Goal 2. Demonstrate leadership in research, scholarship and creativity while enhancing preeminence in the three signature areas of distinction.

researtchersOregon State University will advance the frontiers of knowledge and creativity while innovating and integrating discoveries to address the grand challenges and fundamental needs for sustainable growth and prosperity. The three signature areas build upon Oregon State’s core academic strengths, the excellence and skill of our faculty and our established national and international partnerships.

 Oregon State will be a leader in solving society’s most pressing challenges through innovative, integrated, data enabled research, outreach and creative activity. The university will further its national and international distinction through targeted elevation of graduate programs, research and scholarship in the three signature areas. Preeminence in the signature areas is the result of building and maintaining excellence and critical mass in key foundational disciplines reflecting the breadth of the sciences, social sciences, engineering, arts and the humanities.

 Strategies

  • Attract and retain faculty to strengthen the foundational disciplines and excellence in signature areas.
  • Expand and cultivate transdisciplinary research through partnerships within Oregon State, along with industry and national and international partners.
  • Selectively increase the quality, capacity and impact of Oregon State’s graduate programs, while improving retention and student success.
  • Expand and increase visibility of high-profile programs in the performing arts and creative work in the humanities.

 

 World-class faculty

Oregon State faculty members are best in class. They achieve academic and research excellence through innovation and collaboration that reaches across all disciplines. The Campaign for OSU has provided more than $100 million to recruit and retain world-class faculty.

 

 Accomplished graduate students

Enrollment in Oregon State’s more than 80 graduate programs has grown by more than 33 percent since 2009. In 2013, the university’s world-class research laboratories and teaching excellence attracted more than 4,500 graduate students from across the U.S. and 100 countries. New Ph.D. programs recently have been added in Comparative Health Sciences, Public Policy and Robotics.

 Internationally recognized research

Research at Oregon State continues to grow in reputation and economic impact. Faculty researchers are renowned leaders in marine studies, public health, natural resources, computer science and many more areas. Over the past decade, the university’s research enterprise has more than doubled, reaching $263 million in 2013. Industry-funded research has increased by 65 percent since 2009.