November 14, 2024 – Two timely topics are addressed in this month’s video update from President Rick Bailey: SOU’s attitude toward both and external politics and internal shared governance. The president said that “we just had a huge, huge election, and I would say we’re still in the middle of that election season.” The thing that has made him most proud is that SOU has students, faculty and staff who fall on both sides of the political spectrum – very progressive and very conservative – and that we are at our best “when we strive to listen to each other.” President Bailey said that even in his personal life, “as we have healthy and civil debates, there are points that I hadn’t even thought of before.” He also said that SOU’s shared governance model – which involves student, faculty and staff leaders – is particularly important as the university serves as a marketplace of ideas. The input and involvement of those groups help us get to better strategic decisions. He said the collective approach will continue to be strengthened and to serve SOU, because “authority is most effective when it is shared.”

September 9, 2024 – President Rick Bailey invites all members of SOU’s campus community to enjoy the promise and excitement of a new academic year that will begin later this month. He says it’s the “magical relationship between students, faculty and staff” that make SOU such a special place in higher education, and that those relationships will begin growing from the start of classes on Sept. 25. President Bailey discusses a recent trip to Taiwan with the presidents of some other public universities in Oregon, and the potential for new relationships with Taiwanese universities. He also points out that a nationwide delay in updating this year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form – a key document for most forms of financial aid – will likely affect fall term enrollment numbers at SOU, and at other universities throughout the state and across the country. But he said SOU’s Financial Aid Office was the first in Oregon to roll this year’s financial aid packages out to students, and is continuing to work with new and returning students. “When we do face challenges, and when we come together as a campus community, there is no obstacle that we cannot overcome,” the president said.

May 21, 2024 – President Rick Bailey offers an update on SOU’s solar ambitions, and also addresses protests on campuses near and far over the tragedies in Israel and Gaza. SOU is a little less than a third of the way to the seven megawatts of solar generating capacity it will need to become the first public university to produce all of its own daytime electricity. New solar arrays are in the works atop Lithia Motors Pavilion and The Hawk dining commons, and SOU’s first solar-covered parking lot will likely be in the works within the year. President Bailey recognizes that both the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel and the ongoing loss of innocent lives in Gaza are “horrific,” and that students, faculty and staff have strong feelings about it. SOU supports the right to speak out about the situation, but urges nonviolence. President Bailey quotes Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

March 20, 2024 – President Rick Bailey celebrates SOU academics and athletics, and thanks state lawmakers for their support, in this month’s video message. Graphic design students in the Emerging Media & Digital Arts program completed work on a rebranding project with the city of Shady Cove, four recent Theatre Arts graduates are acting in Oregon Shakespeare Festival productions and SOU students just returned from Guanajuato, Mexico, as part of the Global Innovation Scholars program in the School of Business. Congratulations to the Cheer & Dance team and women’s basketball and wrestling teams for successful seasons. And a paraphrase from The Rev. Jesse Jackson about kindness: Never look down on someone unless leaning over to help them up.

November 20, 2023 – President Rick Bailey celebrates SOU’s groundbreaking fall enrollment gains in this month’s video message. Increases of 15% in the freshman class and 10% for transfers, along with solid retention gains for all undergraduates, “set SOU apart” from Oregon’s other public universities. He credits data-sharing agreements with Oregon high schools, visits to K-12 districts, data analytics and hard work by admissions staff. The president also discusses SOU’s novel general education core and the “connection” of community members with the university.