The first Plant Breeding and Genetics-designated (PBG) classes are being taught this fall, including the popular PBG 620 DNA Fingerprinting, which teaches students how to find the differences in DNA in a single plant variety.

Oregon State University’s vast network of plant breeders has been working quietly (and, in most cases, independently) for years, improving horticultural, food and animal feed crops, forestry products, ornamental plants, and more. Individual researchers collaborated and the creation of a formal program was discussed many times before, but there never was a united, university-wide effort focused on plant breeding—until now.

“We finally just said, ‘we’ve got to do this!’” explained Patrick Hayes, professor, barley breeder and director of the new Plant Breeding and Genetics Program at Oregon State.

To learn more about the Plant Breeding and Genetics degree option, check out this website: http://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/content/plant-breeding-and-genetics

-AS

Scholarship recipients with Ariko Iso of OSU center.

Oregon State’s very own, Ariko Iso, Head Athletic Football Trainer was in Eastern Oregon for the annual Japanese American Citizen League (JACL) celebration honoring 10 local high school seniors.  The event was held at the Four Rivers Cultural Center in the heart of beautiful Ontario on May 1^st.  The Argus Observer newspaper reported this about the evening;

 The keynote speaker was Ariko Iso, the head football trainer at Oregon State University. She gave a very inspirational talk about her life and her journey from Tokyo to OSU, to San Jose State University, to Portland State University, to the Pittsburgh Steelers and back to OSU in 2011. She has been the ONLY female head athletic trainer in the NFL, but that was not her original goal. She wanted to be a trainer in the National Basketball Association (NBA), but she is grateful where her life’s work has taken her and she enjoys going to work every day. Ariko says she has been fortunate to have gone to 8 NFL playoff games and 3 Super Bowls. She was never intimidated by super star athletes, since she didn’t know who they were as she worked 6 days a week and didn’t spend Sundays watching NFL games. One of the coaches told her that everyone’s elbows and knees are still just elbows and knees, no matter who’s body they are on. She never thought that being Asian or female hindered her employment possibilities since she just wanted to be known as an athletic trainer. She reminded the graduates that you need to love what you are doing, that you take one day at a time, and her motto is, “work hard and play hard”. Several of the seniors spoke to Ariko at the end of the evening since many of them are athletes and want to go into health related or physical therapy occupations.

For more information about Oregon State Univesity’s Iso, click here and here to hear her story.

Thanks for reading…
CYN

2013 Pride Week – The Next Generation

The Rainbow Continuum is thrilled to present the Next Generation theme for Pride Week 2013.  The Rainbow Continuum has scheduled numerous diverse events launching this coming Sunday May 5th through Friday May 10th.  Some of this week’s events include an opening BBQ, notable keynote speaker, game night, a camp out and a student ran drag show.  You can find complete details and descriptions about the activities below and on The Rainbow Continuum website.

Sunday, May 5th
Safe Space Training
5pm-9pm
Pride Center
This training is open to all students, faculty, and staff!

Monday, May 6th
What’s Your Pride Moment?
11am-2pm
MU Quad
Share your Pride Moments, and tell everyone what Pride means to you! A video of OSU Pride Moments will be shown at the Drag Show.

Opening Barbeque
11am
MU Quad
Celebrate the kick-off of Pride Week and get some free food!

Keynote Speaker: iO Tillet Wright
8pm
Milam 026
iO Tillet Wright is coming to OSU to speak about LGBTQ identities and her experiences as a queer artist!

Tuesday, May 7th
What’s Your Pride Moment?
11am-2pm
MU Quad
Share your Pride Moments, and tell everyone what Pride means to you! A video of OSU Pride Moments will be shown at the Drag Show.

Free Rapid HIV Testing
12-3pm
CAPS (5th Floor Snell Hall)

Get Out!
5:30-7pm
MU 208
Get Out! is a life size interactive game that illustrates the challenges of coming out and staying out for LGBTQ individuals, and aims to promote awareness and allyship.

Wednesday, May 8th
What’s Your Pride Moment?
11am-2pm
MU Quad
Share your Pride Moments, and tell everyone what Pride means to you! A video of OSU Pride Moments will be shown at the Drag Show.

Deconstructing Gender
6-7:30pm
Native American Longhouse
Come envision a world beyond gender. Join a dialogue which critically examines gender identity and gender expression.

Queer, Undocumented, and Unafraid
7-9pm
ILLC 155
Learn about the intersection of identities for undocumented LGBTQ folks.

Thursday, May 9th
Crossroads Within: Performances at the Intersection of Identity
7-9pm
Native American Longhouse
An exploration of intersections of identity and the role they play in our lives through multimedia performances and art.

Game Night
7-10pm
Pride Center
Come to the Pride Center for a night of fun, games, and food!

Queer Camp Out – Thursday, May 9th till Friday morning.

Queer Camp Out
10pm to Friday morning
MU Quad
Sleepover in the Quad! Bring your tents, jammies, games, snacks, and friends to have fun and camp out.

Friday, May 10th
Drag Race
12-1:30pm
MU Quad
If you need a last minute chance to get tickets for the Drag Show, come compete in an obstacle course while navigating getting into drag!

Drag Show
Show starts at 8pm
MU Ballroom
Get your FREE tickets to the Drag show starting Monday, May 6th in MU 103.

Students that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and their allies (LGBTQQIAA) find a home at the Pride Center.  The Center offers so many fabulous services for our community such as:

• Friendly office staff who are available to talk to, as well as help you connect with a variety of resources
• A library including over 1,000 books on LGBTQ history, health, religion, and more
• LGBTQ magazines and newspapers
• Public computers with free printing
• Resources to browse through and add information to, featuring categories such as:
  •  Scholarships targeting LGBTQ students, Housing/Roommates Wanted, Coming Out,  Events, General Information, LGBTQ Involvement at OSU, Local Resources, Health and much more!
• A safe and comfortable space for LGBTQQIAA students to hang out, study, eat lunch and learn about LGBTQ individuals.

For an unprecedented third year in a row, Oregon State received another perfect score for being one of the nation’s most gay-friendly campuses. OSU prides itself on the fact it is rated 5/5 stars on the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index.  Out of more than 300 campuses reported by the Campus Pride LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index, OSU was amongst 16 American colleges and universities to be classified as a Premier Campus with the highest score of 5/5.

Thanks for reading…
CYN

This is a great video and article on the creation and history of Benny the Beaver and the legacy that Ken Austin has left here at OSU.  Austin still continues to be a great supporter of Beaver Nation and his recent $10 million donation is going towards the new business building appropriately named Austin Hall.

Austin Hall Construction Progress

Read the Article

Go Beavs!
-GG

Each participant enjoyed a feast prepared by the Polynesian Cultural Club that included Kalua pig, rice, haupia, stir fry and other authentic Hawaiian food.

Come back next year to join in the festivities and witness Hawaiian traditions on the Oregon State University campus!

Photo Credit: Eric Feigner

Oregon State University’s Hui O Hawaii

-AH

If yes, applying for housing should be on your list of things to do! Once a student has been admitted they can begin the process of applying for housing here: http://oregonstate.edu/uhds/apply-now .

Applying not only reserves your spot to live on campus but it also allows you to rank your preferred Residence Halls. It also allows you to create a Roommate Matching Network profile. The Roommate Matching Network is a neat tool students can use to find a roommate. Its kind of like eHarmony meets Facebook, it allows the student to create a profile and answer a few questions about themselves and then determine how compatible they are with a potential roommate.

We also give students the opportunity to choose exactly which room you will be living in.

So, if you haven’t already, apply for housing!

Important dates:

• May 20, 2013: New OSU students in academic groups (University Honors College, Engineering, and the Austin Entrepreneurship Program) may select rooms
• May 28 – June 2, 2013: New OSU students who completed a housing app before February 1, 2013 may select rooms
• June 5 – June 17, 2013 at 5 PM: New OSU students with completed housing applications may select rooms
• July 1, 2013: Assignment notifications available on MyUHDS for new students (dependent on space availability and application date)

Go Beavers! Spring practice is well under way and as the team gears up for the new season they will hold a special Spring Game on April 26th at Reser Stadium. Fans can watch the game at 7:00pm PST on the Pac-12 Network or join us in Corvallis to cheer on their favorite team in black & orange.  Oregon State Football will showcase what’s ahead for fall bringing back many returning players, over 302 combined starts, making OSU one of the most experienced teams in the conference.

For more information you can visit our website, glance over the 2013 Spring Prospectus or read about the Ten Things to Watch in Spring Football.

The story of their journey will be told in Kel Wer (“to bring song” in the native Dholuo language), a documentary that will debut at OMSI in a free public screening on Tuesday, April 9. It will explore the challenges the students faced and the incredibly welcoming and resilient people they met along the way.

Doors will open to the public at 6:30 p.m., a photography exhibit of the people of Lela will be available for viewing in the lobby, and the 35-minute documentary will start at 7:15 p.m.

You can find more details about this project and other projects here.

VZ

Governor John Kitzhaber:  “The passage of tuition equity is great news for Oregon.  Young people who work hard in our schools deserve equal access to post-secondary education, and House Bill 2787 opens up that opportunity to them. This will help our state capitalize on the investment we’ve made in these students through the K-12 system while giving them their shot at the American dream. I appreciate the hard work of so many Oregonians to make this possible.”

-bv

Recently, an article was published by the Wine Spectator showcasing Oregon State’s efforts to recycle pomace; or what is leftover after grapes are harvested and pressed for wine. Yanyun Zhao, a professor here at OSU, is working to transform this waste into baking flour and other sustainable products.  This substitute, both healthy and earth conscience, is just one example of the new developments that are being discovered here in Beaver Nation.  As one of only two schools in the United States that have all four designated grants for land, sea, sun and space; Oregon State University continues to be a top tier research institute allowing students to not just sit in a classroom but be active in their field of study.

To learn more about research opportunities; please visit our website.

-AH