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.
Summer 2023
Volume XIV, Issue 3
As we welcome fall and the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, I am excited to reflect upon the great successes of the past summer and filled with hope for our future.
This past summer, we welcomed new colleagues to the College.
Dr. Marcia Walker is our new Director of the Food Innovation Center in Portland, Dr. Jamie DeWitt was named the Director of the Environmental Health Sciences Center, Dr. Travis Mulliniks is the new Professor of Beef Cattle Management and Dr. Samuel Bell is the new Director of our Sustainability Program.
As we welcomed fresh faces to our team, we also celebrated big milestones. We hit an all-time record for research awarded — over $114 million! That’s more than any other college in the University. It’s also double the amount of awarded research we secured just three short years ago.
In addition to big research news, we also announced earning national arboretum status for our Corvallis campus. This accomplishment was honored with a public tour of our beautiful campus over the summer, complete with Beaver Classic ice cream. The accreditation validates OSU’s long recognized reputation as a beautiful, walkable campus that encourages potential students to enroll.
As always, we were out there this summer. I had the opportunity to visit many of our stations and visit with stakeholders across the state, and once again was given the honor of riding in the Pendleton Roundup Parade. At the same time, we were thrilled to support FFA and 4H youth at this year’s Oregon State Fair, with our Animal and Rangeland Sciences faculty handing out awards recognizing the hard work and dedication it takes to raise and care for animals.
With fall upon us now, we kicked it off in true Beaver Nation style with a huge welcome event for our students and the first-ever College of AgSci Tailgate with 280 of our closest friends. And just last week, we launched our inaugural State of the College event, where I had the opportunity to address our college community in-person and online with highlights of the past year and our vision for the future.
As we look toward the year ahead, each and every one of you has a vital role to play in helping us to realize our potential. I can’t wait to see what we do next together!
Go Beavs!
Staci L. Simonich, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Dean and Reub Long Professor
College of Agricultural Sciences
Director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station
State of the College
The College of Agricultural Sciences had our inaugural State of the College event on October 3 at 3pm. This event was open to all staff, faculty and students who call the College of Agricultural Sciences home. This was an opportunity to hear directly from College leadership about priorities and goals as they align with our core strengths and values as well as the University’s strategic plan.
Celebrating Oregon Agriculture Tailgate
We celebrated the first College of Agricultural Sciences & AgWest Farm Credit Celebrating Oregon Agriculture on September 29. More than 250 students, alumni and friends joined us to taste food and drink, including student-made beer, meats and ice cream, before the victory against the Utah Utes!
Oregon State University’s historic campus earns coveted arboretum status
Oregon State University can now boast about its new arboretum status for the tree-filled campus after accreditation from ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program, an international organization that recognizes excellence in tree-focused gardens. The only program of its kind in the world, ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program recognized the value of the 423-acre core campus arboretum that includes many of the more than 65,000 individual trees and shrubs on the 570-acre campus.
2023 Oregon State Fair
This summer, the College of Agricultural Sciences was proud to sponsor the Oregon State Fair. As part of our support of the fair, we were able to celebrate with 4H and FFA youth “Supreme Class” winners. Faculty from our Animal and Rangeland Sciences department presented awards and spent time talking with future College of AgSci students about opportunities to pursue their goals here.