The Beaver Caucus

Beaver Caucus Legislative Update: Week 3

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Katie Fast, OSU Government Relations
Week 3 – February 21, 2020

This was a great week for OSU in Salem! On Tuesday, Senator Arnie Roblan invited President Ed Ray to be his guest on the Senate floor. Besides kind remarks by Senator Roblan, Senators Courtney, Hansell and Gelser all extended courtesies to President Ray and commented on his contributions to OSU and Oregon. You can find those clips here.

On Wednesday, both OSU Cascades students and Now 4 OSU Cascades were in Salem advocating for the Student Success Center. Efforts like these and Beaver Caucus’s advocacy elevate OSU’s capital funding requests. We have been getting good feedback about the presence of OSU’s advocacy efforts in Salem this session.

Negotiations around capital are currently on-going. We know OSU’s three projects (Cordley Hall, Arts & Education Complex and Cascades Student Success Center) are in the mix. The Capital Construction subcommittee received a presentation from HECC Director Ben Cannon last Friday, who implored the committee to fund university capital projects. The written testimony for the hearing included submissions from the Beaver Caucus, the Associated Students of Cascades Campus and the Oregon Student Association in support of OSU projects. Beyond a certain measure, we are not able to handicap the politics that drive the outcomes on capital construction. That is why the Beaver Caucus’s continued efforts are so important.

Next Monday, SB 1501, which allows collegiate athletes to earn compensation for their name, image and likeness, will be heard in the House Education Committee. OSU is neutral on the legislation. OSU gymnast Halli Briscoe will testify in Committee giving a student’s perspective on the bill. Other higher education policy priorities including student food/housing insecurity and transfer are awaiting action in the Ways & Means committee.

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

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.

Reinvest in the OSU Statewide Public Service Programs

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During the 2019 legislative session we will be seeking a $30 million increase to reinvest and expand OSU’s statewide public service programs: the OSU Extension Service, Agricultural Experiment Station, and Forest Research Laboratory, which support agricultural, natural resource and community development programs across the state.

Investment in Oregon Higher Education

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During the 2019 Oregon legislative session, the Beaver Caucus will work hard to continue and increase state investments in higher education. Together with Oregon’s other public universities, we will support a strong future for all students, staff, faculty and our state’s economy. All seven public universities will work collectively to make higher education a priority for the legislature.

The seven public universities have sought at least a $120 million increase in operating funds from $737 million, for a total investment of $857 million. This request would ensure that tuition increases would stay below 5% per year each for the next two years. Last August, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) recommended a $186 million increase in operating funds for a total of $923 million. This request is a significant improvement and would enable meaningful investments in student success and access while keeping tuition affordable.

Oregon is better off when we invest in our students. In 2019, the Beaver Caucus is committed to building on the progress made in public support for higher education.

Development of the OSU Arts and Education Complex

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In April 2017, Oregon State University announced plans for a new arts and education complex. The project will 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.

The Arts and Education Complex will be an important part of the university’s portfolio of both performance and outreach spaces. It will bring together programs in the arts, including music, theater, the visual arts, and digital communications arts, creating a thriving center of creativity infused with science and technology. This undertaking will help OSU to fulfill its strategic mission by bringing arts to the people of Oregon through teaching, research, performance and rehearsal spaces; a new visual arts museum; shop and maker space with electronic and computer studio for designing sound, lighting, animation, and video projections and for constructing props, sets, and other scenic items; and mentoring, reception, office and box office spaces.

The Arts and Education Complex will be a new academic facility for OSU educational arts and it will become an outreach portal for the arts, taking visual and performing arts to Oregon youth and residents.

During the 2020 legislative session the Beaver Caucus will be urging the legislature to support $35 million in bonding authority for the OSU Arts and Education Complex. This project will allow OSU to train tomorrow’s visual, technical and performing artists in a state-of-the art facility, leading to a highly skilled workforce that will support Oregon’s vibrant arts sector. Investment in the Arts and Education Complex will make a difference for OSU students and the entire state.

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.”

Guest column: Make the commitment to OSU Cascades

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November 27, 2017
The Bend Bulletin
By Amy Tykeson & Jane E. Teater

As long-time advocates for the creation and expansion of Oregon State University-Cascades and Co-Chairs of NOW4 OSU-Cascades, a recent Bulletin editorial regarding funding for the campus gave us pause. As readers may recall, Oregon’s 2017 Legislature awarded OSU-Cascades only $9.5 million of the $69.5 million requested for campus expansion, leaving many scratching their heads.

In today’s political climate, it is tempting to bemoan partisan politics as the reason why things don’t get done. However, as volunteers who have been working with the leadership of Oregon State University, the governor, legislators from both parties, students, and the broader regional community, we look back on 2017 as a learning experience. The path forward requires us to build upon past efforts, focus on the future, and do so in earnest.

We are tremendously proud of how Central Oregonians stepped up in 2017 to put the region’s higher education needs on the map in Salem. Supporters made a positive impression telling the OSU-Cascades story every time they traveled over the mountains — which was often. Do we have more work to do? You bet.

The facts supporting campus expansion are compelling. Central Oregon is remarkably underserved in terms of higher education. Until the creation of OSU-Cascades, the Bend-Redmond metropolitan area was the largest in the country without a four-year university. Central Oregon’s population growth rate far surpasses the rest of the state, and the rate of increase of the student body at Bend-La Pine Schools exceeds that of any other district in Oregon. This growth is the primary driver of OSU-Cascades’ enrollment, with 70 percent of its students coming from Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties.

Over the past three years, OSU-Cascades has been one of only three universities in the state with increasing enrollment. By 2020, this growth is expected to push enrollment past its capacity, leading to overcrowding and possibly turning students away.

We were disappointed that the campus received only $9.5 million in bonds in 2017. However, as OSU-Cascades is the first new university in Oregon in 50 years, we realize this is a long race, not a short sprint. Our success will require continuous regional engagement and broad collaboration — not only during the upcoming 2018 session, but also in sessions to follow. In the months since the 2017 session ended and with the support of OSU President Ed Ray and Vice President Becky Johnson, we have been working with the governor, state treasurer, legislators and a broad coalition of supporters from around the region and across the state. Our interest is in advancing opportunities for Central Oregon students and for employers who rely on an educated workforce. Economic growth in Central Oregon, which is enhanced by the expansion of OSU-Cascades, is creating new revenues for the entire state. Simply put, the growth of OSU-Cascades benefits all of Oregon.

Earlier this month, a group of campus and business leaders, students, and our own state Sen. Tim Knopp provided an update to the Senate Committee On Education outlining a $39 million request for a second academic building in 2018. It was an excellent representation of the need for, and the passion behind, expanding OSU-Cascades. Earlier in the hearing, outgoing Sen. and former Ways and Means Co-Chair Richard Devlin,D-Tualatin — unsolicited and while speaking on another matter — reminded the committee of the Legislature’s long-standing commitment to a four-year campus in Central Oregon and urged funding in 2018. “That was a decision that was made a long time ago,” he told the committee, “and I’m just hoping that the Legislature keeps its commitment.”

OSU-Cascades is a game-changer for our region. Please join us in support of the campus expansion by writing to your state representatives, the governor and legislative leadership and urging them to follow through with the state’s commitment to higher education in Central Oregon.

— Amy Tykeson and Jane E. Teater are co-chairs of NOW4 OSU-Cascades, a community outreach group focused on campus expansion.

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$8.9 million grant to aid OSU alliance

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By James Day — Corvallis Gazette Times

An educational alliance involving Oregon State University has received an $8.9 million federal grant to continue its work.

The University Innovation Alliance, a consortium of OSU and 10 other colleges, received the “First in the World” grant as part of a competition to encourage innovation in higher education.

The alliance will use the money to study the effectiveness of advising in increasing retention, progression and graduation rates for low income and first-generation students. Assisting such students is a key goal of the alliance.

“This grant will significantly aid Oregon State University’s effort to foster far greater student success,” said OSU President Ed Ray. “Along with other University Innovation Alliance partners, Oregon State will learn how to effectively use predictive analytics to improve student retention and graduation rates through individual advising and academic counseling.

“My intent is to share all that we learn throughout the higher education community.”

The grant will be administered by Georgia State University on behalf of the alliance. George State will conduct a four-year research study on all 11 alliance campuses. Students at each campus, who will be selected at random, will receive:

  • Intensive, proactive advising to help them establish individualized academic maps
  • Real-time alerts prompted by a system of analytics-based tracking when they may be struggling
  • “The … grant will enable us to study the work already taking place at our 11 institutions,” said Bridget Burns, executive director of the alliance, “and test best practices using data analytics that we can share with an beyond the alliance.”
  • Other universities in the alliance, which was launched last September, are Arizona State, Iowa State, Michigan State, Purdue, Ohio State, UC Riverside, Central Florida, Kansas and Texas.