Hot topics
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Year in review: OSU president looks back at 2005, shares plans for '06
Dr. Ray thinks of the 2004-05 school year as one of staging, laying the groundwork for future construction, fund-raising and policy plans. His goals for 2006 include encouraging collaboration within departments and with outside industries and other universities, and continuing preparations for the school's first-ever capital campaign.
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OSU enrollment stays steady
The numbers remain fairly consistent with the 2004 figures — a trend also reflected in the Oregon University System’s overall enrollment report. OSU had 19,236 students this fall, up 0.4 percent from 2004. Full-time equivalent students numbered 17,845.8, a decline of 0.7 percent.
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Scorched forests best left alone, study finds
An OSU-led research team concludes that in the first few years after a fire, forests can recover as well or better on their own than if they are logged and replanted. The findings, published Thursday in online editions of the journal Science, undermine arguments behind a U.S. Forest Service program to salvage burned trees and plant seedlings across thousands of acres blackened by the 2002 southwest Oregon Biscuit blaze.
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Carry Me Back |
Given the fact that George Edmonston Jr., the editor of E-clips and the Oregon Stater, will soon be retiring, he will close out his involvement with E-clips by sharing a list of the 20 historical events he considers to be the most important in school history. He'll cover one event each week.
#18: The contributions of Ida Kidder
The role of the library is often understated when schools boast of quality academics. But make no mistake about it: strong libraries make for strong universities. In July 1908, Oregon State took this axiom to heart with the hiring of its first professional librarian, a 50-year-old University of Illinois graduate named Ida
Kidder.
The year 1880 marks the true beginning of OSU's library. The holdings of what was then known as Corvallis College numbered less than 600 volumes (and miscellaneous items) and were under the part-time supervision of a student named Leo Stock. By 1899, the collection had grown to 8,000 books, pamphlets and bulletins. At Kidder's hiring, the library contained approximately 7,180 books, plus 15,000 government documents and other assorted materials. |
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| Mother Kidder |
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The library was located in Benton Hall, in what is today the band room for the department of music. Inspired by President William Jasper Kerr's dream of bringing national recognition to Oregon's land grant college, Kidder labored tirelessly to elevate the college's library equal to that of Kerr's aspirations. The result was unparalleled growth in holdings and budget, accompanied by a 900 percent increase in staffing. By the time of her passing on Feb. 20, 1920, the library had grown to over 35,000 volumes and was housed in a spacious new building Kidder helped plan and construct. First opened in the fall of 1918, it was renamed Kidder Hall in 1963. Today, the facility is home to the College of Science.
In time, Ida Kidder enjoyed such a level of devotion and respect, she became known to everyone simply as "Mother" Kidder. When Homer Maris penned OSU's Alma Mater, "Carry Me Back," in 1919, he dedicated the beautiful song to "Mother" Kidder.
Immediately after her death, OSU's beloved faculty member was allowed to lie in state in the main lobby of the library for the campus and community to pay their final respects. The event may be unique in the history of college or university libraries. Classes were cancelled for two hours. An ROTC honor guard stood watch over the casket.
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Oregon State University Alumni Association
204 CH2M HILL Alumni Center | Corvallis, OR 97331-3481
Phone: 541-737-2351 | Toll free: 877-305-3759 | Fax: 541-737-3481
Questions or comments? Send to: OSUalum@oregonstate.edu
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