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Today in the News Media is a synopsis of some of the most prominent coverage of OSU people and programs. Inclusion of any item constitutes neither an endorsement nor a critique, but rather is intended only to make the OSU community aware of significant items in the media. For more about this section, see: https://today.oregonstate.edu/email/submission-guidelines
You may remember Digit, the humanoid robot with two legs, two arms, a torso, and a head that Oregon State University robotics students helped create over the past decade with the help of Agility Robotics. (see also GeekWire)
A new tower being tested and tweaked atop OSU-Cascades' Tykeson Hall can help researchers track birds, tagged bats - and even dragonflies.
Oregon State University researchers will soon begin testing about 1,600 wild animals for the presence of the virus responsible for COVID-19, according to college officials.
A student team from Oregon State University has won the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute’s 2023 Engineering Design Competition, also known as the Big Beam Competition, in Chicago.
Besides its healthful oil, pumpkin seeds possess other nutritional benefits. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University lists pumpkins seeds as a good source of iron — a vital nutrient that supports our immune system. These experts also specifically recommend pumpkin seeds as a quality source of magnesium, a mineral we need to fortify our nerves, muscles and bones.
Come into my parlor: Gosia Wojtas, graduate program specialist with the College of Education, says, “On my way to the office today, I got to meet this arachnid and marvel at the spin art of what looked like world-wide web against my iPhone camera lens.” We are accepting photo submissions at osutoday@oregonstate.edu.
NEW! Timely Teaching Tips: What are optimal ways for students to study in your course? Each class is different in terms of useful activities for learning course content. Help students increase their confidence by taking a few minutes in class to talk about the Study Cycle, share openly about course content and structure and encourage students to tailor their study activities accordingly.
University Budget Committee meeting on Friday: The committee will meet from 9:30-11 a.m. on Oct. 27 via Zoom and in Valley Library 3622. The UBC is OSU’s advisory body to the provost for recommendations on tuition rates, budget priorities and budget policies. For materials associated with this week’s topics, visit the UBC web page. Join the webinar via Zoom. For questions, email Nicole.dolan@oregonstate.edu.
OSUsed Store Public Sales: The OSUsed Store carries furniture, computers, household items, office supplies and more at 644 SW 13th St. Public sales are open to all shoppers this Tuesday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. and Friday, noon to 3 p.m.; details here. Staff may shop for their department Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; details here.
Meat Center: The Clark Meat Science Center retail store will be open Friday from noon to 6 p.m. Products include fresh and cooked/smoked sausages, bacon, retail cuts, jerky and snack sticks. The store is at 3260 SW Campus Way, next to the Motor Pool. Contact Nathan.Parker@oregonstate.edu for questions regarding the store.
FYI Friday – Cybersecurity and You! (And what OSU is doing to protect you): This presentation will provide a general overview of common threats to the OSU community, as well as tips and techniques to protect you and the OSU community. It will also give an update on initiatives the Office of Information Security is working on for you. Did someone say "Passwordless?" Noon to 1 p.m., Oct. 27 via Zoom. Registration required.
Anthropology Lecture Series: Elizabeth Olson. Graduate student Elizabeth Olson will present research titled, "An Invisible World: How Oregon Farmers are Managing Pests in a Changing Climate," at noon Oct. 27 in Strand 111. Admission is free.
2023 Campbell Lecture, College of Health: “Original Sins: The [Mis]Education of Black and Native Youth and the Construction of American Racism" will be presented by Eve L. Ewing, University of Chicago, from 1-2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, in HFC 115. This seminar is the annual Cynthia and Duncan Campbell Lecture on Childhood Relationships, Risk and Resilience in the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families. Learn more about upcoming and past seminars on the college website.
Visiting Writer Series: Author and translator E.J. Koh, the School of Writing, Literature, and Film's 2023-24 Writer in Residence, will present a public reading, Q&A and book signing at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 27 at the Corvallis Museum.
NEW! School of Communication Career Week: Learn about the School of Communication and how you can cut through the noise, build VR worlds and make your voice heard at Oregon State and beyond. Events run online and in-person from Oct. 30-Nov. 2.
NEW! Taste of the ‘Chives Historic Recipe Showcase: A celebration of flavors from the “Baking Connections” cookbook. This event will feature samples of cookies, muffins, fudge and other baked goodies prepared from recipes in the cookbook. Noon to 1:30 p.m., Oct. 31, Willamette Rooms in the OSU Library (third floor).
Search Advocate Program focus groups invitation: Members of the OSU community who have interacted with the OSU search advocate program in some way are invited to participate in facilitated Zoom focus groups evaluating the program. There are several sessions available for registration on this website for people who have had different roles in relation to search advocacy at OSU (search chairs, search administrators, hiring managers, search advocates, etc.) – the first of these is for search advocates and takes place 10-11:30 a.m., Oct. 30. A Qualtrics survey will also be sent to the OSU community. Contact Anne Gillies or Jane Waite with questions.
Trick-or-Treat Tour on Halloween: Bring your kids to the MU Family Lounge (112) and pick up a map of prearranged destinations for the trick-or-treat tour happening around campus. OSU Departments will have treats, and maybe even some tricks, for you and your children to enjoy on Halloween. 3-5 p.m., Oct. 31, begins in the MU Family Lounge. To learn more, contact familyresources@oregonstate.edu.
NEW! Scotland Study Abroad Session: Deepen your appreciation and understanding of Scotland’s heritage sites and the efforts to preserve them through 3-D scanning technology. Join Todd Kesterson and Joshua Reeves on at noon Oct. 30 in the NMC VR Lab (Snell 100A) to learn more.
NEW! “What Can I Do with my SOC Degree?” Curious about the Speech Communication degree? Interest piqued by the Digital Communication Arts degree? Unsure what career you can pursue with either? Then join the academic advisors of the School of Communication at 3 p.m., Oct. 30 on Zoom at beav.es/q4P.
NEW! Department of Integrative Biology seminar: Lila Fishman, professor, Ecology and Evolution Graduate Program and director, MONTU Herbarium and ECOR Core Facility, University of Montana, will present a seminar, “The genomics of adaptation in Yellowstone monkeyflowers,” at 4 p.m., Oct. 30, in CRB 2196, or via Zoom at https://beav.es/IBSemSeries. For more information, go to https://ib.oregonstate.edu/integrative-biology-news-events/seminars.
NEW! “Internships Aren’t That Scary:” Get some not-so-scary information about internships. Join the academic advisors of the School of Communication at noon Oct. 31 on Zoom at beav.es/q4W for the presentation of “Internships Aren’t That Scary.” You can learn how to search for internships, create an application and earn academic credit while completing your internship.
NEW! Accelerating your research using AI: Come hear how OSU researchers across a range of disciplines are using Large Language Models and many other artificial intelligence tools to help them understand and summarize research papers, write code for analysis, process and visualize large amounts of data and much more in a dynamic panel format. Refreshments 12:30 p.m., event 1-2:30 p.m., Oct. 31, MU Horizon Room 49. Register for in-person: https://beav.es/qJG. Register for Zoom: https://beav.es/qJN.
NEW! Ask Alumni panel with communication professionals: Get answers from OSU alumni and communication industry professionals who have been where you are now. The OSU Alumni Association and the School of Communication present "Things I Wish I Would Have Known," 5:30 p.m., Nov. 1. Register, plus watch free Ask Alumni webcasts on demand, at ForOregonState.org/AskAlumni.
NEW! Register for the Peer Ed Conference: Join other undergraduate students in peer educator roles from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 4 in Austin Hall to share experiences, engage in collaborative workshops and build relationships with undergraduate colleagues in similar roles at OSU. RSVP by Oct. 31 for free lunch. Questions? See our website or contact woodros.wolford@oregonstate.edu.
NEW! Leadership experience: Community Engagement & Leadership is hosting a day-long immersive leadership experience, "Beavs Lead: Spark," from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Nov. 4 in Centro Cultural Cesar Chavez (CCCC). Students will have the opportunity to explore their personal leadership approach by examining their values, strengths, identities and passions. This event is open to all students, but first-year, second-year and transfer students are encouraged to attend. Lunch will be provided. Register at: beav.es/cel. For more information or accommodations for disabilities contact 541-737-3041 or cel@oregonstate.edu.
Department of Horticulture Seminar Series: Join us for the Horticulture Fall 2023 Seminar Series Mondays in ALS 4001 or via Zoom at noon Oct. 30. Peter McGhee, Pacific Biocontrol, will present, “Careers in horticulture: Pacific Biocontrol.” The event is free and open to the public. Please visit our website for presenter’s bio and the Zoom information: https://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/horticulture-0.
Center for Teaching & Learning Quality Teaching (QT) Talk: Shana Carpenter, School of Psychological Science, will present, “Questions as Teaching Tools: How "Pretrieval" Can Boost Academic Success,” at 11 a.m. Oct. 31 in LINC 343. The research on "retrieval practice" shows that practice questions following a lecture or other learning activity significantly boost students' learning. Attendees will be introduced to new research on the positive effects of asking "pre-questions" prior to a learning activity. The session will review various ways that pre-questions have been incorporated into learning activities, and how they can be leveraged to improve student learning and engagement in real courses. Registration.
Diversity Action Plan Open Forums: The Office of Institutional Diversity invites you to help develop OSU’s next Diversity Action Plan for 2024-2030. Attend one of three open forums or submit feedback online. An employee-only open forum is scheduled 2:30-4 p.m., Oct. 31 on Zoom. For more information and registration, please visit http://beav.es/diversity-action-plan.
PERS Retirement Readiness: Tier 1/Tier2 members within three years of PERS retirement: Please join us for a workshop presented by PERS 3-5 p.m., Oct. 31 in the Memorial Union Room 104. Topics include a step-by-step review of a PERS estimate of retirement benefits, retirement options and retirement timelines; guidelines on completing the retirement application; an explanation of working after retirement rules; detailed information regarding the Individual Account Program (IAP); and a list of available resources. This is an in-person event. Please click here to register.
RancHER: RancHER aims to bring educational information to cattle producers by highlighting the work of talented and inspiring women in the field. The free online program takes place at 4 p.m. on Oct. 31, Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. To register and see a list of speakers, go to: https://beav.es/RancHER2023.
OMSI Communication Fellowship Info Session: The College of Science will host a presentation and answer questions about the OSU-OMSI Spring Science Communication Fellows Program in the Kidder 128 conference room. The program is open to any faculty, postdocs, staff or graduate students at OSU. Join us from noon to 1 p.m., Nov. 14 to learn more.
FourSight Mindset Reveal Workshop: How do you approach a challenge? FourSight Mindset Reveal is a new workshop presented by the Office of University Human Resources that dives deep into the way that we solve problems together. This engaging workshop helps people learn more about their own mindset, learn appreciation for how colleagues work and together be able create a stronger team environment and reach more creative solutions. University Human Resources is offering this new two-hour workshop to OSU employees on a monthly basis starting this spring. View upcoming workshops and enroll here. $40 fee for materials.
NEW! Faculty Senate Elections – Candidate Nominations: Faculty are encouraged to suggest colleagues whom they believe are knowledgeable about the university and who would well represent OSU Faculty. Faculty may also nominate themselves. Forward candidate suggestions by noon Nov. 2 to Vickie Nunnemaker at vickie.nunnemaker@oregonstate.edu. Insert ‘Candidate’ in the subject line. President-Elect – Candidates must now be or have been an OSU Faculty senator. Interinstitutional Faculty Senator – Candidates need not have been an OSU faculty senator. Executive Committee – Candidates must now be or have been an OSU faculty senator.
NEW! Blood sugar study participants sought: Researchers in the College of Health at OSU are studying the effects of an FDA-approved drug on people at risk for high blood sugar. We are looking for study participants between the age of 18-59, who are nonsmokers, and who do not have diabetes. The study involves several visits to the Samaritan Athletic Medicine Center in Corvallis over approximately 4 months. By participating, you may receive up to $1,000, as well as information about your health. Email TMR.Lab@oregonstate.edu to learn more and apply.
NEW! Faculty Senate Elections – Faculty with Split Appointments: Non-tenured faculty who have split appointments between two apportionment units may choose with which unit they wish to be apportioned for Faculty Senate purposes. For example, if a faculty member has a split appointment between Agricultural Sciences and Science, they may choose one or the other (FTE will not be split between apportionment units). This choice will determine Faculty Senate representation. No later than noon Nov. 14, complete and submit the survey at https://oregonstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1LcbN37K4QRvr02 to indicate with which apportionment unit you wish to be included.
NEW! Faculty Senate Elections – Interest in serving as a faculty senator or declining senator election: All currently employed academic, research, extension and professional faculty, regardless of FTE, are eligible to be elected to a Faculty Senator position and represent faculty in their respective Faculty Senate apportionment unit. If you wish to either decline to have your name placed on the ballot, or you wish to indicate a strong interest in serving if elected, complete and submit the survey at https://oregonstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cYfsOGz1CtLSjhY no later than noon Nov. 14. Faculty must decline each year.
TeamDynamix down: Due to a scheduled upgrade, TeamDynamix, which powers the IT ticketing system, service catalog and knowledgebase, will be unavailable from 9 p.m., Oct. 27 to 1 a.m. Oct. 28, a total of four hours. You can find the latest information on this downtime, as well as future scheduled maintenance and outages, at https://beav.es/status.
Yoga and Meditation Class Scholarships for OSU Undergrads: OSU undergraduates are invited to apply for financial support to attend classes at Marigold: the OSU Center for Contemplative Practice. Initial scholarship covers 80% of class fees for yoga, meditation and dance classes. Additional funding is available for upcoming programs such as mindful self-compassion, lucid dreaming and more. Marigold is a beautiful biophilic practice center located in downtown Corvallis. Apply for this scholarship or contact us.
Office of Human Resources Learning & Development is now accepting FYI Friday presentation proposals for Winter 2024: Does your unit have a new or existing service, process, system, policy or research you want to share with the campus community? FYI Friday is a program where campus partners are invited to present what they’re working on to a broad audience of professional faculty, academic faculty and classified staff. Presentations can be anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours long. Learn more about the requirements and application process. Contact hr.training@oregonstate.edu with any questions.
Sewing equipment, materials needed at Craft Center: The OSU Craft Center is looking for working sewing machines or clean fabric donations to meet the growing interest of students looking to learn or improve their sewing skills. Craft Center sewing machines get heavy use and having a few additional working machines on hand would greatly benefit the students who use our sewing studio. Popular fabrics are cotton and polar fleece. Thread, zippers, buttons and other sewing accessories would also be well utilized and appreciated. Have a donation? Please contact: OSU Craft Center, 541-737-2937 or email the Craft Center director: susan.bourque@oregonstate.edu.
Notice of Availability: In compliance with the Clery Act, Oregon State University published the 2023 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report for the Corvallis Campus, OSU-Cascades, Hatfield Marine Science Center, OSU Portland Center, and OSU at EOU. The report includes important safety/security policies, fire safety practices, helpful university and local resources, crime prevention programs, and crime and fire statistics for the previous three calendar years. Paper copies are provided upon request. The reports are available without charge.
Graduate Student Research and Writing Residency: Spring Creek Project is accepting applications for a graduate student residency at Shotpouch Cabin for one session during winter break. We invite students who are engaged in writing and/or research projects aligned with the mission of the Spring Creek Project to apply. Faculty are encouraged to share this opportunity with eligible students who might benefit. Applications are due Nov. 13. Learn more and apply.
Spring Creek Project Faculty Residency: OSU faculty members working on projects aligned with Spring Creek Project's mission are invited to apply for a weeklong winter break residency at Shotpouch Cabin. Projects at the intersection of environmental science and writing, art, music, social science and/or humanities would be a good fit. Applications are due Nov. 13. Learn more and apply.
Got a startup idea? Apply to Iterate: This is a one-month program consisting of weekly 90-minute workshops. The goal of Iterate is to equip you with a toolkit for evaluating your ideas from an entrepreneurial mindset. The program is free and open to community members and Oregon State University researchers, students, and faculty. Apply online now — Iterate begins Nov. 1. https://advantage.oregonstate.edu/advantage-accelerator/programs/iterate.
Washington Way: As part of the Washington Way Improvement project, Washington Way between 17th and 26th Streets will remain closed through Tuesday, Oct. 31. In addition to the road closure, the sidewalk on the north side of Washington Way between 17th and 26th Streets will be closed. Pedestrians may use the multi-use path on the south side of Washington Way as a detour.
“Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.” ~ Carol Bishop Hippes
Corvallis: Areas of frost and then sunny, high of 53, low of 31. Frosty and sunny all weekend.
Central Oregon: Frost today, high of 39, low of 18. Frosty and sunny this weekend.
Newport: Frost and then sunny today, high of 59, low of 36. Frosty and sunny this weekend.
Statewide: For OSU employees around the state, find your local forecast here: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr