The College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University is Oregon's principal source of knowledge relating to agricultural and food systems, and a major source of knowledge regarding environmental quality, natural resources, life sciences, and rural economies and communities worldwide. The College provides undergraduate and graduate education leading to baccalaureate and graduate degrees, and extended education programs throughout Oregon and beyond. Its research programs create knowledge to solve problems and to build a knowledge base for the future. It is a source of information and expertise in integrating and applying knowledge with benefits that are felt in domestic and international settings.
Volume X, Issue 4
Reflecting on my first year serving as the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, I continue to be impressed by the diversity, passion, and scientific rigor represented across the college, the state, and beyond. Looking ahead, I am excited for the opportunity to continue building upon the impact we make across all areas of our land grant mission in teaching, research, and outreach. Our faculty is committed to delivering the highest caliber of educational experiences that include both classroom and experiential learning all over the world. Our research is transforming industries and communities as we bridge the needs of both agricultural production and conservation. Our outreach continues to engage with people from all backgrounds and walks of life, with a commitment to bringing diverse voices to the table to solve some of our most pressing issues. To help us tell that story even more broadly, we are launching a new video that aims to demonstrate that we are all a part of the vision to make tomorrow better.
I hope you enjoy the video. And more importantly, I hope you can see where you fit in our vision. We greatly value everything that our larger College community has to contribute to the future of Oregon. We are all in this together. Thank you.
Alan Sams Reub Long Professor and Dean College of Agricultural Sciences Director Oregon Agricultural Experiment StationOSU Awarded $8.8 Million Grant to Make Cancer Research Accessible
The nationwide effort will take place over the next three and a half years, and OSU will be leading the charge.
Oregeon State University Gets $1 Million to Study Hemp
This will fund research that can grow understanding of how hemp may be used in health and nutrition products, textiles and construction materials.
Making the Grade
As the dean of Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, Alan Sams’ influence extends far beyond campus.
From Shellfish To Hemp To Cancer: OSU Boasts Big Year In Research Grants
OSU has had a banner year in research grant funding—nearly 440 million dollars in 2019. Their research has potential impacts in Oregon, across the country and around the globe.
Cats, like children and dogs, develop attachments to their caregivers, study shows
Cats display the same main attachment styles as babies and dogs, said study lead author Kristyn Vitale, a researcher in the Human-Animal Interaction Lab in OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences.
OSU hires new wheat extension agent
Oregon State University has hired a new extension agent, Jacob Powell, for dryland wheat growers in Wasco and Sherman counties.
OSU names interim director for Hermiston research station
Clive Kaiser, horticulture professor and Umatilla County extension agent, took over as interim director at HAREC beginning Sept. 3.
Solar panels on farmland could meet global energy demands
Our results indicate that there’s a huge potential for solar and agriculture to work together to provide reliable energy.
Four ways to make beef more sustainable
In many rangelands, the problem isn’t too many cattle, it’s that the cattle aren’t using the land evenly, says Leticia Henderson, a livestock and range science professor at Oregon State University.
Frozen Seafood Performs Better Than Fresh In OSU Taste Test
Blind taste tests conducted by OSU found that fish caught and quickly frozen at sea rated as good or better than supposedly “fresh” fish bought at the supermarket.
A New Hazelnut Has Cracked Its Competitive Marketplace
The OSU Breeding Program has developed a new filbert that is one tough nut! Higher yield and more disease-resistant, is everything its cracked up to be!
Oregon State University-produced coral reef documentary now streaming worldwide
“Saving Atlantis,” a feature-length documentary on coral reefs produced by Oregon State University filmmakers, is now streaming and accessible to viewers worldwide on digital platforms, including Amazon, Google Play and iTunes.
The film’s producers followed coral microbiologist Rebecca Vega Thurber and other researchers from Oregon State and around the world who are uncovering the causes of coral decline and looking to find solutions so they don’t completely disappear.
View the trailer of the film in the left hand block.
OSU Foundation to get new leader
The architect of a hugely successful capital campaign on behalf of Oregon State University will step down early next year as head of the university’s fundraising arm and will be succeeded by his longtime protégé. Mike Goodwin is retiring Jan. 3, and Shawn Scoville has been announced as his successor.
Oregon State named top school for veterans in the Pacific Northwest
Oregon State University has been named the best college or university for veterans in the Pacific Northwest and one of the top 25 in the nation by College Factual. (see also Corvallis Advocate)
OSU presidential search process continues
Oregon State University continues its national search for a president to succeed Ed Ray, who will step down as president on June 30, 2020, after leading the university for 17 years.
Celebrating the Legacy of Outstanding Alumni & Friends
The College of Agricultural Sciences celebrates the legacy of our most outstanding alumni and friends. Individuals who have been consummate ambassadors for the College and for Oregon State University. These are people who have had a meaningful impact on Oregon and its agriculture, food and environmental landscapes.
AgSci researchers among most-cited in the world
We are proud to announce that four of our academics from the College of Agricultural Sciences have been named Highly Cited Researchers, according to the Highly Cited Researchers 2019 list from the Web of Science Group.
Joey Spatafora (Department of Botany and Plant Pathology), Brett Tyler (Department of Botany and Plant Pathology), Markus Kleber (Department of Crop and Soil Science), and Vaughn Walton (Department of Horticulture) have all been included on this year’s highly anticipated list which identifies scientists who produced multiple papers ranking in the top 1% by citations in the world for their field and year of publication, demonstrating significant research influence among their peers. This is the second year in a row that Tyler and Spatafora have been named to this prestigious list. It also bears noting that of the 10 researchers in the state recognized for this honor this year, seven are with OSU and four of those seven are in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Congratulations!!
OSU research assistant participates in Bayer Women in Golf event
Braithwaite is one of 50 women from the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada who were selected for the exclusive Bayer Women in Golf event to be held in Raleigh, North Carolina, from Sept. 18-20.
The Team of Evan Bredeweg are the Winners of Conway Science Fellowship in Social Science
Their project will quantify how the patterns of the roads and trails at Yellowstone National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park might be impacting vegetation and wildlife.
The Team of Christina Aiello are Winners of the Conway Science Fellowship in Landscape Scale
They will use the fellowship to combine traditional and modern survey techniques to understand how desert bighorn sheep populations are connected throughout their fragmented habitat.
2019 Diamond Pioneer Recipients
At a luncheon on October 2, 2019 the following people were honored as recipients of the Diamond Pioneer Award
- Paul Arbuthnot
- Sandy Arbuthnot
- Richard Betz
- Dr. Neil Christensen
- Jessie DeJager
- John "Jack" DeWitt
- Leland Hardy
- Dr. Mike Harms
- Dr. Herb Huddleston
- Dr. Gary Jolliff
- Dr. Robert Linderman
- Lance Lyon
- Paul Rasmussen
- Dr. Ronald Rickman
- Ida Ruby
- Dr. Ken Rykbost
- Dr. Clinton Shock
- Stanley Steffen
- W. Bryan Wolfe
- Jerry Zahl
E.R. Jackman Friends and Alumni
The E.R. Jackman Friends and Alumni Annual Meeting was held on Friday, October 11, 2019 at the OSU Foundation. Denver Pugh, President of the Board, welcomed twenty-six attendees.
Observing Healthcare and Medicine in Ecuador
Anna Breen spent her international internship in Ecuador thanks to financial support form both the ER Jackman Friends and Alumni Internship Support Program and the Global Experiences Fund
Kourtney Lehman named national officer for FFA
Kourtney Lehman, who is studying agricultural business management at Oregon State University, was elected National FFA Secretary at the annual convention in Indianapolis.
A Fungus Among Us
"In terms of impacts from my studies, one of the largest and most valuable parts of my degree has been my research project", Gillian Bergmann.
2019 SACNAS conference highlights
In the Life Sciences - Genetics and Physiology section Nick Carleson, graduate student in BPP, received one of only 13 national awards for his oral graduate research presentation from over 100’s of accepted abstracts.
The latest print issue of Oregon’s Agricultural Progress Fall 2019 issue is out! Here are a few highlights from the most recent magazine.
Launching a New Frontier: The Global Hemp Innovation Center
The economic and scientific opportunities with a material that has been illegal for the past 80+ years is nearly immeasurable.
Adapting to a Changing Ocean
The Pacific Northwest may be among the most well equipped regions in the country to adapt to changing conditions.
Research, Readers and Reinvention
Learn what our readers had to say about OAP and help us decide on a new name. Vote here!
Hundreds gather with OSU Extension to celebrate farming
On Sept. 20, the Harvest Dinner at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora brought together 300 local farmers, agricultural industry and business leaders, university faculty and elected officials - including Gov. Kate Brown - in Clackamas County.
Improving profitability of cranberry growers
Many cranberry growers in Oregon sell to Ocean Spray. In 2016, the company changed its color requirements for cranberries, necessitating a significant shift in harvest strategies, moving it to an earlier timeframe. That shift also created concern that fruit harvested then would result in smaller, less-developed fruit, impacting yield.
High-tech land management for healthy rangelands
Sagebrush steppe rangelands support complex plant communities that sustain wildlife populations, recreation and rangeland-based cattle production. Today, they are under threat by both juniper encroachment and exotic annual grass invasion and sadly now only occupy a mere 56% of their historical range.
University mourns passing of Roy Arnold, former OSU provost and college dean
Roy Arnold, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend passed away Sept. 22, 2019.
Roy was a consistently gracious colleague and a friend to many. Throughout his career in higher education at Oregon State University and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Roy was a committed educator of people who were inspired by what was possible in agriculture nationally and throughout the world. As a university administrator at Nebraska and at OSU, he was a leader, problem solver and a person who never was afraid of a challenge.
Roy earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from Oregon State, having earned his bachelor’s degree from Nebraska. After 20 years working at Nebraska in varied positions, he was named dean of OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences in 1987 and then provost and executive vice President in 1991. During his tenure as provost, Roy helped OSU navigate significant budget reductions prompted by voters’ adoption of property tax limitations that resulted in reduced state support for higher education.
While provost, Roy helped launch OSU’s Honors College, Ethnic Studies Department, and the university’s dual admissions and enrollment programs with Oregon’s many community colleges. In 2000, Roy returned to the College of Agricultural Sciences as executive associate dean, and later helped lead OSU-Cascades in Bend for a time.
Over the past five years, Roy was instrumental in helping to plan OSU150 – the celebration of Oregon State University’s 150th anniversary. Roy made sure that OSU150 not only celebrated the past, but provided a spotlight on OSU’s contributions as one of the nation’s only two land, space, sea and sun grant universities. And he emphasized that OSU150 also imagined what the university might become in its next 150 years.
For more about Roy’s life and meaningful contributions while at OSU, please visit his oral history recollections that were recorded as part of more than 200 oral history interviews conducted during OSU150.
Video: “Serving Academia in Nebraska and Oregon” . September 6, 2013