Beaver Brags & Briefs Spring 2025

Beaver Brags

Oregon license plates now support university initiatives: the gray
whale plate, bee plate, recently released Beaver plate and
newly announced shark plate. Learn more here.

of all OSU classes in the 2023-24 academic year used low-cost or no-cost textbooks and course materials, saving students roughly $8 million

was awarded to Oregon State by the U.S. Department of Defense to invent nanotechnology delivery methods for protecting troops from chemical and biological threats.

in the nation in NCAA Gymnastics both for All-Around and Balance Beam, Jade Carey is also, as of this March, the first Beaver to become a Barbie doll!

Photo by Mattel

Briefs

Fun Builds Fortitude

Looking to increase your resilience in the face of trying times? The key may be cultivating a sense of openness, flexibility and fun. Research led by Xiangyou “Sharon” Shen, director of OSU’s Health, Environment and Leisure Research Lab, or HEAL, found that adults with high levels of playfulness showed stronger resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Highly playful people were just as realistic about COVID-19 risks and challenges,” Shen said, “but they excelled at ‘lemonading’ — creatively imagining and pursuing the positive, discovering ways to create moments of joy even in difficult circumstances.”

A Spiffed Up Cordley Hall

Built in the 1950s and one of the biggest buildings on campus — housing faculty, labs and classrooms for both the College of Science and College of Agricultural Sciences — Cordley Hall used to be as dark, cramped and outdated as could be. But after a four-year renovation, what was once a series of windowless hallways lined with closed doors is now an energy efficient building interspersed with study areas, lounges and outside views. Labs have been completely updated, and large classrooms have been revamped to meet modern accessibility and acoustic standards. See the results.

Campus Flyover

If you’re feeling homesick for Corvallis, take to the air for a sunny virtual tour via drone. Click, pan and reminisce in 360 degrees as you fly over the MU Quad, the Library Quad and more. Try it out.