department) [
5]
**Liberal Studies (Department)
**Music (Department)
**New Media Communications (Department)
**Philosophy (Department)
**Political Science (Department)
**Psychology (Department)
**Sociology (Department)
**Speech Communication (Department)
**Twentieth Century Studies (Department)
**Women Studies (Department)
*Graduate School
*College of Science [
6]
**Biochemistry and Biophysics (Department)
**Biology (Department)
**Botany and Plant Pathology (Department)
**Chemistry (Department)
**Geosciences (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) [
7]
*College of Business [
8]
*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)
University Presidents
The position of President was created in
1865. 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.
List of presidents:#
William A. Finley (1865-1872)#
Joseph Emery (1872, acting)#
Benjamin L. Arnold (1872-1892)#
John D. Letcher (1892, acting)#
John M. Bloss (1892-1896)#
H. B. Miller (1896-1897)#
Thomas M. Gatch (1897-1907)#
William Jasper Kerr (1907-1932)#
George Wilcox Peavy (1932-1934, acting) (1934-1940)#
Frank Llewellyn Ballard (1940-1941)#
Francois Archibald Gilfillan (1941-1942, acting)#
August Leroy Strand (1942-1961)#
James Herbert Jensen (1961-1969)#
Roy Alton Young (1969-1970, acting)#
Robert William MacVicar (1970-1984)#
John V. Byrne (1984-1995)#
Paul G. Risser (1996-2002)#
Timothy P. White (2003, acting)#
Edward John Ray (2003-present)
Some of Oregon State University's notable alumni include two-time Nobel Prize winner
Linus Pauling, Heisman Trophy winner
Terry Baker, 9-time NBA All-Star
Gary Payton, "Iron Man"
A.C. Green, NBA guard and 1996 Slam Dunk champion
Brent Barry, high jump gold medalist and Fosbury flop inventor
Dick Fosbury, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner
Chris Anderson, Pulitzer Prize winner
George Oppen, NASA astronaut
Donald Pettit, computer mouse inventor
Doug Engelbart, U-Haul founder
Leonard Shoen, NVIDIA co-founder and CEO
Jen-Hsun Huang, actor
Michael Lowry, Manhattan Project staff member
Paul H. Emmett, 2000 Playmate of the Year
Jodi Ann Paterson and Playboy July 2006
Playmate Sara Jean Underwood.
Oregon State University has recently focused on entrepreneurship, and has been the first college to dedicate an entire building, Weatherford Hall, towards the subject. Weatherford Hall is a dormitory located in the middle of campus, and is home to the Austin Entrepreneurship Program, also known as
AEP TICK [
9]. They incubate many student businesses, and they are a part of the
OSU Society of Entrepreneurs [
10].
Although the fifth largest city in Oregon, Corvallis is still a relatively small community, and many 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. OSU students are only a few hours drive away from any number of outdoor recreation opportunities in natural recreation areas, including the
Cascade Range, a rugged coastline, several large forests, a desert, and many rivers.
Portland, Oregon's largest city, is 85 miles north of the campus.
Oregon State University's on campus housing includes 13 residence halls, in which each resident is part of an organization called the Residence Hall Association (RHA). The Residence Hall Association elects five people, known as the RHA Exec, to manage this organization and to oversee the hall government for each hall.
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.
The University is host to a radio station,
KBVR 88.7 FM, and a television station, KBVR TV 26, as well as an award-winning student newspaper, The
Daily Barometer.
In
1893, "Jimmie" the
coyote was chosen as the college's mascot. This was replaced by the
beaver in
1910 (the beaver remains the school's mascot today). In
1915, the college became one of the four charter members of the
Pacific Coast (Athletic) Conference.
The current costumed mascot
Benny Beaver made his first appearance in
1952. The next year,
1953, saw the opening of the football facility, Parker Stadium (now named
Reser Stadium).
1962 saw OSU's (and the west coast's) first
Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback
Terry Baker. The
University of Oregon is often seen as the school's key athletic rival, with the annual
Civil War football game between the two teams being one of the nation's longest-lived rivalries.
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.
Basketball is held in
Gill Coliseum, named after former Beavers coach
Slats Gill. The
Civil War is one of the most contested rivalries in the nation, and OSU holds the NCAA record for the most wins against a single team from all their matchups against the
Ducks.
The OSU baseball team, managed by
Pat Casey, won the
NCAA Division I Baseball Championship on
June 26,
2006, taking the best-of-three series from
North Carolina after losing the first game. They were the first team to win the
College World Series after having lost two games during the tournament. Also, they were the first team to win all elimation games that they played in (5-0). It was the second consecutive trip to the CWS for the Beavers after a drought of over fifty years, and only their second national championship in any team sport, the first having come in
cross country in 1961.
*
Peavy Arboretum*
Oregon State University website*
Official athletics website*
The Associated Students of Oregon State University*
Official wiki*
Campus map*
The Daily Barometer, OSU's Official student newspaper*
Oregon State University's RHA website*
OSU Choirs website
