President Edward J. Ray

Dr. Edward J. Ray became Oregon State University’s 14th president in 2003. Since that time, he has led a remarkable transformation. Under President Ray’s leadership, Oregon State has become an internationally recognized public research university and has continued to expand the excellence, scope and impact of its academic, research and outreach services.

OSU-Cascades, the university’s branch campus in Bend, expanded to a four-year university in 2015. A new 10-acre campus opened in the fall of 2016 to serve the education, economic and community needs of Central Oregon. Additionally, Dr. Ray has launched the Marine Studies Initiative — a university-wide effort involving all of Oregon State’s colleges and the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. During the next decade, the university will expand its marine studies education, research and outreach programs as part of this effort.

Enrollment has grown to more than 30,000 students, making OSU the state’s largest university. Oregon State was ranked among the top research universities in 2014, and its online Ecampus program has been ranked in the top 10 for undergraduate degrees for the past two years — both by U.S. News & World Report. Oregon State was also one of only 44 colleges and universities named Best Buys in the 2016 Fiske Guide to Colleges.

Under Dr. Ray’s leadership, Oregon State completed its first major capital campaign, an historic achievement for the university. The Campaign for OSU raised $1.14 billion and included contributions from more than 106,000 donors. The campaign helped to build or renovate 28 OSU buildings; endow 79 new faculty positions; and created more than 600 new scholarship and fellowship funds for 3,200 students.

 

“Excellence, innovation and leadership are the three qualities that define Oregon State University’s mission,” Ray says. “These qualities are fundamental to OSU’s commitment to shape the success of our state, the nation and the world’s ability to address the most significant problems facing our future.”

Dr. Ray came to OSU in 2003 from Ohio State University, where he served as executive vice president and provost since 1998. He was a member of the economics faculty at Ohio State for more than 30 years. He received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Queens College (CUNY) in 1966, and a master’s and Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University in 1969 and 1971, respectively.