Vita

Dr. Edward J. Ray became president of Oregon State University on July 31, 2003. He received the 2013 CASE District VIII Leadership Award. He stepped down as president and assumed the position of president emeritus at the end of June, 2020 and retained his position as a professor of economics in the school of public policy.

Under his leadership, OSU completed and updated a visionary campus-wide strategic plan that served as the framework for the university’s development in profound and historic ways. Annual research awards and contracts have increased substantially, rising from $154 million in FY03 to $450 million in his last year as president. Headcount enrollment at OSU grew from 18,937 in Fall, 2003 to 32,312 in Fall, 2020.

President Ray partnered with the OSU Foundation to launch the university’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign. The public phase launched in October 2007 with a goal of $625 million.  The campaign ended at the close of 2014 with a total of $1.142 billion and included more than 106,000 donors to the campaign; 40% of whom were first time donors to OSU. There were 201 gifts of $1 million or more to the campaign (compared to 54 gifts of $1 million or more in all our prior history, from 1868-2004). Within the campaign, $189 million was raised for scholarships, fellowships and student awards, including the creation of 600+ new scholarship funds, representing an increase of 45%. The campaign raised $107 million for faculty support, including the creation of 79 endowed faculty position funds. $264 million was raised for facilities and equipment, including 28 major construction, renovation and acquisition projects. Annual fundraising increased from $29.3 million in FY03 to $131.2 million in FY20.

During his time as president, there were 54 major construction projects at a value of $1.8 billion. Campaign supported projects included the Linus Pauling Science Center, Austin Hall, Johnson Hall, Peavey Hall, the Marine Science Building at Hatfield, the OSU Cascades Campus, the expansion of Reser Stadium, the Haille Ford Center for Families and Children, the Lois Bates Acheson Small Animal Veterinary Hospital, and the renovation of Furman Hall among others. Other university projects included the International Living and learning Center, the Student Experience Center, The Learning Innovation Complex, the soon to be constructed Arts and Education Complex as well as other projects.  

Mindful of OSU’s commitment to the people of Oregon, Dr. Ray oversaw the expansion of dual-enrollment agreements to all 17 of the state’s community colleges, making it easier for students to complete four-year degrees. He also took a leadership role in fostering a more seamless P-20 system, working with area school superintendents, community college leaders and university colleagues to strengthen institutional connections and enhance the student experience. Dr. Ray helped to usher in a new era of partnership and cooperation between Oregon’s public universities. In Central Oregon, an effort to expand OSU-Cascades by 2015 to a robust four-year branch campus of Oregon State began, thanks to strong state and community support and financial investment and now there are several academic, dining and residence facilities on the 122 acre campus, where student enrollment is approximately 1,300.

In addition to his work at OSU, Dr. Ray’s leadership extends to many organizations. He served on boards of the American Council on Education, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities  and the Association of American Colleges and Universities, for which he served as board chair.  Dr. Ray also was involved with leadership in intercollegiate athletics and served as chair of  the NCAA board for almost three years and as chair of the CEO Group of the Pac-12 Conference and the Enforcement Working Group for the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Dr. Ray currently serves as board chair of the National Commission for State Reciprocity Achievement Agreements, NC-SARA, which provides national oversight for interstate online education.

Dr. Ray was a member of the economics faculty at Ohio State from 1970-2003, serving as economics department chair from 1976 to 1992. He served as associate provost from May 1992 until May 1993, senior vice provost and chief information officer from 1993-1998, and executive vice president and provost from 1998-2003.

His research interests include the history of protectionism in the United States, the determinants of U.S. foreign direct investment and foreign direct investment in the United States, the structure of tariff and non-tariff trade barriers in the United States and abroad, and the adoption of Social Security. His work has been published in The American Economic Review, The Journal of Political Economy, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, The Review of Economic Studies, The Review of Economics and Statistics, and other leading journals. He has co-authored a principles text, and his book, "U. S. Protectionism and the World Debt Crisis," was published by Quorum Press in 1989.

Dr. Ray received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Queens College (CUNY) in June 1966, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his master’s in economics from Stanford University in 1969 and his doctorate in economics from Stanford in June 1971.

Dr. Ray’s wife Beth passed away in March 2014. He has three children and three grandchildren.