May 25, 2022 – The unthinkable has happened again. Yesterday’s tragedy, nearly 2,000 miles away at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, touched us at SOU as if it had occurred next door. This tragedy, close behind two other mass shootings in recent weeks, reminds us of the fragile nature of life and of the mental health of those who would extinguish it.
May 13, 2022 – The topics for president Bailey’s May video message to campus and the region: JEDI (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion); Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month; the in person commencement ceremony on June 11 that will pay tribute to classes of 2022, 2021 and 2020; the Juneteenth flag raising ceremony on June 18; collaboration with Ashland and Medford schools, and others throughout the region; and the value of communication – particularly the ideas and opinions of those within the SOU community.
May 3, 2022 – SOU president Rick Bailey continues his conversation with students, responding to their questions about his childhood expectations of college, advice for those seeking graduate school opportunities, the universities approach to managing tuition costs and his goals for the coming year.
April 15, 2022 – President Bailey shares his thoughts this month on our shared appreciation for SOU’s faculty, sexual assault awareness and prevention, the correlation between student involvement and retention, and our unity in drawing new students to campus.
April 5, 2022 – Southern Oregon University President Rick Bailey is committed to finding new ways to connect with students and maintaining a productive conversation about their academic needs and experiences, and this month marks another step in that direction with the introduction of his “Raider Up with President Rick” podcast.
March 16, 2022 – The March 2022 video message from SOU President Rick Bailey touches on honoring women trail-blazers and the women in our lives; SOU’s upcoming (in-person) commencement ceremony on June 11 for graduates in the classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022; thoughts on the war in Ukraine and other geopolitical crises around the world, what excites hi the most about SOU; and the value of kindness. Be inspired – and be kind!
February 18, 2022 – President Rick Bailey shares in his February 2022 video “five quick things” from his first month and a half on campus and in southern Oregon – building relationships, using science to address the pandemic, the university as a “marketplace of ideas,” partnerships and collaboration, and observances on Black History Month.
January 18, 2022 – President Bailey says in his introductory video in January 2022 that his first few months as SOU president will involve “strategic listening,” learning from students, cultivating partnerships that will result in opportunities for faculty and staff members, and identifying resources for the university. He will seek to engage with stakeholders and leverage the common ground he finds.