The College of
LIBERAL ARTS
Student Spotlight
Understanding the cultural ecology of the Klamath River Basin
Rebecca Wheaton, an anthropology Ph.D. student, is studying the adaptation of ocean salmon fishing communities affected by Klamath River weak stock management off the coasts of Southern Oregon and Northern California
Wheaton is partnering with the Yurok Tribe in Northern California, as well as agricultural producers, fishing communities, and local residents in the Klamath Basin to understand how the dam removal and river restoration will affect their livelihoods.
“It’s a massive, ongoing ethnographic project,” explained Wheaton. “Our goal is not only to contribute to the academic literature, but also to support informed, community-based decision-making around resource management and environmental governance. We hope our findings will be useful to agencies, educators, and local nonprofits working to make decisions that are both culturally grounded and ecologically sound."
CLA Leadership
The College of Liberal Arts 2023-2028 Strategic Plan
The College of Liberal Arts builds a richer, more creative tomorrow through the rigorous study of human history, human expression, and the human mind. In the next five years, we will pivot towards the knowledge economies of the future.
In the next five years, we will pivot towards the knowledge economies of the future. Today's students will chart their professional paths in a wider variety of fields than ever before, including many that don't yet exist. They seek an education that universities of the past could not have envisioned. We must meet their aspirations. CLA will be a bridge-builder, elevating collaborative opportunities and amplifying the visibility of innovative research and creative work.
We will integrate the arts in research disciplines across the University. We will create globally-relevant opportunities for all students, including those who cannot physically travel abroad. We will prioritize new technologies and pathways for student learning. The College of Liberal Arts will lead Oregon State University as a model of higher education for the public good.
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.
Experiential Learning
A hands-on experience for book lovers
Composit Press, a new student-run bookbindery on OSU’s campus, will begin producing photo books in 2025
Unbeknownst to many, tucked away in the garage of Snell Hall, consists of a fully functional, student staffed, book press, able to print and bind both soft- and hard-cover books.
Under the supervision of Evan Baden, senior instructor of photography in the School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts, students in The Photographic Book (ART 355) focus on the art of book binding in all of its forms, using appropriated and original imagery to create a variety of publications. Now, Baden and his students are venturing into new territory with Photobook Design and Production (ART 399, for now), designing and producing photo books for professional photographers nationwide.
Faculty Focus
From sea to stage
How playwright and College of Liberal Arts instructor Cleavon Smith’s literary passion became his life’s adventure
Cleavon Smith has always been a writer, even before he knew it. His reverence for the written word was something he carried with him since childhood, and something that guided him to Japan, San Francisco, and more recently, to Corvallis. Read more >
With 290 faculty members, the College of Liberal Arts has the collective experience to guide our students to greatness.
Meet our Facultydonation 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.
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