The Beaver Caucus

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: March 3

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March 3 Legislative Update by Jon Eames

The Ways and Means Capital Construction Subcommittee just met to discuss the final budget bills, including those associated with funds for University capital expenditures. Both the Arts and Education Complex and the Student Success Center were fully funded with a combination of bonding and general fund dollars. While funding for the second phase of renovations for Cordley Hall was not included in the final budget bill, OSU will resubmit Cordley Hall Phase II for consideration in the 2021 session. Even though the budget does not include all three projects, we are grateful for the funding for the other two OSU/Beaver Caucus funding priorities. The bills now move to the full Ways and Means Committee which meets at 4 pm today.

Of course, House and Senate Republicans continue to be out of the building, preventing any final votes of all bills on the Senate and House floors. It is still unclear whether Republicans will remain out of the building or return sometime prior to the March 8th conclusion of this year’s legislative session. If a quorum is not reached prior to March 8th, all legislation, including budgets, will be dead.

More to come as we learn more about the final few days.

Thank you to the Beaver Caucus for all your work in this area. Follow us for more updates.

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: Week 2, 2020

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Katie Fast, OSU Government Relations
Week 2 – February 14, 2020

University Day at the Capitol was held on Thursday, with over 150 students, staff, and alumni from all over the state supporting shared public university priorities. This included legislation on student food and housing insecurity, underrepresented students, student transfer and capital construction.

This Thursday also marked the deadline for bills to move out of their committee of origin. Here is an update on several of the policy bills Oregon State University’s government relations team is working on:

  • HB 4055 – HECC to study and develop recommendations on how community colleges and public universities can best combat food and housing insecurity among their students. Referred to Ways & Means.
  • HB 4057 – Bans Lottery from offering betting on collegiate sports. Referred to House Revenue.
  • SB 1501 – Allows collegiate athletes to earn compensation for their name, image and likeness. Will be third read in the Senate on Monday, February 17th.
  • SB 1554 – Appropriates funding for several ocean programs including ocean acidification and hypoxia. Referred to Ways & Means

Today, the Ways & Means Capital Construction Subcommittee will hear from the Higher Education Coordinating Committee on the university bonding proposals. We will be watching to see if the committee gives some indication on the direction they will take.

Thank you to the Beaver Caucus for all your work in this area. Let’s keep it up!

Join us for Beaver Caucus Day at the Capitol on November 20

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Beaver Caucus Advocate —

You can make a difference for OSU! Can you join us on November 20 at the State Capitol in Salem to advocate for our OSU legislative agenda?

REGISTER NOW

Our primary mission will be to meet with legislators and talk about the importance of higher education and OSU.

The key issues we will be advocating for:

  • Funding for the Arts and Education Complex on the OSU Corvallis campus
  • Funding for the Student Success Center on the OSU-Cascades campus in Bend
  • Funding for the renovation of Cordley Hall on the OSU Corvallis campus

We will meet in the State Capitol Building at 9:30am to discuss strategy, messaging and logistics for the day. Never met with a legislator? No problem! We will walk you through how it’s done, and you will go around to your meetings with several other OSU advocates as a team.

We hope you can join us!

Beaver Caucus Day at the Capitol
Wednesday, November 20
9:30am
Room 350 Oregon State Capitol Building

REGISTER NOW

The Beaver Caucus is an independent, alumni led organization. It is a 501(c)4 with an independent board of directors. The Caucus works closely with the OSU Foundation to engage alumni and supporters, giving them the opportunity to amplify their voice and have a substantive impact on state government.

Beaver Caucus Advocacy Day

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Thank you so much for all of the support, energy and time you devoted to joining us for Beaver Caucus Advocacy Day. We walked the halls of the Capitol, met with legislators and staff and shared the message of prioritizing higher education and OSU projects. We helped legislators see the importance of music and the arts with the Arts and Education Complex; the continued expansion of the OSU-Cascades campus with the Student Success Center; the economic and community impact with the OSU Statewide Public Service Programs and the true benefit of an Oregon State education. Thank you for lending your time and sharing your stories to ensure that the future of Oregon State University remains healthy and strong. We look forward to working with you in the new year! Go Beavs!

THE BEAVER CAUCUS LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES – 2019

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The Beaver Caucus is committed to supporting Oregon State University, our world-class research institution. We do this by providing a platform to communicate directly to Oregon state policymakers who are making critical decisions impacting OSU’s future. During the 2019 legislative session we will make sure that legislators and the Governor are aware of the positive benefits that have resulted from the state’s investment in higher education, and we will work to ensure that this investment continues in 2019.

Here are some of the issues we will be advocating for during the legislative session:

1) Maintaining Operating Funds

The seven public universities have sought at least a $130 million increase in operating funds from $737 million for a total investment of $867 million. This request would ensure that tuition increases would stay below 5% per year each of the next two years. In August, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) recommended a $186 million increase in operating funds for a total of $923M. This request is obviously a significant improvement and would enable meaningful investments in student success and access while keeping tuition affordable.

2) Development of the OSU Arts and Education Complex

In April 2017, Oregon State University announced plans for a new arts and education complex. The proposal would renew, expand and enhance the existing LaSells Stewart Center in order to provide the university, the greater Corvallis community, and the entire state, a venue for music, theater, digital communications programs and the visual arts. The university is well into the process of securing $35 million in philanthropic funds and is seeking an additional $35 million in state bonds for a total investment of $70 million.

3) Continued Expansion of the OSU-Cascades Campus – Student Success Center

OSU Cascades continues to face enrollment growth and will need to continue expand its facilities to ensure that it meets the academic, counseling and extracurricular needs of students in the Central Oregon region. The university is seeking $12 million in bonds matched by $5 million in student fees – approved in a campus-wide vote – for the construction of the OSU-Cascades Student Success Center, which will improve learning outcomes while facilitating student engagement.

Governor signs funding bill for OSU-Cascades

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Gov. Kate Brown signs bill for $39 million to go toward a new academic building

Gov. Kate Brown visited Oregon State University-Cascades on Wednesday to sign a bill approving $39 million for a new academic building on the Bend campus.

The state funding, plus a $10 million match from private donors, will pay for a building for classes in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

The building is a step forward in the university’s master plan to add dozens of buildings and streets on what will become a 128-acre campus for 5,000 students.

Brown, who spoke inside Tykeson Hall before signing the bill, said the community should be proud of OSU-Cascades and how it continues to grow with state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology and, she added, “very nice dorms.”

“The vitality of the Central Oregon economy is very much dependent on our students and making sure they are prepared for the workforce of the future,” Brown said. “OSU-Cascades is making it possible for students who love this place — and there are many of them — to stay right here in this region.”

OSU-Cascades Vice President Becky Johnson and state Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, each spoke at the bill signing, along with OSU-Cascades students Melanie Widmer and Lynnea Fredrickson.

The two students described how they made trips to the state capital in Salem to support the bill.

Knopp, who has advocated for the university funding, said he was discouraged last year after the Legislature approved just $9.5 million of the $69.5 million university officials requested.

But in December, Brown called for $88 million in funding: $39 million for OSU-Cascades, $40 million for a science center at the University of Oregon and $9 million for a new field house at Eastern Oregon University.

The funding bill was passed last session in March.

“Many of you, like me, were disappointed with the outcome of the 2017 session,” Knopp told a standing-room-only crowd Wednesday. “But I got a call from the governor after the session, and she made a commitment that she would work with me and the Central Oregon delegation to get to where we needed to be.”

Before Brown signed the funding bill, she took a short tour of the campus, ending up in the dining hall, where she stopped to speak with students.

Her visits with students were short and sweet, but one encounter was especially humorous. She asked Walead Sultani, a junior studying energy systems engineering, how he liked his studies.

Sultani didn’t miss a beat.

“I cry in the shower sometimes,” he said, which drew a laugh from Brown and her entourage.

“I’m a jokester,” Sultani said afterward.

Another student, Al Alkindi, was in the middle of a multicultural club event in the dining hall when the governor walked by and sparked up a conversation.

Alkindi, who is originally from Oman, said he thought it was great that Brown came to the campus and met with students.

It was his first time meeting a governor.

“I’ve only been here in the states since 2015,” Alkindi said. “I haven’t had the chance.”

Article originally published on The Bend Bulletin

Oregon State Legislature approves capital request for OSU-Cascades’ next academic building

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BEND, Ore. – Oregon State University’s campus in Bend is a step closer to meeting the needs of its growing student enrollment following the Oregon Legislature on Saturday approving $39 million in state-backed bonds for OSU-Cascades’ second academic building.

The facility will serve STEAM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

“We are very grateful for the support of Governor Brown, Speaker Kotek, Senator Knopp, Representative Rayfield and many legislators for the continued expansion of higher education programming in Central Oregon,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “We are also grateful to the many generous donors whose gifts of over $9 million helped match this state funding.”

“Funding for this academic building will allow us to serve our mission in Oregon, and especially in Central Oregon, where there are no other four-year university options closer than three hours,” said Ray.

The legislature approved $9.5 million in state bonding in the 2017 session in part to support site preparation of undeveloped campus property where the new academic building will be constructed.

At the time, OSU officials pledged to seek additional state funding for the building in the 2018 legislative session. Over the past months, Central Oregon community, business and economic leaders, advocates with the Beaver Caucus, and undergraduate students traveled to Salem to support funding for increasing campus capacity in what is the fastest growing region in Oregon.

“We anticipate construction to begin in summer 2019, following remediation of portions of the pumice mine and landfill that adjoin our campus,” said OSU-Cascades Vice President Becky Johnson. “This new academic building will house classrooms and laboratories and be ready for students in fall 2021.”

Advocacy Day at the Capitol

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Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Advocacy Day at the Capitol on January 11. Members of the Beaver Caucus, Now4 OSU-Cascades and the Bend Chamber appealed directly to legislators to support funding for the expansion of the OSU-Cascades campus. We are grateful to the State Treasurer, the Speaker, members of the legislative leadership and all legislators who spent time with us to learn about OSU-Cascades and the critical importance of this campus to Central Oregon and the state.

To all who participated, thank you for lending your thoughts and sharing your stories to ensure that the future of our great university remains healthy and strong. We look forward to an exciting year of advocacy on behalf of OSU.

Go Beavs!