Skip to main content
A man in a brown suit stands next to a woman wearing a red and black dress jacket. The woman is holing a glass award.
Alumni and Friends

Recognizing excellence at 2025 Alumni Awards

Meet the six 2025 Alumni Award recipients who made important discoveries, dedicated their time to others and improved the world through science.

With green evergreen trees behind him, Skach smiles at the camera.
Alumni and Friends

Distinguished Alumni Award winner changes lives for cystic fibrosis and cancer patients

After decades of researching membrane protein folding as a physician scientist, Dr. William (Bill) Skach joined an industry-leading foundation to help hundreds of labs and companies worldwide develop treatments for rare mutations of cystic fibrosis.

Smalley smiles at the company in front of green trees.
Alumni and Friends

Leader in data science curricula development wins Early Career Alumni Award

Science communication is a raging passion for Heather Kitada Smalley. From interactive statistics and data science workshops to impressive research related to archeology, she demonstrates the impact of data in the real world and inspires students of all ages.

A woman in a black shirt and brown hair sits at a desk.
Integrative Biology

Cierra Freese, Class of ’25: Non-traditional Ecampus student finds her calling in wildlife conservation

When she returned to college, senior zoology student Cierra Freese never expected she would feed a nocturnal kiwi chick in New Zealand or a barred owl in northern Michigan.

Headshot of Scott Clark
Alumni and Friends

Meet Scott Clark, an OSU science alum who built a $30M AI startup

Scott Clark (08) wants artificial intelligence to be powerful — and trustworthy.

An audience listening intently to a speaker at the podium.
Events

Conferences boost career prospects for statistics and data science students

For statistics students at Oregon State University, it's not unheard of to land a job after attending a conference. That’s how Oregon State alumna Chenyang Duan (Ph.D. Statistics, ‘23) landed a full-time position as senior statistician at AbbVie, one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world.

A collection of booths at the 2022 Health Professions Fair looking to connect students to medical schools.
Students

Jumpstart your healthcare career at OSU’s Health Professions Fair!

Broaden your network at the Health Professions Fair, Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

A woman wearing a deep red graduation gown stands on a college campus in front of a large golden ring statue.
Alumni and Friends

Chemistry alumna strides from ROTC to regulatory consultant

In a career spanning forensics and pathology, alumna Lia Murty now facilitates innovation as a senior regulatory consultant.

Eleanor Ford stands on a stone pathway with palm trees in Okinawa, Japan in 1981.
Microbiology

Science and legacy: This 1962 alumna did it all

Eleanor Ford (’62, Microbiology) was six feet tall. Not literally, but when she shared her passion for laboratory safety, her personality could fill a room. Despite being only four feet, eleven inches, and a woman in a male-dominated field in the 1960s, when she talked, people listened.

Headshot of man
Statistics

The versatile statistician: Jon Francis' career across industries

Jon Francis (statistics, ‘96) has built a career working for some of the biggest names in business, including Amazon, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Nike, T-Mobile, Starbucks, PayPal and currently General Motors. What education has allowed him to shift seamlessly from coffee to cars? A master’s degree in statistics from Oregon State University.

Micah Rogers analyzing samples beneath the microscope.
Alumni and Friends

Meet the marine biology alumna that specializes in shellfish poisoning prevention

Biology student Micah Rogers (biology, '07) crouched by the edge of a vibrant tide pool, captivated by the swirl of colorful slimy critters swimming in slippery grasses against wind-carved rocks. It was along the Oregon coast, in 2007, that she realized her passion for marine biology fieldwork was just beginning.

A man in a blue button shirt stands in front of nature.
Statistics

Merging statistics and the environment: Science alumni gives back

Statistics alumnus Steve Stehman honors his roots by giving back to Oregon State. His contributions recognize the invaluable education he received and pay tribute to one very special faculty member.