FALL 2023 TRADITIONS ISSUE FALL 2023 PLANT ING HOPE Master Gardeners help cancer survivors cultivate healthy habits and community. p. 24 RESER RENEWED An inside look at the stadium’s evolution. p. 32 THOSE IRON, STRENGTH YIELD. WILL NEVER THEIR OF OSU! O L D HAILTO HAIL! HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!
CREDIT TK Deb Breese Tyler and Tim Tyler vividly remember the day they learned their 7-year-old cousin, Kobey Bonin, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a genetic disorder characterized by the progressive loss of muscle. “We wondered, what will his little life be like?” Deb says. “But when we see his life now and all the avenues that are open to him, it’s amazing. There’s nothing he can’t do, besides walk.” Now a 2021 OSU alumnus, Kobey served as a resident assistant in Weatherford Hall, where accessibility could be a challenge. Inspired by his resiliency and his parents’ unwavering support, the Tylers planned an estate gift to create a new endowment, making funds available to quickly address accessibility issues as they arise — so future students with disabilities can focus on their college experience. Whose unbelievable story inspires you? You can make a difference, and we’d love to help. Contact us today. Jennifer Milburn O!ce of Gift Planning "#$-%&$-'%#' Gift.Planning@osufoundation.org ForOregonState.org(GiftPlanning A more accessible future. Kobey Bonin Class of 2021
Fall 2023 1 OSU SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES c oN T e N T s FALL 2023 F E A T U R E 2 PHOTO ESSAY 5 EDITOR'S LETTER 7 PUBLISHER'S LETTER 8 LETTERS 58 IN MEMORIAM 64 BACKSTORY THE QUAD Voices P.12 President Jayathi Murthy on ambitious goals and leaning into the university’s strengths; four perspectives on artificial intelligence; a student’s experience of Yellowstone National Park. NeWs P.1 7 Why OSU seems immune to national enrollment declines; the OSU Foundation celebrates 75 years; DailyBarometer archives now online and more. ReseARcH P. 23 Paired with Master Gardeners, cancer survivors cultivate healthy habits and community. cULTURe P. 27 Students dig into the arts to communicate scientific research creatively. sPoRTs P. 31 A visual guide to the evolution of Reser Stadium. OUR COMMUNITY ALUMNi P. 50 Nick Daschel and a lifetime on the sports beat; Q&A with Jim Souers, CEO of the Warm Springs Economic Development Corporation; updates from alumni near and far. 34 Becoming Beavers From the rooks and their books, to Benny, to favorite Corvallis bars, enjoy this eclectic collection of 19 traditions that have shaped what it means to be a Beaver. Breaking News As we finished this Oregon Stater, news broke about multiple teams exiting the Pac-12. We’ll look at how this affects the university community in an upcoming issue. For the latest, see beav.es/pac12. COVER DESIGN BY PENTAGRAM AUSTIN The magazine of the Oregon State University Alumni Association In Every Issue Ad Tk
2 ForOregonState.org/Stater MOME N T S A team of 22 scientists from the Oregon State University-led Center for Old- est Ice Exploration, or COLDEX, spent its first field season in Antarctica in pursuit of the Earth’s oldest ice and the climate records preserved within it. “Just like tree rings, ice layers are fan- tastic recorders of past climate and the environment, and have the truly unique attribute of preserving samples of ancient air — tiny time capsules we open in the lab that tell us about changes in greenhouse gases and climate over geo- logic time,” said COLDEX Director Ed FROZEN IN TIME
Fall 2023 3 PHOTO ESSAY Brook, a paleoclimatologist in OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospher- ic Sciences. Drilling focused on the Allan Hills in East Antarctica, a little- studied area where old ice is pushed close to the surface as the East Antarctic ice sheet flows up against the Trans- antarctic Mountains. Another team flew airborne ice-penetrating radar systems near the South Pole, seeking locations for future drilling. Scientists drilled meters down to collect the ice cores. The cores were then transported by air, sea and land to the National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility in Denver for storage. From there, sections will go out for analysis. COLDEX is an NSF-funded Science and Technology Center formed in 2021 and funded through a five-year $25 million grant. Learn more at coldex.org. PHOTOS BY PETER NEFF AND JULIA MARKS PETERSON
CREDIT TK Shrey Sharma, ’!", with Manoj Pastey, Associate Professor, Molecular Virology and Immunology OSU FOUNDATION Beaver Leadership Circle HONORS COLLEGE STUDENT SHREY SHARMA is living his college years to their fullest. Because of scholarship support, he’s able to work alongside Associate Professor Manoj Pastey, identifying and testing a novel protein in the AIDS virus — real world research that is jumpstarting a promising career in medicine. LEARN MORE about how Beaver Leadership Circle donors create transformational opportunities for students: ForOregonState.org!BeaverLeaders Unbelievable Opportunity
Fall 2023 5 FROM THE EDITOR Aximagnimus, nonsequ atibus, conectat fugia nullit endam, volesequas aped maionsequi vent volupta voles ex experit modis niendantet erion net eosaectas es doluptio. Iquaspidit que quae rem alitat verum quias nonsequ atetum fugit, cume nihilig eniendant quiassum ea quo voloritatio blabo. Roratur, quamus sinciae estiandae sitiam et estem voluptatem quis aut hitate earum, sumquo verovid ma sundam, omniatum re deles alis dolendus vendus num quia non rem voluptas eum ut aliti cuscit et quatecto dolupta quostem voluptu reperch iliquo beres mi, vellaut qui te simolorecto enet, istiore ne veritia coruptat. Optatemodis voloriberrum ut et, volo odit hic tet laborrore, quisseq uiscium siti rerro tem sunt occaepra earupta tatur? Uga. Itia ab impore nobitae ducienda eumqui te earum hita dolo beritem. Voluptume dolorisquam facepe lis ea Fall 2023, Vol. 108, No. 3 PUBLISHERS John Valva, executive director, OSUAA; vice president of alumni relations, OSU Foundation Julie Lambert, ’85, chair, OSUAA Board of Directors EDI TOR Scholle McFarland ART DIRECTORS Pentagram Austin, DJ Stout, Davian-Lynn Hopkins DES I GNER Teresa Hall, ’06 CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Karl Maasdam, ’93 COPY EDITOR Charles Purdy ADDRESS CHANGES ForOregonState.org/Address LETTERS AND QUESTIONS stater@osualum.com (877) 678-2837 Oregon Stater 204 CH2M HILL Alumni Center Corvallis, OR 97331 ADVERTISING Kayla Farrell-Martin kayla.farrell-martin @osufoundation.org (541) 737-4218 ADVISORY COUNCIL Nicole “Nikki” Brown, ’04, Tillamook Vicki Guinn, ’85, Portland Tyler Hansen, Tuscon, Arizona Lin Hokkanen, ’82, Portland Colin Huber, ’10, Albany Chris Johns, ’74, Missoula, Montana Ron Lovell, Gleneden Beach Tom McLennan, ’96, Philomath Dana Reason, Corvallis Mike Rich, ’81, Beaverton Roger Werth, ’80, Kalama, Washington Oregon Stater (ISSN 0885-3258) is published three times a year by the Oregon State University Alumni Association in collaboration with the Oregon State University Foundation and Oregon State University. Contents may be reprinted only by permission of the editor. ILLUSTRATION BY JOÃO FAZENDA As this Oregon Stater was about to head to press, some news broke that we couldn’t ignore:theannouncementthatanumber of universities, including that school down the road in Eugene, are leaving the Pac-12 and that the future of the conference itself is uncertain. Thishappenedaswewerefinishing up an issuewith a focus on traditions — the customs that connect generations, like wearing orange and chanting “Ohhh-Esss-Youu!” Few things have done that quite as consistently as the Beavers-Ducks rivalry. Engage a Beaver of any class year and it’s likely they have rivalry tales to tell and will do so with great zest. These stories aren’t just of game day victories and defeats; they also involve crazy pranks (back in the day, Ducks once impersonated reporters to kidnap the Oregon State Homecoming Court), the wooden “O” on Eugene’s Skinner Butte painted bright orange (and not forthe first time),and the unusual tale of a most peculiar platypus trophy (see p. 64). Since these teams’ first game in 1894, you can count on one hand the numberoftimes they’ve missed facing o! on the football field as conference competitors. The rivalry — and the good-natured joking, occasional rioting (we see you, 1910), and joyful gatherings that accompany it — are practically as old as the state itself. So what now? If there’s one thing putting together our cover package (p. 34) showed me, it’s that even the most long-lasting customs don’t continue automatically. Each collection of students, faculty, sta! and alumni reacts to the times in which it finds itself and makes the decision about what stays and what goes. Over the years, a lot does go — from bonfires to Bernice Beaver to the “Civil War” moniker. Still, we have the potential to create new traditions that reflect what matters to us the most. Now we again face change and an unknown future for our teams on the playing fields.The reason it feels significant is because it’s biggerthan sports. In fact, it’s as big as identity. But being a Beaver is — and always has been — about a whole lot more than not being a Duck. Scholle McFarland Editor, Oregon Stater P.S. I hope you’re enjoying this debut of the Oregon Stater’s new look. Updating the magazine’s design is another time-honored tradition around here. Please let us know how you like it. ON CONFERENCES, CHANGE AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A BEAVER Ad Tk
CREDIT TK Schedule your event at the CH2M HILL Alumni Center: ForOregonState.org/Center OSUAA members get 10% off rentals! Your next amazing event happens right here.
Fall 2023 7 FROM THE PUBLISHER OFF I CERS Chair, Julie Lambert, ’85, Aptos, California Vice Chair, Dan Jarman, ’88, Lake Oswego Treasurer, Bob Bluhm, ’82, Portland MEMBERS Jay Boatwright, ’78, Sacramento, California Sharada Bose, ’84, M.S. ’88, Milpitas, California Claire Conroy Brown, ’00, Los Angeles, California Mary Coucher, ’83, Lake Oswego Eric Feldhusen, ’02, Salt Lake City, Utah Sean Gordon, ’13, Stockholm, Sweden Conrad Hurdle, ’96, MAT ’97, Portland Pam Johnson, ’83, Dallas, Texas Kelley Kaiser, ’93, MPH ’99, Corvallis Doug Kutella, ’98, Lake Oswego Keith Leavitt, ’88, Wilsonville Holly McKinney, ’91, Bend Lee Miller, ’80, Blodgett David Molina, ’04, Portland Jayathi Murthy, OSU president, ex officio Victoria Thanh Nguyen, ’95, MAIS ’06, Portland Candace Pierson-Charlton, ’73, Ed.M. ’02, Corvallis Denver Pugh, ’97, Shedd Johnathan Riley, ’09, Portland Michele Rossolo, ’01, Portland Lori Rush, ’78, Dallas Shawn Scoville, OSU Foundation president and CEO, ex officio Syesha Holliman Thomas, ’02, Seattle, Washington Marcia Torres, ’01, Clackamas Michael Whitten, ’12, Portland Jessica Wolfer, ’10, M.S. ’11, Newberg ADDRESS 204 CH2M HILL Alumni Center Corvallis, OR 97331 (541) 737-2351 osualum@osualum.com ForOregonState.org SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: facebook.com/ oregonstatealum Twitter: @oregonstatealum Instagram: @oregonstatealumni Sign up for the bi-weekly Beaver Lodge newsletter at ForOregonState.org/ BeaverLodge ILLUSTRATION BY JOÃO FAZENDA Commencement is my favorite time of the year: The sounds of bagpipes drift through campus and streams ofjoyous graduates and proud loved ones revel in their achievements. This June, Oregon State University welcomed 7,338 new graduates to the ranks of more than 220,000 alumni around the globe.These students experienced unprecedented pressures when a global pandemic disrupted their college experience with remote learning, quarantines and anxiety over physical and mental health. I will forever be in awe of their perseverance. Each diploma possesses its own backstory. Each represents hard work, sacrifices, lost sleep and investment. Here’s just a sampling of students from the amazing Class of 2023. A member of the Oregon State Alumni Association’sHomecoming Court, Gretchen Fujimura, graduatedinbiochemistryandmolecularbiology. Poised beyond measure, she asked if I could help her make alumni connections at NASA. Before I knew it, she had secured a full-time research position in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Sophia Schmiedt from Manteca, California, received a dual degree in civil engineering and economics. Her academic and extracurricular accomplishments rank Sophia as the No. 5 ROTC cadet in the entire United States. Inspired to pursue law after witnessing the tumult of COVID and the Black Lives Matter protests, she plans to go to law school after completing her post-graduate o!cer assignment. To illustrate how graduation is often a family-wide accomplishment, the Pung family from Hillsboro graduated not just one daughter, but three! Triplets Abigail, Lydia and Rachel Pung graduated with degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology. Medical school is apparently next. Beaverton’s Jax Richards graduated with degrees in economics, political science,speech communications and sustainability sciences. That’s right, four undergraduate honors degrees all at once! Proving that education is a lifelong journey, Ann Kinney earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences attheageof72.Ann,wholivesinNew York, started her career as a professional photographer and then worked as teacher for 25 years. Once retired, she got her Master Gardener certification butwanted to learn more.After taking one OSU Ecampus class and then another, she eventually realized, “If I’m going to invest this much time and e"ort I might as well get the T-shirt — or in this case, the degree!” Our world will now benefit from these graduates’ talent, resilience and world-class education. I cannot wait to see what’s next. John Valva Publisher, Oregon Stater 7,338 STORIES WORTH TELLING
8 ForOregonState.org/Stater L E T T E R S Good Cravings I truly enjoyed reading your Spring 2023 edition of the Oregon Stater. Expanding the role of the Beaver Classic Food Truck to have at least a periodic presence in Astoria could highlight the accomplishments and importance of the OSU Seafood Lab while performing outreach and recruitment not only to Northwest residents but also to the many tourists who visit the city. Food trucks now play a large role within the community, and the Beaver Classic food truck would showcase some of OSU’s unique food developments. HERMAN J. BERNARDS Editor’s note: Our friends at Beaver Classic tell us that the food truck is getting upgraded by an engineering capstone team so it can venture beyond Corvallis. Keep an eye out for it this fall! As an OSU food sciences graduate, I was so excited to see the food issue and the recognition brought to theschool. The School of Agriculture [now the College of Agricultural Sciences] has generated such impactful research in product and process development, new technologies, providing support for emerging industries, etc., and it continues to distinguish itself in our industry. I feel very fortunate to have studied under Lois McGill (sensory pioneer), Floyd Bodyfelt (dairy products judging team), Dick Scanlan and Ron Wrolstad. Prior to Beaver Classic products, food science undergraduates sold gallon jugs of unfiltered apple cider in the fall to students and locals. We could never keep up with the demand. I was confused about the comment that ice cream sales stopped in 1969. In theearly ’70s, students could buy ice cream at the Dairy Building across from Wiegand Hall. Pumpkin was a seasonal favorite. I hope you find the recipe for Togo’s memorable“The Bomb.”Thatwas a flashback for me. DICKI LULAY, ’ 73 FOOD LOVERS We received more letters than we could print about the Spring Food Issue, with alumni sharing pride in OSU’s amazing agricultural and food science programs, as well as fond memories of student-made treats. Many wrote about the much-missed Togo’s sandwich “The Bomb,” but never fear — our intrepid writer Cathleen Hockman-Wert tracked down the recipe and, with testing and tasting help from Mike Rich, ’81, Hon. Ph.D. ’07, was able to adapt it for the home kitchen. See “The Sandwich, the Legend, the Recipe” on page 10.
Fall 2023 9 I found the Oregon Stater’s Spring food issue to be a very enjoyable read. The university’s food science and technology program has an impressive history, but you may not be aware that McDonald’s french fries are also a product of a graduate of the department:William (Kenneth) Strong,’50, who attended OSU on the GI Bill. In 1963, my father went to work as a food technologist for a promising drive-in chain called McDonald’s. In 1965,a patent for“Process forPreparing Frozen French Fry Potato Segments”wasappliedforwithhisname listed as assignor to McDonald’s Systems Inc. My father’s work involved traveling the world for 25 years, working with food suppliers to ensure that the chain’s french fries tasted the same no matter where they were purchased. In the early 1990s, the frying oil was changed from animal fat to vegetable oil, slightly altering the original flavor — something he was not in approval of — but the product has still been a favorite the world over for the past 60 years, with everyone from children to Julia Child. MURRAY STRONG, ’ 81 I graduated in 1973. By the end of that year, I was married and living in Hawaii. My parents came out to visit the next year. Mom filled our request for Togo’s. She drove to Corvallis, ordered two Bombs, refrigerated and wrapped them and brought them over to us in Hawaii. We were ecstatic! I was also a student food taster whilst attending OSU. I really enjoyed tasting and commenting on the various items.Wasn’t always able to do all the taste tests that I wanted, but always tried! Great issue. Some of the items I knew but others I did not. Thanks! ROSLYN (SOLANDER) TAYLOR, ’ 73 The Oregon Stater Food Issue is very nice, except for not representing an opposing view on the direction we should be taking to feed the world and preserve our environment, like in the film “Eating Our Way to Extinction” (eating2extinction.com). There’s probablyrefuting research,but it is a conversation my university should be visibly hosting and welcoming. JOAN SCHWARZE, ’85, M.S. ’98 Hey, dietitians/nutritionists, you were not on the ball when you o"ered the recipe for Beaver Bites [in “8 Ways to FuelYour Body”].Where is the nutrition information? I’m a retired registered dietitian and give out snack ideas to high school athletes,nursing mothers, weekend warriors and kids for after school. These are easy to make and modify with other nut butters, maple syrup in place of honey, etc. Great tips and a great recipe! LYNNE KINGSLEY, ’ 74 Nurturing Free Speech As a horticulture graduate, I was delighted to read the Food Issue,but the small story about OSU’s 10th-place rank in the College Pulse free speech survey [in “Beaver Brags”] deserves comment. This is a survey of 200 schools conducted by FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which promotes campus free speech. OSU’s written speech policy was the biggest factor in the No. 10 ranking. But OSU scored low in several concerning areas, including 159th out of 200 in the category that rates how easy students find it to talk honestly about controversial topics, 115th for students’ comfort disagreeing with a professor, and a mediocre 88th in students’ confidence that the administration protects their speech rights. As alumni, we can encourage OSU to make changes to ensure that the atmosphere on the ground matches the university’s stated policy. FIRE o"ers support at thefire.org/get-involved for launching an alumni group with that aim. We can help build tomorrow’s successful leaders by pushing universities toward a climate of open and vigorous debate that challenges students to listen to both sides of issues, and to learn the value of compromise and mutual respect. HEATHER HALL, ’ 89 Flagpole Hijinks A letter in the Spring 2023 Oregon Stater talked about The Black Bag, and how a bag was on top of the campus flagpole the next day. Easy prank and the reason many flag hoisting ropes are now locked. Tie a stick to the rope at the stick’s middle and botYOU MAY NOT BE AWARE THAT McDONALD’S FRENCH FRIES ARE ALSO A PRODUCT OF A GRADUATE OF THE DEPARTMENT. ڿ Kenneth Strong, ’50, cutting french fries in the McDonald’s food laboratory, outside Chicago in 1965. Strong developed the patented method for creating the popular fries. COURTESY OF MURRAY STRONG
10 ForOregonState.org/Stater L E T T E R S HOW - T O F OO D THE SANDWICH, THE LEGEND,THE RECIPE PREPARE TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO THE BOMB. By Cathleen Hockman-Wert In the beginning (1971), there was Togo’s on Monroe Avenue, one of the first sandwich shops founded by TOm and GOrdon. On the menu was #20: a grilled steak sub with peppers, onions and salami. And behold, this was excellent. This was the Bomb. For generations of Beavers, the Bomb at Togo’s was the go-to sandwich. But around 2004, the store moved, and the grill and the sandwich — a Corvallis original — were no more. Togo’s owner Chris Martin offers this guidance for recreating the Bomb in your own kitchen. THE BOMB SERVES FOUR TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES 2 green peppers, thinly sliced 1 large red onion, sliced 1 20 oz. uncooked rib eye steak, sliced thin 1 6 oz. cotto salami, chopped 8 slices of American cheese 4 hoagie rolls Optional toppings: mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, pepperoncini INSTRUCTIONS 1. Freeze the steak; then put it in the fridge overnight. 3. Sauté peppers and onions over medium heat until tender. Set aside. Add beef to pan and sauté until cooked. Add pepper mixture and salami and sauté until heated. 5. Split the hoagie rolls partway through with a hinge cut. Spread with mayonnaise if desired. 2. Slice the partially frozen steak as thinly as possible with a very sharp knife or meat slicer. 4. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan and top it with cheese. Cover and heat until cheese melts. 6. Pile in the meat, vegetable and cheese mixture and add optional “Togo style” toppings to taste. tom. Drape the bag over the end of the stick and hoist it up. When the bag’s bottom reaches over the pole top and, if the bottom of the bag is higher than pole top, it may drape itself over said top as the stick is lowered. You’re welcome. BILL GILBERT, ’65, '67 Editor’s note: The April 25, 1967, Daily Barometer had this to say about that day: “A Black Bag appeared sacked overthe top of the OSUflagpole Friday. Nobody knows for sure who put it there, but it is surmised that somebody shinnied up the 75-foot pole to put it in place. It took six physical plant members and a derrick several hours Friday to get it down.” More Game Changers I read [“Game Changers” in the Winter 2023 issue] with great interest having been one of the women who competed in the 1970s. I played volleyball for four years, basketball for two and ran track for a couple of years. There were no o" -season programs in those days so a way to stay in shape was to compete in multiple sports. I have included pictures of the 1975 and1976volleyballteams. I don’t remember taking any o! cial team photos, so other photos may not exist for these years. CHERYL BRITTON, ’ 77 ↓Cheryl Britton,’77, (at left, back row), with the 1975–76 OSU Volleyball team on Nov. 29, 1975, in Ellensburg, Washington. Send letters and comments by email to stater@ osualum.com or by mail to Oregon Stater, Oregon State University Alumni Association, 204 CH2M HILL Alumni Center, Corvallis, OR 97331. We edit for clarity, brevity and factual accuracy. Please limit letters to 225 words or less. ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOE MCKENDRY VOLLEYBALL: COURTESY OF CHERYL BRITTON Send letters and comments by email to osualum.com
Fall 2023 11 Can the arts illuminate scientific research? A new initiative is helping students find out. Read more on page 28. INS IDE VOICES P. 12 NEWS P. 17 RESEARCH P. 23 CULTURE P. 27 SPORTS P. 31 PHOTO BY KARL MAASDAM, ’93
12 ForOregonState.org/Stater Vo i c e s KARL MAASDAM ↑President Jayathi Murthy speaks at OSU’s 2023 Commencement. Follow her on Twitter, now known as X, at @OregonStatePres. OSU’S SPECIAL SAUCE PRESIDENT JAYATHI MURTHY ON AMBITIOUS GOALS AND LEANING INTO THE UNIVERSITY’S STRENGTHS. As told to Scholle McFarland You just attended your first Oregon State commencement. What stuck with you? As I walk through campus with leadership, on both sides of our path are our students dressed up in regalia. They’re wearing leis and looking absolutely beautiful with decorated hats. And they’re so happy to be done and ready to embrace their future lives. You get to see eye to eye because you’re so close. You walk this long path, and then it all opens up into Reser Stadium. You don’t know how big it is until you actually stand on the floor and look up. That mixture of scales — of the intimate and the enormous — was interesting and strange. The ceremony went like clockwork, and the energy and the fun and the hope — all of that was very happy-making for me. Commencement is the quintessential symbol of student success, but OSU’s other metric is first-year retention. Can you talk about that? One of the things that I’ve been zeroing in on is graduation rate.Wewant to hit 80% by 2030. We’re at 71%-ish now. It puts our heads on the block to have a number on it. That’s important because students are important. Obviously, you can’t get to a sixyear graduation rate of 80% unless you’ve got very strong first- and second-year retention rates. That is when people mainly drop out. Our strategic plans are in the making, but first there’s just the money question. We are lucky that the Oregon legislature increased the Oregon Opportunity Grant by nearly 50% this legislative session. That’s a really, really important contribution. We’ve got to think about students who come from socioeconomically challenged backgrounds.Howdowemakeiteasier on them to get through college without having to work extraordinary hours? But the most important thing is for us to understand that we can’t wait four yearstoseeifourideaswork.Wecan’t wait six years. We have to be looking at first-year retention, second-year retention, year-on-year retention. I’ve heard you say that more research money adds up to more student research opportunities. Why is that important? First off, we have to solidify our standing as a Research 1 university, for philosophical reasons, all right? There aren’t very many places in American society where long-term research gets to be done. Obviously , industry does research, but that’s very focused on particular products and on timelines far shorter than are required to answer some of the really big questions we need to answer about the world in which we live. Universities are tasked specifically with
Fall 2023 13 PRESIDENT Q+A PERSPECTIVES GURUNG, FERN, SCOTT: COURTESY OF AUTHORS; CHATGPT: PHONLAMAIPHOTO/ADOBE STOCK RETHINKING INTELLIGENCE Q: ARE NEW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TOOLS A THREAT OR AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION? ALAN FERN Professor of Computer Science and AI, College of Engineering The biggest threat to higher ed is the possibility of missing an opportunity to teach students how to leverage AI tools for real-world problem solving. It is easy, but short-sighted, to overreact to perceived threats such as cheating. Educators will quickly learn to adjust their teaching strategies, just as they did when the internet itself emerged. Imagine if the response to the internet had been to block it, rather than treat it as an essential tool. I expect AI tools to play a major role in positively advancing our society; it should be our students who lead the charge. INARA SCOTT Gomo Family Professor and Senior Associate Dean, College of Business Generative AI has evolved to the point where it can effectively complete almost any of our classes. We must ask — at a deep and profound level — what skills students need to operate in a world in which AI is fully integrated into all our lives. The new higher education must prioritize uniquely human skills like critical thinking, empathy, relationship building, teamwork and creative problem solving. Our best hope for the future is that our students learn to challenge the biases and flaws in AI and use it to innovate and act to solve the enormous challenges of our time. CHATGPT OpenAI’s artificial intelligence tool New artificial intelligence tools are a thrilling opportunity for higher education! AI-powered adaptive learning platforms can personalize education. Moreover, AI chatbots and virtual tutors enhance student support 24/7. Analyzing vast data sets, AI enables educational institutions to make datadriven decisions, optimizing the allocation of resources and improving outcomes. AI can also facilitate research breakthroughs by augmenting data analysis and pattern recognition. Let’s seize this extraordinary opportunity to shape the next generation of learners! REGAN A. R. GURUNG Assoc. Vice Provost; Exec. Director, Center for Teaching & Learning Getting aid from AI tools like ChatGPT is not much more or less problematic than getting help from a smart friend unless that help is not allowed (it’s cheating) or precludes learning the task yourself. Guidelines for coping with AI abound, but as we watch technology progress, there’s actually a bigger question: What are the skills and content we want our students to know? Educators can no longer expect students to carry on as they have. Higher education needs to evolve to accommodate the affordances provided by technological advancements. doing that kind of long-term, highrisk, open-question kind of work. Now, the undergraduate question. I believe that undergraduates learn fundamental concepts when they’re taught well in the classroom but also have a way of testing out concepts in actualpractice.That’sthereasonwekeep talking about hands-on education. Textbooks teach you only so much. Any practicing engineer will tell you that if you go out into the world, what you encounter is much, much more complex. Research is one way of throwing the complexity of the world at you so you can begin to understand howto dealwith it.That’s the opportunity that we o" er as a Research 1 university that other university settings don’t offer. That’s the special sauce that you get if you come to Oregon State University. This year we had awards of nearly $472 million. It’s a new record, and at least as importantly,we are growing 20% a year the last several years. I figure that we can easily double the research expenditures. Not easily [laughs] — we will have to work hard — but we can double them. You often talk about “asymmetric advantage.” What does that mean? You’ve got to find the areas that give you special advantage and double down on them.Oryou find adjacenciestobuildon.Forexample,we’vegot a top-notch robotics program. Robotics requires AI. Robotics requires vision research. Robotics could help us with creative approaches to forestry or agriculture. So can we grow in adjacent, but not identical, directions? That’s one way to think about it. When I speak of asymmetric advantage, this is simply recognizing that we want to become far bigger than we are on the research front. Andwith finite resources,we’ve got to pick the things that we can do better than anybody else. THIS INTERVIEW HAS BEEN EDITED FOR CLARITY AND LENGTH.
14 ForOregonState.org/Stater VO I C E S WOLF TALES A student perspective on a week’s journey through Yellowstone National Park. BY > LUCINDA BOYLE
Fall 2023 15 FIRST PERSON PHOTOS BY DICK EVANS, ’69 The Sprinter van slows along the snow-covered road into Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley. Our tour guide points out the window, and a ripple of excitement passes through the group as we see three wolves pacing up a snowy hillside. We rummage in our bags for binoculars and hang cameras around our necks. Our guide opens the doors, and we pile out into air that burns cold like peppermint.The snap ofcamera shutters fills the silence as we find and lose the wolves among the rocky outcroppings that dot the slope. After several minutes, they settle down for a midmorning nap: noses tucked under tails, twitching ears silhouetted against snow and sky. “I am going to go home and say we saw26wolves!”says Chris Johns,’74, wildlife photographer, former editor-in-chief of National Geographic and leader of our trip. We all agree: seeing 26 wolves — even if 23 of them were black spots two miles away — is quite a tale. Thanks to the generosity of an alumni donor, I’m on the OSUAA’s weeklong Winter Photography trip to Yellowstone National Park with 11 alumni to photograph and learn about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. As a natural resources student, I’m excited to experience the animals and landscapes that are so unique to the park, and as a writer, I’m excited to hear the stories tied to it. Perhaps it’s appropriate that on our first day in the park we are gifted with our own wolf story. Wolves have a special history in Yellowstone National Park and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which has been chronicled, in part, by OSU’s own Professor Bill Ripple, Ph.D. ’84, and Professor Emeritus Robert Beschta. In the early 1900s, we learn, predators, including wolves, were culled to favor the herds of elk and other ungulates that drew visitors to the park. By the 1970s, wolves had exchanged their home in Yellowstone for one on the endangered species list. Without them, the entire ecosystem deteriorated, sparking concern among ecologists and conservationists. Starting in 1995, biologists from the U.S. and Canada reintroduced wolves to the landscape in a politically controversial attempt to heal it. Today’s park teems with wildlife. As we ride along, we call out di"erent species to Sue Arndt, ’76, MHEC ’82, who keeps a running list in her notebook. Exiting the park into the town of Gardiner, Montana, I glance out the window onto a scene straight from the pages of a vintage visitor’s pamphlet. A herd of bison is grazing high on a snowy ridge, arranged so artistically that I mistake them for a sculpture. “Stop! Stop! Stop! Look! Bison 10 o’clock!” Shouts go up from the group, and our guide brings the van to a halt. A HERD OF BISON IS GRAZING HIGH ON A SNOWY RIDGE, ARRANGED SO ARTISTICALLY THAT I MISTAKE THEM FOR A SCULPTURE. ڿ Wolves lounge on a sunny hillside in Lamar Valley. ↑The Grand Prismatic Geyser with snow and steam (top); bison grazing near Mammoth Hot Springs (bottom). cont inued
16 ForOregonState.org/Stater VO I C E S P R O F I L E FIRST PERSON A windswept cumulus cloud rises behind the herd,silhouetting theirbroad backs.“It looks like a photo from the 1950s,” someone comments. “There’s your picture,” Johns says.“You’ve got the bison,and the ridge, the clouds and the sun. That’s sweet.” On cue, shutters start snapping. Millions of bison once grazed the prairies of North America. However, to make way for westward expansion, the U.S. government encouraged their mass slaughter until only a handful remained. Reintroduction e"orts helped them recover, a fact obvious to anyone who has been stuck waiting for a herd to cross the road. But what you see doesn’t tell the whole tale, explains David Quammen, author of acclaimed books including Yellowstone: A Journey Through America’s Wild Heart. Over dinner, he talks about habitat fragmentation. Barriers, like highways or fences, chop up the landscape, making it hard for animals to access resources. As tourists, we could have ignored the conflicts surrounding the park, and limited our perspectives to the perfectly framed photograph. Instead, we embraced them: asking questions and listening to stories that challenged our preexisting beliefs. This curiosity solidified our diverse group as Beavers (although dam-building beavers pulled a noshow) and revealed the true nature of Oregon Staters as lifelong learners, adventurers, problem-solvers, scientists and storytellers. MEET EFIMYA KUZMIN A PUBLIC HEALTH MAJOR BALANCING TRADITION WITH VISION. By Gretchen Schrafft, MFA ’16 Shortly after COVID-19 arrived in Efimya Kuzmin’s hometown of Silverton, Oregon, her mother got sick. As a child, Kuzmin, who goes by Mya, saw her mother build a thriving restaurant business from the ground up. As a high school upperclassman, she watched a long-haul case of COVID force her mother to shut it down. ¶ As her peers rallied against the mask mandate and her mother’s symptoms refused to go away, Kuzmin thought about her love of science as she researched colle- ges. She could picture what she wanted to do, but she didn’t have a name for it yet. She also knew affording college would be a challenge. ¶ Kuzmin and her family are members of the Old Believer Orthodox community, descendants of Russian religious dissenters who refused to accept reforms imposed upon the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1600s. Old Believers form a small but significant subculture in Oregon — the largest concentration in the U.S. Members primarily work in flexible occupations like construction so they can observe frequent religious holidays. Men don’t cut their beards; women wear head coverings in church and long dresses; couples often marry in their teens. ¶ Oregon State offered Kuzmin the most aid, as well as the support of the Educational Opportunities Program, which she qualified for as a low-income, first-generation student. For more than 50 years, EOP (eop. oregonstate.edu) has championed stu- dents who have traditionally been denied equal access to higher education. ¶ As a sophomore, Kuzmin decided to give back, partnering with a faculty member to mentor five freshmen in the program. It was while working alongside College of Health instructor Ashley Vaughn, MPH ’21, that Kuzmin’s vision for her career crystalized. “I realized that the degree that I was really looking for was in public health. I just wasn’t aware that it was something that existed,” she said. ¶ She also credits EOP with helping her cultivate a philosophy that comfortably accom- modates her plans for the future alongside her love of her history and community — embracing the good and setting aside parts that hold her back. Like “the idea that a woman shouldn’t go to college,” she said. “That’s one that’s going to get left behind. ↖From left to right, author Lucinda Boyle with Doug Sheaffer, ’69, M.S. ’71, and Chris Johns, ’74, in Yellowstone National Park. ۄ Mya Kuzmin in the Linus Pauling Science Center in Corvallis. EFIMYA KUZMIN: KARL MAASDAM cont inued
MAIA INSINGA Fall 2023 17 ENROLLMENT DEFYING THE DECLINE OSU’s enrollment keeps going up. Why? By Sean Nealon Nationwide, college enrollment is dropping, and more and more institutions have beenclosingeachyear.TheCOVID-19 pandemic, a reduction in the traditional-age student population and recent challenging international rela- tions are all to blame. Meanwhile, at Oregon State University, enrollment is increasing and has increased every year since 1997. During that time frame, the university’s enrollment jumped nearly 150%, from slightly more than 14,000 students to more than 35,000 today, while U.S. college enrollment inched upward, barely achieving a 10% gain. What has made Oregon State immune to enrollment declines? NEWS cont inued
18 ForOregonState.org/Stater N EWS ENROLLMENT “It’s like a stock portfolio —youwant a diversified mix of things,” said Jon Boeckenstedt, vice provost for enrollment management at Oregon State.“You need students from many groups — undergraduates, graduates, professional programs, international, online — and if numbers from one group decline, you need otherprograms to fill the gap.” Recent years provide an example. The pandemic’s campus shutdowns and restricted travel, coupled with changing perceptions of the U.S. abroad, led to a more than 30% decrease in international students enrolling at the university. However, that loss was more than made up for by simultaneous gains in online students. Enrollment in Ecampus, Oregon State’s online education provider, increased more than 40%. The highly ranked Ecampus was well positioned when students around the world suddenly moved en masse to learning online, discovering what they liked — and didn’t like — about the experience. “Today, it’s no longer enough to simply o! er a certain program online,” said Lisa Templeton, vice provost for educational ventures. “Prospective students are looking for quality di! erentiators such as experiential learning opportunities, academic rigor, engagement with faculty and comprehensive support resources.These are hallmarks of Oregon State’s online programs.” In addition to the flexibilityso important to many nontraditional-age students, student parents and others, Ecampus provides first-of-their-kind programs and learning experiences, including the first fullyonline degrees in zoologyand in fisheries andwildlife sciences, as well as in-house-developed virtual labs in biology and chemistry. Oregon State’s significant brand recognition as a large public universitywith high-profile athletics and research programs has also helped bu! er it against enrollment drops and helped it grow, Boeckenstedt said. A bigger brand means a wider and more diverse pool ofstudents.Institutions hardest hit by enrollment declines are typicallysmall,regionallyspecific, single-gender, religiously a" liated or have a narrow curricular focus. Boeckenstedt, a higher education data geek who publishes a detailed blog (highereddatastories.com) on higher education data trends, was drawn to OSU in 2019 because he saw an opportunity to build on the university’s success. During his time, enrollment at the Corvallis campus has remained the largest segment, with new growth coming from the continuedexpansion of OSU-Cascades and from Ecampus.Aquarter of the Class of 2023 were Ecampus students. Even with that success, Boeckenstedt continues to think about what will drive the next large-scale shift in enrollment to make sure Oregon State is prepared. “Right now, the big question is ‘What is the next Ecampus?’” he said. “What is going to make us stronger 15 to 30 years from now? If I knew the answer to that, I’d go out and sell it to others.” ←Students streamed through the Learning Innovation Center on the first day of classes last year. HOW TO BUILD A BIGGER OSU In recent years, a dynamic mix of Ecampus, international and OSU-Cascades students have helped OSU resist declining enrollment trends and keep growing. 35 30 15 30 25 10 35 20 Number of Students (in thousands) 05–06 06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21 21–22 22–23 Time (in academic years) Corvallis Corvallis International OSU-Cascades Ecampus IT’S LIKE A STOCK PORTFOLIO YOU WANT A DIVERSIFIED MIX OF THINGS. cont inued
Fall 2023 19 PHOTO BY OSU SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES R E S O U R C E BEAVER BRAGS ڿ Barometer staff at the copy table in 1930. GO WAY BACK WITH THE BAROMETER NEW RESOURCE PUTS THE PAST AT YOUR FINGERTIPS. By Scholle McFarland In the days before students could peruse online event calendars or check friends’ Instagram and TikTok feeds, when you wanted to know what was happening at Oregon State University, your premier source was the Daily Barometer. Now, you can search the more than 14,000 issues of the student newspaper published between its first edition in March 1896 and the present day. The new digital archive is an easy-to-use resource of uncommon power. Because the entire collection is keyword searchable, you can efficiently seek out answers to questions that, in years past, would have required a trip to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center reading room and hours of thumbing through paper archives or microfilm reels. Trying to remember the name of your old favorite bar? Narrow the search by year and plug in a distinctive term or phrase, like “dimers.” Want to read about a key event from your days at school or find the personal ad that lead to your life-long romance? Try the same technique. You can take a look for yourself at beav.es/baro. QUOTE, UNQUOTE “This is the lesson I have learned: We become the stories we tell. It’s a frightening thought, but it’s true: You will become the story you tell about yourself. But it’s also hopeful: You have a choice.” Dr. Charity Dean,’00, co-founder and CEO of The Public Health Company, speaking at commencement. Watch at bit.ly/charitydean. 6,685 No. 1 57 34,000 DONORS WOMEN SQ. FEET gave a record-breaking $2.1 million to support students and programs during this year’s Dam Proud Day, the university’s annual day of giving. is what The College Post named OSU’s College of Forestry in a national ranking of forestry programs. — up from 24 in fall 2014 — belong to the College of Engineering’s tenured or tenure-track faculty, making it fifth in the nation among R1 universities for percentage of female engineering faculty. of housing for OSU’s Newport campus was approved and funded by OSU’s Board of Trustees in June. Construction starts this winter. Scan here to find current issues of the student newspaper.
20 ForOregonState.org/Stater PHOTOS BY A.J. MEEKER N EWS B R I E F S AN EAR TO THE COSMOS Gravitational waves, ripples in the fab- ric of time-space predicted by Albert Einstein more than a century ago, permeate the galaxy at low frequencies, according to a multiyear National Science Foundation project led by Oregon State scientists. The inter- national group monitors the timing of radio waves from pulsars and detected variations in their normally clock-steady beats — evidence that a “chorus” of gravitational waves alters the distance those pulses travel. OSUCASCADES CAREER KICKSTARTER According to a 2018 Strada-Gallup survey, 78% of college students rarely or never access a campus career office. So OSU-Cascades is bringing the career office to them instead, launching a novel program (beav.es/ cascades-edge) this fall that incorporates career readiness into every academic term to increase students’ employability. Students will explore talents and interests, learn about student debt, and try job shadowing, internships and more. HEALTH, REIMAGINED The College of Public Health and Human Sciences announced a shorter name and a new strategy focused on health and social trends in Oregon and beyond. Now simply the College of Health, it has reorganized into three schools — the School of Exercise and Sport Science, School of Public Health and Nutrition, and School of Human Development and Family Sciences— to better reflect the college’s distinctive specializations in teaching, research and engagement. STRENGTH IN NUMBERS THE OSU FOUNDATION CELEBRATES 75 YEARS OF COMMUNITY SUCCESS. By Cathleen Hockman-Wert It took 60 years, from 1947 until 2007, for the Oregon State University Foundation to receive its first $1 billion in philanthropic commitments. In only nine years, OSU donors made the second billion in gifts.This May,just sixyears later, donors crossed the $3 billion milestone. “None of this success just happened. It was the result of hard work by our volunteer leaders, our university leaders, our outstanding Foundation sta" and, of course, our generous donors,” said Shawn Scoville, OSU Foundation president and CEO. This spring, the Oregon State University Foundation celebrated its 75th anniversary with gatherings to remember and thank those who have supported OSU’s students and programs and accelerated its growth through their gifts and service. Participants lauded OSU’s dedicated ۄ The OSU Foundation Board of Directors and guests gathered in May to celebrate the Foundation’s anniversary and new Lifetime Trustee award recipients.
INSTAWORTHY: COURTESY OF OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY AND BEAVER ATHLETICS INSTAGRAM Fall 2023 21 ANNIVERSARY INSTAWORTHY beaverathletics oregonstate oregonstate Jade Whitfield — OSU’s first discus All-American since 1973 — finished second in the Pac-12 championships. A drone’s-eye view of our beautiful Corvallis campus. Members of the Class of 2023 rejoiced in hardearned achievements this June. community for creating opportunities the university could not achieve alone. Its e" orts ensure access to education for students, help the university attract and retain top-notch faculty, and have made possible more than three dozen campus facilities in Corvallis, Bend and Newport. Roughly 4,300 students currently benefit from more than 1,500 endowed scholarship and fellowship funds. At $812 million (as ofApril 30), OSU has one of the 200 largest college and university endowments, private or public, in North America, providing stability for the university by making it less dependent on the fluctuations of state funding. The May 18 dinner at the OSU President’s Residence also celebrated the newest Lifetime Trustees — recipients of the foundation’s highest recognition for long and outstanding volunteer service. This year’s honorees are James E. Coleman, ’58, Modesto, California; Roy N. Gaussoin,’56, Lake Oswego; Edmon“Ed” R. Jennings, ’18 (honorary alumnus), Portola Valley, California; Susan E. Poorman, ’61, Portland; and Katherine E. Smith, ’61, Lake Oswego. “I have been involved as a leader with the Alumni Association and the Foundation for 20 years, and it is remarkable to look back and see how much has changed in that time,” said OSU Foundation Board of Trustees chairEric Schoenstein,’88,at the dinner. “We keep our focus on the big picture and the longview.We are always thinking about the university as a whole. We are always planning for the generations to come.” OSU’S DEDICATED COMMUNITY ... HAS CREATED OPPORTUNITIES THE UNIVERSITY COULD NOT ACHIEVE ALONE. ↘Here are some of our favorite social media posts from the past few months. Tag us with #oregonstater
22 ForOregonState.org/Stater N EWS BOOK COVERS: COURTESY OF AUTHORS; DOLPHIN: ADOBESTOCK_454616053 IN PRINT B R I E F S 1. Seeking Fortune Elsewhere: Stories By Sindya Bhanoo, assistant professor, School of Writing, Literature, and Film Traveling from Pittsburgh to Eastern Washington to Tamil Nadu, the stories of Seeking Fortune Elsewhere examine dislocation and dissonance as immigrants and their families confront the costs of leaving and staying home. From a professor accused of exploiting a graduate student, to a mother grieving in the wake of a school shooting, to a widow waiting for her daughter to visit from America, Bhanoo finds symmetries in the lives of people growing apart. The book won both the 2023 Oregon Book Award for fiction and the 2022 New American Voices Award. Learn more: bit.ly/seekingfortune. 2. Road Trip to Nowhere: Hollywood Encounters the Counterculture By Jon Lewis, professor, School of Writing, Literature, and Film This is an entertaining account of 10 years of an out-of-touch Hollywood studio system and the counterculture workers — from Dennis Hopper to Jean Seberg — it would never understand. Learn more: bit.ly/roadtrip_nowhere. 3. The Lost Continent By David Alexander Baker, director of Oregon State Productions This poignant tribute to the beauty of coral reefs includes more than 60 photos of reefs around the world, shedding light on global reef destruction and the science behind efforts to save them. Learn more: bit.ly/lostcontinent. 4. You’re the Woods Too By Dennis James Sweeney, MFA ’15 Part documentary essay, part flash-fictional performance and part poems recited by moss, this unconventional book examines the act of the wilderness retreat, contemplating how “You go out in the woods to find yourself and find only what you brought with you.” Learn more: bit.ly/woods_too. 1 2 4 3 WORTH A WATCH: UNLIKELY Synchronized movements of flocks of birds and schools of fish are a common yet striking behavior that can be key to the animals’ survival. Synchronized behavior between species, like that between the Lahille’s bottlenose dolphins and the traditional net-casting fishers in Brazil, is much more rare. Researchers, led by Mauricio Cantor of OSU’s Marine Mammal Institute, have shown how by working together, dolphins and net-casting fishers both catch more fish. Watch this surprising 140-year partnership in action at bit.ly/unlikely-alliance. OSUCASCADES GETS NEW LEADER A geologist, Sherman Bloomer spent 11 years leading the OSU College of Science, followed by another 11 in charge of the university’s budget and resource planning office. This spring, he stepped into the role of chancellor and dean of OSU-Cascades. So, what do rocks, budgets and OSU’s Bend campus have in common? ¶ “I see everything through a lens of time,” said Bloomer. “As geologists, that’s what we do: look back millions of years to create a picture of how things came about.” ¶ As a financial modeler and a campus leader, he leans on that perspective, looking years — not millions, he admits — ahead to lay a foundation for the future. ¶ Bloomer earned a Ph.D. in earth science from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He came to OSU in 1995 to serve as the chair of the Department of Geosciences after holding faculty positions at Boston University and Duke. As OSU-Cascades’ leader, he oversees a growing campus. Its footprint has expanded from 10 to 128 acres, and its enrollment has increased to around 1,300 students. OSUCascades offers undergraduate and master’s degrees and a doctorate in physical therapy. BOOKS BY BEAVERS ALLIANCE AN
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