SOU Students, Staff, and Community Invited To Participate In Master Plan Development
ASHLAND, Ore. — Southern Oregon University (SOU) is developing its Facilities Master Plan for the next decade. There will be two opportunities for students, staff, and community members to give their input on the plan.
SOU Campus Master Plan
SOU’s 10-year update to its master plan for 2025 to 2035 is underway and the university has asked for feedback. The plan was last updated in 2010 and the changes that have taken place in the interim- such as The Farm at SOU, will need to be incorporated into the new plan.
To develop a plan that aligns with the university’s mission and the needs of the students, region, and state, the financial limitations will also have to be considered. The plan is not a wishlist but rather an interactive process that involves all stakeholders.
The following plans can be viewed on the Southern Oregon University 2025-35 master plan website:
- Academics
- Athletics
- Housing
- Properties
- Solar
Joe Mosley, SOU’s Director of Communications, confirmed that the plan will reflect the university’s expectations of physical growth and needs over the next 10 years.
Rather than a detailed roadmap, Mosley describes it as a long-range satellite image that will give the SOU community, neighbors, and partners in local government a basic picture of how SOU expects their facilities and footprint to change during the coming decade.
Dates For SOU Master Plan Meetings
The Campus Facilities Master Plan is intended as a guide for the university’s development from 2025 through 2035. SOU has offered an introductory gallery and open house master plan forum over the next two Thursdays. The details of the SOU Master Plan meetings are:
- October 3: Students and university employees are invited to a meeting that will be held in the ASSOU Lounge in the Stevenson Union building from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- October 10: Members of the Ashland community are invited to attend an open meeting in the Stevenson Union’s ASSOU Lounge from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Both meetings will have available current maps that show all buildings on campus and the plans for facilities that are envisaged as additions in the coming years.
The additions include a senior living facility to replace the Cascade housing complex. Other proposals for renovation or new construction will also be discussed.
The facilities master plan- once finalized, is a document that will be adopted by the City of Ashland. It updates and replaces prior master plans. SOU plans to present the plan to the Ashland City Council next spring.