OUS Fall Term Opening: Table

Eastern Oregon University

First day of classes: Monday, Sept. 27, 1999

Contact: Tim Seydel, director, university relations, (541) 962-3628, tseydel@eou.edu

Oregon Institute of Technology

First day of classes: Monday, Sept. 27, 1999

Special event preceding opening: Annual faculty/staff convocation with guest speaker Karen Marie Erickson presenting "Strategies for Excellence."

New program: Information Technology, an interdisciplinary program offered jointly by the Departments of Management and Computer Systems Engineering Technology.

Contact: Wright, assistant director of public affairs, (541) 885-1163 or wrightj@oit.edu.

Oregon State University

First day of classes: Monday, Sept. 27, 1999

Special events preceding opening: Sunday, Sept. 19: "Black Connect '99," targeted toward first-year black students, the program seeks to answer questions and aids students with transition to life in Corvallis, two-day program ends Monday, Sept. 20. "OSU Connect," orientation for new students, continues through Saturday, Sept. 25. Wednesday, Sept. 22: Student residence halls open at 9 a.m. President's "Welcome Barbecue," projected turnout 3,000, starts 5 p.m., Parker Plaza, adjacent to Gill Coliseum. "Beer, Booze & Books," a free program focused on the dangers of substance abuse, starts 7 p.m., Gill Coliseum.

Of special note: Record number of freshman applications projected to translate into more than 700 new students at Oregon State, boosting fall term enrollment to more that 15,300 students. Would be highest enrollment since 1990-91, when 16,048 showed up for the first day of classes. Just three years ago, OSU's fall term enrollment had plummeted to 13,784 -- a 30-year low.

Contact: Mark Floyd, director, news and communication services, (541) 737-0788, Mark.Floyd@orst.edu.

Portland State University

First day of classes: Monday, Sept. 27, 1999

Special events preceding opening: With over 50 events, New Student Week (September 21-25) has something for everyone. Students will learn about PSU's mission of community-based learning, become familiar with student services, and have fun. Recreational activities include a treasure hunt, Lazer Tag and Paint-Ball games, Swing dancing, Willamette canoe trip, trip to the Oregon Coast, and day hike at Multnomah Falls. Friday, Sept. 24: President Daniel Bernstine welcomes new students at Convocation, 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22: Faculty Convocation in Hoffman Hall, 3 p.m. President Bernstine will give the University Welcome address. New faculty, including PSU Provost Mary Kay Tetreault, will be introduced.

Of special note: PSU continues a five-year growth trend. Early indications suggest that enrollment will rise over 5 percent this year. PSU's Center for Excellence in Writing, which exists to serve local writers, now offers Portland's first and only master's program in writing. PSU's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is offering six new master's degrees, including Civil Engineering, Civil Engineering Management, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering Management, Mechanical Engineering, and Software Engineering. PSU's School of Education offers a new doctoral degree, Educational Leadership, and a new Bilingual Teacher's Pathway program that is designed to assist Bilingual/Bicultural Instructional Assistants in Oregon's K-12 schools. With new programs in Biotechnology, Food Industry Management, Education, Engineering and Applied Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology and Mathematics, PSU now offers 12 undergraduate and 18 graduate certificate programs. Certificate programs provide students with opportunities for focused learning and career advancement.

Contact: Jeanie-Marie Price, integrated marketing program manager, (503) 725-3773, pricej@pdx.edu.

Southern Oregon University

First day of classes: Monday, Sept. 27, 1999, residence hall check-in is Sept. 23, 1999.

Special events preceding opening: Thursday, Sept. 23: Parents reception, 1:30 p.m., new student dance, 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25: Organized events throughout day, mountain bike down Mt. Ashland, community service projects, prejudice reduction workshop, hike Grizzly Peak, rafting and 5K fun run/walk. Sunday, Sept. 26: Special receptions for multi-cultural students, international students and non-traditional students, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.; Monday, Sept. 27: "Welcome Back Bash" in the SOU courtyard.

Faculty Opening Meetings: Tuesday, Sept. 21: "Welcoming Diversity Workshop," 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 22: Faculty Breakfast/President's Address; Monday, Sept. 27: Convocation, 7-8 p.m.

Of special note: One SOU dorm, "Greensprings," will be a "20 years and under" complex. This will be the first year SOU links all the people in its Accelerated Baccalaureate Degree Program (three-year degree) The advisor of that program will also be housed in the same dorm. Pilot programs for new general education curriculum to be offered this year include on and the Human Experience, Physical Geology and Earth Science. New Minors include Applied Multimedia, Video Production.

Contact: Katy Bazylewicz, director, marketing and public relations, (541) 552-6422, bazylewk@sou.edu.

University of Oregon

First day of classes: Monday, Sept. 27, 1999

Special events preceding opening: Wednesday, Sept. 22: President Dave Frohnmayer helps students move into residence halls. "Week of Welcome" introduces new students to the campus community through formal and informal academic and social events and activities that extend into the first weeks of fall term.

Of special note: The University of Oregon introduces Pathways, an innovative curriculum of integrated courses and activities. The new program not only helps new students organize their course schedule for the first year or two of college but also provides opportunities for meaningful interaction with faculty members and other students. Pathways guarantees students enrollment in popular courses, satisfies some or all of the general-education requirements, leaves room for students to take classes outside the Pathway and to choose a major.
When the new Student Recreation and Fitness Center opens with the start of classes this fall, UO students will have access not only to a custom-designed rock climbing wall, an in-house juice bar, lots of new exercise equipment and an indoor running track, but also to a new three-court gymnasium and a fully equipped 10,000-square-foot strength and fitness room. Phase I of the $20-million project adds 49,000 square feet of new construction to historic Esslinger Hall in the heart of the campus and replaces natural grass fields that were unusable during the rainy season with new all-weather artificial turf playing fields. An additional 79,000 square feet of existing space is being remodeled to meet the fitness needs of today's students. Phase II of the project, which includes construction of a separate six-court fully enclosed tennis center and the addition of racquetball, handball and a multipurpose fitness room in Esslinger, begins in September and will be completed by next fall. Funding for the project comes almost entirely from student fees.
Students at the UO School of Law are the first to attend classes in the new 138,000-square-foot William W. Knight Law Center which opened this fall. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke at the Sept. 15 building dedication ceremony. Costing approximately $26 million and privately financed, the new law center contains eight classrooms, a 200-seat auditorium, three meeting rooms, 87 offices, one moot courtroom, eight group study rooms and 10 individual study rooms. A state-of-the-art computer lab and 1,000 computer hookups throughout the building provide connectivity to on-line information data bases, classes and live video teleconferences. A new 35,000-square-foot library, with 80 study carrels, is twice as big as the previous law library space. Grayson Hall, which formerly housed the UO law school, is being renovated to provide classroom and office space for the UO College of Arts and Sciences.

Contact: Tom Hager, director, university communications, (541) 346-3131, relhager@oregon.uoregon.edu.

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