Now that fall term has come to a close, I wanted to send you a note of thanks for an outstanding and productive term. Below are just some of the incredible accomplishments of our faculty and students. This holiday season I am thankful for the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff, students and alumni.

I am happy to share some of those accomplishments from this past term. You’ll find stories that highlight the excellence and diversity of our community. Also, I have provided a summary of our recent, current and upcoming budget metrics and encourage you to review them.

I am also excited to share the tremendous strides we have made. Since August 2013, we have recruited 16 new tenured/tenure track faculty; increased gender diversity (seven women) and ethnic diversity (four Hispanic, three Asian and one African); and hired quite a few dual-career, instructional and professional faculty, advisors and staff in our College. In addition, we had a 100% success rate in our promotion and tenure cases. We acquired new space for science in Weniger Hall and Kidder Hall, allowing us to house our entire Mathematics Department in Kidder for the first time and to move all statistics faculty and most statistics students to Weniger Hall. 

Looking ahead to 2017 and beyond, we will begin the much-needed major renovations to Cordley and Gilbert Halls and create a Science Success Center in Kidder Hall. We will expand the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Center to make progress in student success at OSU. We will continue to make progress on our strategic goals regarding faculty and student success by building a diverse and inclusive science community, by raising visibility nationally and globally of our leadership in scientific research and scholarship, and by enhancing science literacy through outreach and engagement. We are following the tactics developed by our Working Groups in Data Science, Diversity and Distance Education. We will form new groups related to enhancing diversity among our undergraduate students. Thank you for your help in developing a 10-year capital plan for our College.

I am very proud of your outstanding research and teaching success. Your work has fueled more than 130 stories online and in print this year alone! By sharing these stories widely with alumni, friends and leaders in science, we are becoming more visible and that helps us recruit a more diverse set of exceptional students. It also helps our alumni to have more confidence in us and increase their investments in us. Keep up the excellent work!

I am looking forward to 2017 and all that we will accomplish together as we advance science and build future leaders in science. I urge you to think big about how each of us can have an impact on our students’ success and the success of our colleagues, and to return to campus ready to tackle the challenges and the infinite possibilities that the new year will certainly bring. Coming together as a strong and diverse OneScience community is one way to face the challenges as well as advance science in ways that transform lives and our communities.

I am grateful to so many of you who support the success of all of our students through teaching and research, drive change across science and industry and work to make education more innovative, memorable, active and engaging.

Here’s to an extraordinary year for science at Oregon State!

All the best to you and your families. Have Happy Holidays and a very healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year!

Sastry

Sastry G. Pantula
Dean, College of Science

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Research Highlights

Biologist Mark Novak and an international team of 37 scientists analyzed changes in kelp abundance in 34 regions of the planet that had been monitored over the past 50 years. This global assessment of marine kelp ecosystems —the first of its kind—shows that these critically-important habitats have exhibited a surprising resilience to environmental impacts in the last half century, but have a wide variability in long-term responses that will call for regional management efforts to help protect their health in the future. The analysis was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A new study led by Distinguished Professor Jane Lubchenco reveals that marine incentive programs designed to enable smarter use of the ocean while also protecting marine ecosystems can and do work, and offer significant hope to help address the multiple environmental threats facing the world’s oceans. Whether economic or social, incentive-based solutions may be one of the best options for progress in reducing impacts from overfishing, climate change, ocean acidification and pollution, according to this new report published last month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

A splitnose rockfish’s thousands of tiny offspring can stick together in sibling groups from the time they are released into the open ocean until they move to shallower water and settle near shore, according to a new study led by Su Sponaugle, who is based at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center. The report sheds new light on how rockfish, a group of multiple species that contribute to important commercial and recreational fisheries in the Northwest, disperse through the ocean and “recruit,” or take up residence in nearshore habitats.

Oregon State Arthropod Collection received NSF funding to digitize butterflies and moths, the largest such collection in the Pacific Northwest. This project will provide a research tool and generate accessible baseline data for researchers around the world interested in how climate change and other forms of human impact are affecting these creatures. Science alumni and friends in the Pacific Northwest will be proud that the College’s notable butterfly collection has been selected as part of this important national effort.

Led by chemistry professor May Nyman, a team of researchers including Doug Keszler, have isolated key metal-oxide clusters in water, a significant advance for growing the clusters with the impeccable control over atoms that’s required to manufacture small features in electronic circuits. The exciting paper on elusive Chromium Polycations was published in the journal Chem this week. The OSU researchers collaborated with Wei Wang, an associate professor at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter in the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Biochemistry and biophysics professor Tory Hagen and his research team have found that a specific detoxification compound, glutathione, helps resist the toxic stresses of everyday life – but its levels decline with age, setting the stage for a wide range of age-related health problems.

One-time pollutant may become valuable product to aid wind, solar energy
Chemist David Ji and his team have discovered that one or more organic compounds in a family that traditionally has been known as pollutants could offer an important advance to make cheap, reliable batteries. Such batteries could offer a valuable way to store electricity from some clean energy systems. The inability to easily and cheaply store energy from the wind and sun—which is highly variable and intermittent—has been a key constraint to wider use of those forms of energy.

The news has been widely promoted, landing on Science Magazine’s Facebook page. Congrats, David!

Research funding

Our College is continuing to have good success with research funding this past term. Congratulations to these faculty on their recent funding!

• Ryan Mehl received a two-year NIH grant for $273K for his project on “Defining Roles of Nitro Tyrosine in Disease VIA Genetic Code Expansion.”
• Doug Keszler received $250K from Oregon Employment Department for our College’s project involving Oregon Talen Council investments. The grant will support professional development and industry partnerships led by Chris Larson and will impact student success.
• Colin Johnson was awarded a 5-year $1.7M NIH grant to support his work in vivo and in vitro studies of the deafness associated protein otoferlin using a zebrafish model. Current approaches to study otoferlin in vivo have not elucidated the exact function of the protein or provided a molecular level explanation for mutations associated with deafness. OSU’s stellar zebrafish facilities in addition to collaborations and support from specialists in the area of exocytosis and hair cell physiology provide an excellent overall environment for conducting this research.
• Walt Loveland received a $29K grant from Los Alamos National Laboratory to support his work on the “Preparation of Targets for SPIDER (Self-organizing map–based Prediction of Drug Equivalence relationships). The method merges the concepts of self-organizing maps, consensus scoring, and statistical analysis to identify targets for known drugs and for computer-generated molecular scaffolds. He also was awarded $41K from the Colorado School of Mines for his project, “High Precision Fission Studies with the NIFFTE Fission Time Projection Chamber.”
• Mary Beisiegal (PI) was awarded a 5-year, NSF IUSE (Improving Undergraduate STEM Education) grant for $154K for the project, “Collaborative Research: A National Consortium for Synergistic Undergraduate Mathematics via Multi-Institutional Interdisciplinary Teaching Partnerships.” Held in conjunction with the Mathematical Association of America’s Committee on Curriculum Renewal Across the First Two Years, this project involves a consortium of 11 institutions that will collaborate to revise and improve the curriculum for lower division undergraduate mathematics courses. Collectively, the consortium will impact over 52,000 undergraduate students and 200 college faculty. Lori Kayes, Rick Nashfun and Devon Quick are co-PIs.
• Michael Blouin received a 1-year grant for $332K from the U.S. Department of Energy – Bonneville Power Administration to evaluate the causes of hatchery and wild steelhead’s relative reproductive success.
• Bruce Geller received $216K in funding from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for his project, “Circumventing Antibiotic Resistance with Novel Gene-Silencing Therapeutics.”
• Liz Gire received a 2-year, $119K NSF grant for her project, “Raising Physics to the Surface,” which will create dry-erasable surfaces and other manipulatives to teach advanced physics by helping students coordinate their understanding of contour maps, the physical 3D surface and equations to study physical systems.
• Dee Denver was awarded $94K from the U.S. USDA Agricultural Research Service for his project, “Genomic Insights into Potato Cyst Nematodes.”

Research opportunities

Marine Science Initiative Call for Assistance

Faculty teams or individuals are invited to propose concepts that will contribute to the development of a diverse and strategic research portfolio of ideas, activities and programs that will result in new and impactful science related to coastal and marine environments, people, and resources. 
Research concepts may be pursued at many levels, ranging from Initial Modes of Engagement to Think Tanks and Centers of Excellence. Transformative concepts emerging from the Call for Assistance (CfA) process may draw from a range of support opportunities, including facilitated connections with other OSU faculty for new research collaborations, resources for guest speakers and workshops, the list of Marine Studies Initiatives (MSI) activities for fundraising priorities, and possibly new faculty hires. 

FY2017 Budget Update

The budget of a college has several complex pieces to it, so I thought it would be helpful to summarize it below. 

Summary:  In addition to a historically determined base budget with a few adjustments made each year, our College generates revenue from faculty activities, such as grants which generate Return on Overhead (ROH) and summer session and ecampus courses that faculty teach and that provide significant revenue.

Also, we receive funding from the university to teach Honors and INTO courses, as well as funds to teach additional sections of lower division courses in order to provide improved course access, especially for first-year students. The university also provides our College with funds for graduate student health insurance and tuition remission.

Our expenses, on the other hand, are predominantly in personnel salary and benefits (OPE). Other expenses include Graduate Teaching Assistant salaries, tuition, graduate student health, services and supplies, and startup and other matching expenses promised to grants and common research facilities. 

Table 1:  College of Science Total Revenue, FY13-FY16

Source of Revenue	FY13	FY14	FY15	FY16	% change FY13-FY16
Base & other support	$20,654,235	$22,001,866	$24,330,787	$25,161,978	22%
ROH	$768,326	$679,702	$538,530	$742,122	-3.5%
Summer	$2,419,922	$2,530,999	$2,463,480	$2,217,820	-8.4%
ecampus	$3,272,544	$3,491,747	$3,680,894	$3,767,201	15%
Other	$8,121,671	$9,429,281	$9,693,296	$9,864,348	21%
Total	$35,236,698	$38,133,595	$40,706,987	$41,753,469	19%

Table 2:  College of Science Total Expenses, FY 13-FY16

Expenses	FY13	FY14	FY15	FY16	% change FY13-FY16
Salary & OPE	$21,768,973	$24,461,249	$26,146,607	$27,041,704	24%
GTA	$4,557,179	$5,559,843	$5,343,964	$5,312,191	17%
Service & Supplies	$1,945,713	$1,985,248	$1,897,028	$2,475,468	27%
Other	$6,972,295	$7,523,548	$7,581,192	$7,713,259	11%
Total	$35,244,160	$39,529,888	$40,968,791	$42,542,619	21%

The details:  As you may notice, our expenditures are higher than our revenue. During the past three years, we had to use more than $2.6 million in carryover funds to end the year in the black, financially speaking. Last year, we carried over about $175K to this year. In addition, we had a balance of about $5 million each year that represents startup and other faculty/department 201 accounts. 

After our big jump in expenses in FY14, we have successfully controlled our total expenses, only hiring new faculty through Provost Hiring Initiative and specific funds allocated to the dean.

Looking forward:  We will continue to identify ways to increase our revenue, while controlling our total expenses strategically. We have the opportunity to increase our revenue by expanding our summer session and ecampus student credit hours and our ROH. Our commitment to student success will not only help us achieve our strategic goals, but it will also provide opportunities to enhance our revenue in the near future. For example, new academic programs like our M.S. in Data Analytics and reforms we are making in lower division mathematics courses will also help generate revenue while improving student success.

In the next couple of years when OSU introduces a new budget model that will be more metric based, our revenue will increase as our student credit hours the degrees awarded increase. However, this will require all of us to work together and be innovative about enhancing our metrics and moving the needle toward our goals.

The University Budget Committee is addressing issues related to the state budget, the failure to pass Measure 97, and current and projected flat enrollment numbers. They will present a 10-year budget plan to the Board of Trustees in January 2017. This plan will include a significant, comprehensive commitment to student success and will prioritize proactive intervention and advising, including the use of predictive analytics, faculty engagement in curricular activities and other efficiencies. 

Key Metrics
            
Here are a few of the key metrics we will continue to monitor, among others. Our strategic plan has goals in each of these categories to keep us on track. 

Faculty Size

Category	FY13	FY14	FY15	FY16	% change FY13-FY16
Professorial FTE	164.0	179.1	178.4	184.5	12.5%
TT Faculty FTE	98.1	106.2	108.3	112.1	14.3%
Professorial Headcount	178	194	193	200	12.4%
TT Headcount	110	117	119	124	12.7%

Student Credit Hours

Level	FY13	FY14	FY15	FY16	% change FY13-FY16
Lower	142,256	147,717	146,621	139,216	-2.1%
Upper	63,948	65,818	59,523	59,751	-6.6%
Graduate	18,035	19,320	18,821	18,545	2.8%
Total	224,239	232,855	224,965	217,512	-3.0%

Example:  A 10% growth in lower division courses may generate extra $1.5M-$2M in revenue to our College.

Majors and Degrees Awarded

Category	FY13	FY14	FY15	FY16	% change FY13-FY16
Undergrad	3163	3233	3158	3216	1.7%
Grad	372	411	408	413	11.0%
B.S. Awarded	448	532	543	572	30.1%
M.S. Awarded	48	52	49	45	-6.3
Ph.D. Awarded	35	28	37	39	11.4%

Example:  A 10% growth in Ph.D.s may generate about $60K in revenue to our College.

Graduation Rates and Diversity
The first number refers to retention or graduation within our College (that is, the student starts in the College of Science and stays or graduates in our College). The second number refers to retention or graduation at OSU (that is, the student starts in the College of Science and stays or graduates from OSU in our College or in a different one). Our goal is to increase the retention and graduation rates, and the diversity in our College. It takes an effort from all of us to move the dial ahead.

Category	FY13	FY14	FY15	FY16
First-year retention	66.8  /  84.6	66.0   / 86.3	63.8  /  84.5	65.2   / 84.3
6-year graduation rate	34.3  /  61.7	36.2  /  62.6	36.9  /  62.6	33.7  /  66.0
Junior transfer 4-year graduation rate	48.4  /  60.0	34.3  /  53.1	39.2  /  63.2	40.8  /  60.4
% US Minority	28.9%	28.9%	32.0%	31.3%
% International	7.0%	7.0%	6.0%	6.2%
% High achieving, Oregon high school grads	46.2%	45.7%	51.3%	50.7%

Fundraising

Fundraising offers crucial financial support for our students and faculty. We have been fortunate and have received some rather large gifts recently. However, some of these are estate gifts and may not be realized for decades. It is very important that we have a strong portfolio of estate gifts to provide significant and stable support for our College in the future. We are extremely grateful to the generosity of our alumni and friends and for their vision to invest in our OneScience Community.

Category	FY13	FY14	FY15	FY16
Amount raised	$2.3M	$3.1M	$2.1M	$4.8M
Amount spent on scholarships	$589,965	$628,960	$735,644	$794,961

We have raised more than $2.8M so far this year, thanks to the hard work of Development Director Anne Murphy, department heads, our marketing materials and the important stewardship by our faculty and students. Your thank you notes and your efforts to talk to our alumni and friends at College of Science events have a powerful long-term impact. THANK YOU!

OSU women mathematicians balance the equation

Boasting nine women tenure-track and tenured faculty, our Department of Mathematics is bucking the national trend. When you do the math, we have 30% women in the department, compared to 14% tenured and tenure-line women faculty at doctoral-level mathematics departments nationwide, as reported in a 2010 survey by the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences.

Science facilities updates

The College of Science is committed to ensuring high quality facilities for our students and faculty. COS is aware of some of the infrastructure issues in various buildings, research labs and classrooms. We are working with OSU’s central administration to address many of these issues. We are grateful for the university’s steady commitment to support science facilities on our campus given the current OSU and the state of Oregon budgets.

Kidder and Weniger Halls: As mentioned in previous newsletters, the majority of the Department of Statistics relocated from Kidder Hall to the second floor of Weinger Hall last year. A few statistics graduate students are still located in Kidder Hall. As a result of this move, the Mathematics Department is now all housed together for the first time in Kidder Hall. We will continue to renovate space in Kidder Hall to provide additional space for Mathematics and Statistics Learning Center and a Science Success Center. We also remodeled space in Weniger Hall for both the Departments of Integrative Biology and Physics as part of this domino-effect move. Building strong, harmonious communities for our faculty and students is an important priority for the College, and these moves get us closer to that goal.

Cordley Hall: At 235,805 sq. ft., Cordley Hall is the largest academic building on campus. The massive building has served as a nexus for internationally recognized research for nearly six decades since its construction in 1957. OSU worked closely with the state of Oregon to identify funds for a building-wide refresh. The first phase of this effort was part of OSU’s successful capital request for the 2017-2019 biennium, which includes $15M to upgrade and add an HVAC system, install sprinkler systems to address fire and life safety deficiencies and provide asbestos abatement. Subsequent phases include a floor-by-floor remodel, but require approval by the OSU Board of Trustees and by the state legislature and require us to raise matching funds with the help of the OSU Foundation.

Gilbert Hall/Gilbert Addition: The primary home for the Department of Chemistry, Gilbert Hall and Gilbert Addition are recognized as a research powerhouse in its discipline and across the university. These buildings serve as the primary education space for thousands of OSU students every year who take chemistry courses. OSU successfully secured $2.5M in funding in its 2015-2017 biennium budget to remodel two large classrooms in Gilbert Hall and a large chemistry laboratory classroom in Gilbert Addition. Gilbert Hall will see a complete refresh of its lecture classrooms to improve seating, enable classroom demonstrations, incorporate technology enhancements and improve ADA accessibility. Gilbert Addition will receive much-needed HVAC improvements and will dramatically expand the hood capacity to ensure safe laboratory practices for students.

COS will continue to work on securing new space and improve infrastructure for student and faculty success. Stay tuned for future announcements.

Congratulations, Mr. President

Congratulations to integrative biology professor Bob Mason, the 2016 President-Elect of OSU’s Faculty Senate! He “takes office” on January 12, 2017. Good luck, President Mason! He is proof that scientists make the best leaders. 

2017 State of the University, February 8

The College of Science will present an interactive exhibit showcasing how we impact and influence climate change across all disciplines in our College at this alumni event that draws nearly 600 to the Portland Convention Center each year. The marketing team will be reaching out to faculty in the new year.

Past events

Fall 2016 Distinguished Lecture

The lecture featured Nobel Laureate in Physics and Corvallis native Carl Wieman and attracted more than 200 people to the talk and reception on November 21. Dr. Wieman holds joint appointments as Professor of Physics and of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. VIDEOS:  If you missed this exceptional evening, watch the interview of Dr. Wieman conducted by Physics Department Head Heidi Schellman, watch the lecture, or check out photos from the evening.

Innovating Science Online Speaker Series

The College of Science and Ecampus hosted Gerd Kortemeyer, an associate professor of physics at Michigan State University, who presented workshop sharing his expertise and research on the effectiveness of online science education, especially in physics. We thank Mike Lerner and our Distance Education Working Group for bringing this to fruition. Stay tuned for upcoming speakers.

Discovery Days

Discovery Days, the College of Science’s annual outreach program for K-12 students, attracted more than 1,500 students in grades 1-5 from all over Oregon at its fall event November 2-3. Led by chemistry instructor and outreach coordinator for the College Margie Haak, the program encourages students to explore the world around them by engaging their minds in creative ways through interactive STEM exhibits.

Seminar: Alumnus/OHSU cardiologist Kent Thornburg

Globally renowned developmental physiologist at OHSU and zoology alumnus Dr. Kent Thornburg presented a special seminar on “Heart disease: New Insights from Epidemiology and Basic Science” to a packed room of more than 100 students, faculty and alumni on October 28. He probed whether when it comes to heart health, can people be programmed for the disease. Watch the video (begins at 39:00) if you missed this exceptional talk.

Save the Date

January 24 – Special Lecture, 4:30 pm reception, 5:00 pm lecture. Dr. William “Brit” Kirwan, a nationally recognized authority on critical issues shaping higher education and Chancellor Emeritus of the University System of Maryland, will highlight challenges facing higher ed and then discuss the progress on post secondary education priorities, particularly those related to mathematics and statistics education. Prior to his 13 years at the University of Maryland system, Dr. Kirwan served as president of Ohio State University for four years. While visiting Oregon State, he will meet with campus leaders and administrators, faculty in the Departments of Mathematics and Statistics, education faculty and students.

February 27 – College of Science 2017 Teaching and Advising Awards, 4-5:00 pm ceremony, 5-7:00 pm reception, Memorial Union Horizon Room.