Southern Oregon University

outhern Oregon University (SOU) is a public liberal arts college located in Ashland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1926, it was formerly known as Southern Oregon College and Southern Oregon State College. It offers programs in business, economics, criminology, natural sciences, including environmental science, Shakespearean studies and theatre arts programs. It is headquarters for Jefferson Public Radio and public access station Rogue Valley Television. Southern Oregon University is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges.

Southern Oregon University began as Ashland Academy in 1872, founded in part by Reverend Henry Skidmore of Oregon's Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1878, the school was renamed Ashland College, and then renamed Ashland College and Normal School in 1879. In 1887, the State of Oregon proclaimed the school an official state normal school. However, the state did not provide any funding for the school, and in 1890 the school closed. In 1892, the school selected a new site in the city with financial assistance from Methodists in Portland, and construction began on what was named the Ashland Collegiate Institute.The school reopened in 1895 as the Southern Oregon State Normal School, and state funding began in 1899.

Southern Oregon University consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, and the School of Education. In addition to the main campus, classes are offered on the university's satellite campus in downtown Medford. The main campus is home to an Oregon Health Science University satellite campus, which maintains a school of nursing. An Honors College was inaugurated in 2013.

The College of Arts and Sciences was formed in 2007 by combining the SOU School of Arts & Letters, School of Sciences, and the School of Social Sciences. In 2011, U.S. News & World Report ranked Southern as the 71st best amongst the regional universities in the west.