The College of
LIBERAL ARTS
Student Spotlight
The whole student approach: Weaving culture and wellness into higher education
Keenyn Irene Kehaulani Santiago blends Native Hawaiian health, recreation, and student affairs to develop culturally sound approaches to wellness in higher education
Growing up in the small rural town of Kahuku, Oahu, Keenyn Irene Kehaulani Santiago learned community, determination, and the value of service. Those lessons from her early years on Oahu continue to shape her journey as she finishes her master’s at the School of Language, Culture, and Society’s College Student Services Administration program.
The Launchpad Scholars Program invites all First Gen, first-term, first-year Liberal Arts students to a training session for writing successful scholarship applications.
Faculty Excellence
College of Liberal Arts year-end reading list 2025
The College of Liberal Arts consists of voracious readers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and more. While there are always too many worthy books to note, these were ones faculty and staff found particularly interesting and impactful. Here are just some of the books they couldn’t put down in 2025!
CLA BY THE NUMBERS
5,026
The right size for your education
The College of Liberal Arts is the proud academic home of 5,026 students. With 1 faculty member for every 15 undergraduate students, you'll receive a personalized education paired with a robust liberal arts college experience.
World Class Instruction
Our dynamic, intellectual community of 336 expert faculty tackle the world’s biggest issues from social justice to food insecurity. They conduct symphonies and design in virtual reality. They study the past to forge solutions for the future.
336
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4-Year Graduation Guarantee
CLA is the only college at Oregon State that guarantees you'll graduate in 4 years. Our graduates go on to successful careers in medicine, technology, the arts, media, law, policy, education, business and more. Your path is wide open.
Research Highlights
How artificial intelligence is shaping innovation in manufacturing and advanced materials sector
Assistant Professor John P. Nelson in the School of Public Policy explores the possibilities of how AI can help and hurt technological progress
Improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) have driven increasing attention to AI’s implications for scientific research and technological development. It’s presumed that AI will help to accelerate scientific advancement, leading to economic growth and the development of solutions to global problems. But how plausible are these expectations for AI?
A new study by Nelson sheds light on the real-world impact of AI and machine learning on technological progress in manufacturing and materials science.
Faculty Focus
The legacy of Gordon Gilkey
Gilkey, the College of Liberal Arts’ first dean, headed the German Wartime Art Project during WWII, where he tracked down and gathered over eight thousand pieces of German art produced under Adolf Hitler’s rule
Born and raised in Lane County, Oregon, Gilkey graduated from the University of Oregon in 1936 with a Master of Fine Arts. After World War II, Gilkey returned to Oregon where his service to the arts continued as chairman of OSU's art department and dean of CLA. He had tremendous impact on OSU, local and national art scenes, and museums across the U.S.
donation innovation
Visionary Donations Funding our Future: PRAx
“The Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts will serve as a unique and dynamic education and performance center and will be a showcase destination for the visual, musical, theater and cultural arts for students, faculty, campus visitors and Oregonians,” said Larry Rodgers, dean of OSU’s College of Liberal Arts.
A lead gift of $25 million for the complex has been provided by Patricia Reser. Additional gifts include a $2 million commitment from the family of the late Lynne Detrick of West Linn to build a new 500-seat concert hall to offer a high-caliber venue for both listeners and performers, Rodgers said. The OSU Foundation continues to seek philanthropic support for the center, and OSU will also seek state bonding from the 2020 Oregon Legislature to help support the project.
Explore PRAx