Sitting down with Ben Cannon, education political advisor to Gov. Kitzhaber, I gained a firsthand look at the priorities Oregon has as a state and the promise the governor has made to education. The openness of the legislators and Cannon was refreshing and made our trip to the capitol well worth the drive. Students and faculty sat down and talked shop with decision makers to express their opinions and concerns for the proposed budget. New buildings at OSU were a hot topic and at least four are in the works of being built on campus for a variety of uses.

On a lighter note, the OSU Meister singers impressed the House with a booming performance to open their morning session and Benny the Beaver made quite a few cameos around the capitol. Many groups from OSU were tabling at the event including the College of Liberal Arts, 4-H Tech Wizards, and the School of Public Policy master’s program. Legislators and staff at the capitol walked away from the event with lots of OSU swag including black and orange ties and scarves, candy, OSU produced food, and free health screenings!

The event happens every 2 years and the OSU staff from the Government Relations Office working on the project really pulled together a great event that everyone found rewarding!