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Oregon State University — news, coverage & facts — IJR

The 1800s

The university's roots date to 1856, when it was founded as a primary and preparatory community school known as Corvallis Academy. Corvallis area Freemasons played a leading role in developing the academy. Several of the university's largest buildings are named after these founders today. The early academy is recognized as the first to offer a postsecondary public education in the Oregon Territory. The first administrator and teacher was John Wesley Johnson, a famous figure in Oregon higher education. Johnson received his secondary education in Corvallis and his undergraduate from Pacific University before managing the new academy. He later attended Yale University and became an instrumental figure in the development and administration of several other early Oregon colleges. Between 1860 and 1868, the Southern Methodist Church took ownership and operated the academy privately.

In 1865, William A. Finley was hired as president and expanded the curriculum to include upper-level courses. The growth in curriculum made OSU a magnet for many Northwest young adults seeking professions.

On August 22, 1868, the official articles of incorporation were filed for Oregon State University, known then as Corvallis College. To help ensure the state's sole public college would be well funded, the Oregon Legislative Assembly designated it Oregon's Land-grant university and the "agricultural college of the state of Oregon". Two months later, on October 27, 1868, OSU was chartered as the state's first and only public college. Finley remained in his post and is recognized as OSU's first president. Although OSU officially became a fully public, non-denominational institution in 1868, the Southern Methodist Church remained an important part of the school's administration through the mid-1880s. Up until the turn of the 20th century, the early college adopted seven name variations. As with many land-grant colleges, name changes were common during this period, and helped schools align with the largest federal grants in agricultural research. The Morrill Land-Grant Acts were pivotal in helping OSU and other early American land-grant universities survive and thrive during a time when traditional colleges and universities often faced financial hardship. "This dependable flow of funds provided the long-sought financial foundation the colleges needed and encouraged state governments to make annual appropriations as well."

Acceptance of the federal grant required the college to comply with many new requirements. The school was then authorized to grant Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees. OSU's land-grant designation did not go without contention. In its early development, the cash-strapped founders of the University of Oregon asked the state to designate their planned institution Oregon's land-grant university, but the request was denied. The first graduates received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1870. Within two years, the school was renamed Corvallis State Agricultural College. As the school's name changed, so did its mission. Science and technology coursework became the most popular majors starting in 1900.

Research

Research has played a central role in the university's overall operations for much of its history. Most of OSU's research continues at the Corvallis campus, but an increasing number of endeavors are underway at locations throughout the state and abroad. Research facilities beyond the campus include the John L. Fryer Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory in Corvallis, the Seafood Laboratory in Astoria and the Food Innovation Center (FIC) in Portland.

The 2005 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education recognized OSU as a "comprehensive doctoral with medical/veterinary" university. It is one of three such universities in the Pacific Northwest to be classified in this category. In 2006, Carnegie also recognized OSU as having "very high research activity", making it the only university in Oregon to attain these combined classifications.

OSU was one of the early members of the federal Space Grant program. Designated in 1991, the additional grant program made Oregon State one of only 13 schools in the United States at that time to serve as a combined Land Grant, Sea Grant and Space Grant university.

Researchers at OSU have improved the quality and yields of Oregon's grains and vegetables, particularly through its work in wheat and hops breeding programs. The Cascade hop, widely used in American craft brewing, was developed at Oregon State University and released in 1971. The Department of Food Science and Technology maintains a fully automated research brewery that has partnered with private industry to develop beer recipes and test products.

The university's College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) operates several laboratories, including the Hatfield Marine Science Center and multiple oceanographic research vessels based in Newport, Oregon. CEOAS is co-leading the largest ocean science project in U.S. history. The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) features a fleet of undersea gliders at six sites in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans with multiple observation platforms. CEOAS is also leading the design and construction of the next class of ocean-faring research vessels for the National Science Foundation, which will be the largest grant or contract ever received by any Oregon university. The first of three planned research vessels, the Taani, was launched in May 2023 and will be stationed in Newport.

OSU also manages nearly 11,250 acres (4,550 ha) of forest land, including the McDonald-Dunn Research Forest.

In 1967 the Radiation Center was constructed at the edge of campus, housing a 1.1 MW TRIGA Mark II Research Reactor. The reactor is equipped to utilize high-assay, low-enriched (HALEU) uranium zirconium hydride fuel. U.S. News & World Report's 2008 rankings placed OSU eighth in the nation in graduate nuclear engineering. In the early 2000s, researchers at the campus reactor developed a prototype small modular reactor (SMR) to power large commercial operations, buildings, and large industrial facilities. More recently, Oregon State University has partnered with a leading manufacturer of SMRs, NuScale (a company started in part by OSU faculty), to provide continued research and development for commercial applications.

The university's College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) operates several laboratories, including the Hatfield Marine Science Center and multiple oceanographic research vessels based in Newport. In 2001, OSU's Wave Research Laboratory was designated by the National Science Foundation as a site for tsunami research under the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation. The O. H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory is on the edge of the campus and is one of the world's largest and most sophisticated laboratories for education, research and testing in coastal, ocean and related areas.

Oregon State University operates two off-shore research test facilities near Newport for commercial wave energy technology companies to stress test prototypes. The North and South PacWave Energy Test Facilities are located several miles off the coast of Newport and serviced by the university's Hatfield Marine Science Center. The South PacWave Test Facility is an open ocean test site consisting of four berths, which occupy two square nautical miles of ocean with a cable route to shore of approximately 12 miles in length. The North PacWave Test Facility offers a site in state waters with streamlined permitting (the expected time to permit is under one year). The site is shallower than PacWave South and closer to port.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences funds two research centers at OSU. The Environmental Health Sciences Center has been funded since 1969 and the Superfund Research Center has been funded since 2009.

OSU administers the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, a United States Forest Service facility dedicated to forestry and ecology research. The Andrews Forest is a UNESCO International Biosphere Reserve.

OSU's Open Source Lab is a nonprofit founded in 2003 and funded in part by corporate sponsors that include Facebook, Google, and IBM. The organization's goal is to advance open source technology by hiring and training students in software development and operations for large-scale coding projects. The lab hosts a number of projects, including contracted work for the Linux Foundation and Oregon State Wireless Active Learning Device.

Student life

Corvallis is Oregon's 9th-largest city. It is a relatively small community and many of the local events have a strong connection to the university. OSU has over 400 active student organizations and groups. The campus is only a few hours' driving distance from any number of outdoor recreation opportunities. Several federal and state natural forests and parks are popular student destinations. These include the Cascade Range, a rugged coastline, several large forests, the high desert and numerous rivers and lakes. Portland, Oregon's largest city, is 85 mi (137 km) north of campus.

From 1930 to 1968, OSU was home to the Gamma chapter of Phrateres, a philanthropic-social organization for female college students. Gamma was the third chapter of the organization, which eventually had over 20 chapters in Canada and the U.S.

Most older OSU students live off campus, but on-campus housing is available and required for most incoming freshmen. There are 16 residence halls on campus.

The LaSells Stewart Center is the conference and performing arts center for the campus. Many famous speakers have graced the stage of the campus's main auditorium, Austin Auditorium, while the Corvallis-OSU Symphony plays there frequently. The OSU Office of Conferences and Special Events is in the auditorium.

The PRAx (Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts) is a 49,000 square foot arts center at Oregon State University. It features the nearly 500 seat Lynne Hallstrom Detrick Concert Hall, 200 seat Edward J. Ray Theater, The 3,000-square-foot Kate and John Stirek Art Gallery, Dixie Luana Wooton Kenney Garden, Thomas W. Toomey Lobby and Celia Strickland Austin & Ken Austin III | Loni Austin Parrish & Scott N. Parrish Arts Plaza.

The university is home to Orange Media Network, the university's student media department. Orange Media Network encompasses the award-winning The Daily Barometer student newspaper, KBVR 88.7 FM, KBVR-TV, Prism Art and Literary Journal, lifestyle magazine Beaver's Digest, and fashion magazine DAMchic.

Athletics

In a 2008 national ranking of academics, athletic opportunity and overall performance, Oregon State was selected as one of America's "premier" universities. The ranking, performed by STACK magazine, placed Oregon State 29th in the nation's "Elite 50" universities.

The history of Oregon State athletics dates back to 1893 when "Jimmie the Coyote" was recognized as the first official mascot. In 1910, the official mascot was replaced by the beaver and remains the school's mascot to this day. In 1915, the university's varsity athletic teams were invited to join the Pacific Coast (Athletic) Conference as one of four charter members.

Reser Stadium now serves as the home field for the school's football team. The school mascot is Benny the Beaver and first appeared on the football sidelines in 1952. The next year Oregon State added a football stadium to its campus, known then as Parker Stadium. Fundraisers in 2006 and 2007 helped expand Reser Stadium from 35,000 seats to 46,200. A time lapse video recording of the expansion is viewable on the internet. 1962 saw OSU's (and the west coast's) first Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Terry Baker. The University of Oregon is the university's in-state rival for athletics. The annual Oregon–Oregon State football rivalry football game is one of the longest-running rivalries in all of college football.

The university's home golf course, Trysting Tree's, features championship-worthy golf and practice facilities. The name of the course can be traced back to a locally famous tree near Community Hall on campus where student couples would meet to make dates. Basketball is held in Gill Coliseum and named after former Beavers coach Slats Gill. The Coliseum is also home to the university's Collegiate wrestling team. Baseball is played in Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. The OSU baseball team, won back-to-back NCAA Division I Baseball Championships in 2006 and 2007 and added a third win in 2018. Softball is held in the OSU Softball Complex. Opened in April 2001, the $1.5 million OSU Softball Complex seats 750. Oregon State hosted a Regional and Super Regional tournament in the 2006 NCAA tournament, winning both and moving on to the Women's College World Series.

Oregon State has a total of four NCAA championships. In addition to the three baseball titles (2006, 2007 and 2018), the Beavers won the 1961 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship. In 1975, the men's rowing Varsity-4 with coxswain team won the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Collegiate Rowing Championships in Syracuse, New York, establishing a course record which stood for 15 years. The Oregon State racquetball team has won 10 consecutive USA racquetball intercollegiate championships, beginning in 2008.

The 2018 Oregon State baseball team won the NCAA Division I Championship defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks in three games making it their third title ever in the sport of baseball managed by the same manager from the previous two titles Pat Casey.