UHDS News

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, Aug. 16, 2012] — The first set of recommendations stemming from an effort to improve collaboration between the city of Corvallis and Oregon State University has been released. But they were upstaged Wednesday by an announcement from OSU President Ed Ray.

Ray used his appearance at a Corvallis Economic Development Commission meeting to reveal that starting in 2013, true freshmen at OSU will be required to live on campus. The rule generally would apply to students attending college for the first time, after high school.

The Collaboration Corvallis Steering Committee, meanwhile, forwarded seven recommendations to the City Council and Ray, mainly dealing with traffic and parking issues (see information box at right).

Ray’s announcement, though, drew the most attention.

“I’ve wanted this as soon as I got here,” said Ray, who will be welcoming his ninth freshman class when school opens next month.

“We talked to all of the parties involved, including student groups,” said Ray. “It’s all to the good.”

Ray said students who live on campus during their freshman year tend to perform better academically and stay in college longer.

“Plus, there is the traffic component,” he said. “We need to do our part to balance crowding and congestion.”

Other measures to ease traffic issues and other concerns in the neighborhoods surrounding the campus include a new 300-bed residence hall that will open in 2014 and street realignment projects to make traffic flow smoother.

“We are making a lot of changes as a university, just as the city is,” said Ray. “We have to be smart. We have to mitigate issues. We have to benefit from the opportunity we have and not harm the neighbors.”

Read the full-article by Jim Day.