Today OSU is holding a Repair Fair from 6-8pm on 644 SW 13th Street in Corvallis.  This event is organized by the student group Waste Watchers. Don’t worry if you cannot catch today’s repair fair, they occur twice per term.   This is a great opportunity to help get something that is broken around your house fixed or insight on how to work to repair it yourself.  Additional benefits are participants will save money, reducing waste, and saving natural resources.   There will also be demonstrations going on for people to learn more about Home water conservation, common sewing fixes, and bike maintenance.  This event is Free and open to all

Repair Skills Offered:

• Appliances (small items only, please)
• Bicycles
• Clothing (hand and machine sewing)
• Computers (hardware and software)
• Electronics (small items only, please)
• Housewares (furniture, ceramics, lamps, etc.)
• And more!

Repair Demonstration:

6:10-6:40 pm – DIY: Home Water Conservation (Mark Taratoot): Overview of Corvallis’s water system, water treatment and quality, conservation measures, DIY water audit and irrigation issues

6:50-7:20 pm – 3 Common Sewing Fixes (Annie Kersting): Demonstrations for buttons, patches, and zippers

7:30-8:00 pm – ABC’s of Bike Maintenance (Kevin Grant): Air: Proper inflation and tube-patching/replacing; Brakes: Safe and efficient stopping; Chain: Keep things oiled and running smoothly and quietly; Recommendations for basic/minimal tools.

For more information contact Andrea Norris at andrea.norris@oregonstate.edu or 541-737-5398-GG

Carbon and greenhouse gas management
Sustainability operations for private companies, universities, and government entities
Sustainability marketing and market research
Sustainability and engineering manager
Sustainability/environmental performance assessment and monitoring
Sustainability specialist for waste, energy, or water management
Sustainability strategic planning
Sustainable supply chain management
Sustainable packaging design and management
Sustainability coordinator for school districts, hospitals, and for-profit organizations

Oregon State has been a leader in sustainability for decades and currently ranks 4th in the nation of green energy purchasers (EPA).

-bv

About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university to hold both the Carnegie Foundation’s top designation for research institutions and its prestigious Community Engagement classification. Its nearly 24,000 students come from all 50 states and more than 90 nations. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance.

Once again a big congratulations to the class of 2012!  This last Sunday marked OSU’s  143rd commencement  ceremony and we had the great opportunity to have Michelle Obama as the commencement speaker.   We started out the morning with beautiful sunshine and a light breeze.  Over 30,000 friends and family members filled the seats of Reser Stadium all waiting for the ceremony to begin and the students to begin the march into Reser Stadium.

 check out our full profile of Oregon State’s graduates this year:

• Of this number, 2,498 are men, 2,481 are women.
• All total they will be receiving 5,236 degrees.
• 4,130 will be receiving the baccalaureate degree.
• 231 will receive two degrees today.
• 12 will receive three degrees today.
• 1 will receive four (4) degrees today.
• 766 will receive Masters Degrees.
• 86 will receive the Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
• 197 will receive the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
• 57 awarded the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in an earlier ceremony.
• 303 graduates earned degrees via distance education in 23 different degree programs.
• 164 of the graduating class are veterans.

 

The First Lady Michelle Obama received a honorary doctorate in public health for all of her efforts in improving the health of children in the United States.  She began by praising OSU for the positive impact is has on the state of Oregon.

You have built one of the most sustainable campuses in America, conducting groundbreaking research from technology to childhood obesity, you are serving others in so many ways

She gave the class of 2012 a 3 things to take away from here speech. “focus on what you have not what your missing, lead a rich life and that is to define success on your own terms, and don’t leave behind any unfinished business with the people you love.”

To watch the video of the First Lady’s entire speech click below:

Michelle Obama Commencement 2012

Enjoy your summer!

-GG

Best Colleges Online recently released their list of the top ten Most Bike Friendly Campuses Across America. OSU made it at number nine on the list. There are many resources and programs on campus that have led to this ranking. Students have access to used bikes for sale on campus through surplus, at Dixon Recreation students can access free bike repair, and around campus there is plenty of lockers for storage. The rankings stated that:

Oregon State University’s status as a bike friendly university has a lot to do with its home, the city of Corvallis. This college town is known as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in America, second only to Davis, Calif. The city has an astonishing bike lane infrastructure: 97% of its streets have bike lanes, and by percentage, more people take trips by bike in Corvallis than any other Oregon city. It’s no wonder that this culture has spread to OSU, with 30% of students biking to campus.

So for all the new students coming to campus this fall, you might want to bring you bike along!

-KT

Engineering students at OSU had the opportunity to showcase a lot of the projects and research that goes on in our College of Engineering last Friday.  There were more than 100 student built programs and each specialization was proudly represented.  This event was open to the public and free.  Along with the showcase of projects, a Robo*Palooza was also held during the expo and featured the award winning Mars rover robot and FIRST robots from local high schools. Tours of the O.H Hinsdale Wave Lab were also available to the public.  Last year a boat made out of concrete was presented, it was build and raced by OSU engineering students.  Also the formula 1 racing team was out talking to people about the research put into the car and team.

This is an annual event,  if you missed it this year and are wanting to learn more about the College of Engineering  I have included a link below.  We offer a tour daily at 2pm M-F that focuses just on the many research opportunities that the College of Engineering has to offer students, if you are interested the 2nd link below will take you to our visit OSU page.

OSU College of Engineering

Visit OSU

-GG

The EPA recently released their list of green power usage amongst the Top 20 Colleges and Universities in the nation, as reported by Sustainable Business Oregon. OSU came in 4^th in the nation behind the University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Utah. Oregon State uses a combination of biogas, biomass, solar, and wind energy to help power the university.

Further reading: http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2012/01/intel-still-leads-nation-in-green-power.html

Oregon State continues to be one of the greenest colleges in United States and has a continued commitment to sustainability.

-kg

Greenest Colleges in America

The Princeton Review just came out with its annual list of the greenest colleges in America, and OSU was among the top 16 green universities in the country! OSU received the highest ranking possible from the Princeton Review. This recognition is due to the high recycling efforts on campus, student involvement in sustainability, and the large amount of green energy purchased.

 ”Student involvement on sustainability issues is high on campus and that is one of the things the makers of the ranking probably looked at,” said Brandon Trelstad, OSU’s sustainability coordinator. “We are doing a lot here in terms of buying green energy,” said Trelstad. “Also, 35 percent of the food budget is spent on purchasing local and organic food in the dining halls.”

This ranking is among many that OSU continues to receive for its sustainability efforts. For OSU being ‘green’ is no passing fad. The dedication to sustainability is seen throughout campus, and we continue to be on the cutting edge of sustainability efforts. Come visit OSU and check it out for yourself!

Go Beavs!
- KT

April 7th has been dedicated to nature’s engineer, the amazing BEAVER!  Today is a very special day here on campus because the beaver is OSU’s official fierce mascot.

April 7th was chosen as International Beaver Day because it is the birthday of the late Dorothy Richards of Little Falls, New York who studied beavers for 50 years.

Have you ever wondered about Benny the Beaver, OSU’s mascot?  Click here and here to learn more about Benny!

Please celebrate this super day and HAPPY INTERNATIONAL BEAVER DAY!

Thanks for reading…
cyn

DRC Main Entrance

What draws students and community members to Dixon Recreation Center (DRC) are the broad activities that are available.  Specifically getting into shape, places like the lower and upper courts are a host to pick up games such as; basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, pickle ball and anything else imaginable. If racquetball, squash or wallyball is more your style, there’s about nine courts dedicated to such sports!

DRC Weight Room 1

If bulking up is on the list of things to do this 2011, Dixon has not one but two weight rooms to achieve strength goals.  Weight Room 1 is a larger space that has selectorized weight equipment, plate-loaded weight equipment, a variety of free weights and benches. Equipment choices include Cybex, Magnum, Ivanko and Irongrip.  For a space that is a little more private, Weight Room 2 can also be an excellent spot to hit the free motion weight equipment.  Students looking for a little guidance on a weights routine have access to a personal partner training.  This program allows two students to go through a personal training session together. With partner training, the trainer can design a program that is both catered to the students’ goals while flexible enough to be continued in the future.

DRC Cardio Room 1

Similar to the weight rooms, Dixon has two cardio rooms and a running track to enjoy getting back in shape.  The cardio rooms are very unique and first of its kind.  Why you ask?  Here is an article from the Oregonian describing OSU’s cardio exercise equipment:

Oregon State University is harnessing the energy the machines can generate and converting it to electricity to feed back into the power grid.
It is among the first universities in the United States to do so.
With new technology developed by a Florida firm, Oregon State has retrofitted 22 elliptical exercise machines in its student fee-funded Dixon Recreation Center and already is collecting the power produced by students.

DRC Lap Pool in Steven’s Natatorium

For students looking to hit the pool, can swim or find sanctuary in Steven’s Natatorium (Dixon Pool).  Water in the lap swim pool, dive well and hot tub are all heated to perfection; 81.5 degrees, 83 degrees and 104 in the 16 person hot tub.  The lap pool is available during the duration of the day with lanes divided by, slow, medium all the way to fast.  Also, the Natatorium is home to the amazing Division I; Pac 10 Women’s Swimming team.

DRC Climbing Center

Another alluring amenity in Dixon is the breath taking climbing center.  It is the tallest college climbing facility in the Pacific Northwest, 42.5 ft tall and is highly used by our OSU community.  The multi pitched climbing surface caters to a broad spectrum of climbing abilities and variety of  functions; bouldering cave, hang boards, universally accessible rappel station, cracks, arêtes and overhangs.  Click here to take you to pictures from the 2009 Vertical Festival held in the lovely climbing center.

Lastly, Dixon Recreation (including Rec Sports) is the second largest student employer on OSU’s campus.  In fact, my first job at OSU was working at Dixon Café for two glorious years.  Click here to explore student employment at Dixon.

There is so much more Dixon Recreation Center provides anyone seeking to recharge, rejuvenate, revamp, get buff, or similarly to feel physically better!  Click here to check out Dixon for yourself or here to join there facebook page.

Thanks for reading,
CYN

This is the fourth consecutive year that OSU has achieved that designation, raising its overall score each year. The Sustainable Endowments Institute’s 2011 Report Card has profiles for 322 institutions, based on 1,100 survey responses. The surveys looked at different areas, including overall campus sustainability, dining services, and student involvement.

The university got top marks for its student involvement, green building practices, administrative policies, operations, transportation initiatives and investment priorities, according to Brandon Trelstad, the university’s sustainability coordinator.

Some of the sustainability efforts include in 2007 when students passed the renewable energy fee. The renewable energy fee was an additional fee for students that allowed OSU to purchase renewable energy for the energy used on campus. Another initiative was using the elliptical machines in the recreation center to create power when students use them. This energy is fed back into the grid to be used. Initiatives like these are some of the reasons that OSU was named as a “Campus Sustainability Leader” and continues to receive awards from other environmental organizations!

-KT