Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor

Western Oregon University’s campus has officially expanded into Salem after the WOU Board of Trustees unanimously voted to purchase the historical downtown Vick building on Sept. 11. This $2.735 million decision established Western as the only public university in Oregon with face-to-face instruction in the state capitol and will inaugurate two new degree programs unique to the Salem campus: a M.A in Organizational Leadership and an A.B in Liberal Studies. 

In the FAQ section of the statement issued by President Fuller on Sept. 13, the purpose of Western’s expansion “reflects (Western’s) mission of delivering transformative education and personalized service in our region, including providing convenient and flexible degree programs for working adults where they are.”

WOU:Salem, as the campus is being referred to, is designed to provide accessibility to the numerous amounts of working and commuting students from the Salem area, with many classes strategically being offered during the evening in an attempt to accommodate working students’s busy schedules. 

One such Tuesday evening hybrid class is being taught by Dr. Lars Söderlund, who called it “a thrill and an honor to teach at an institution where it feels that our commuting and non-traditional students can benefit from hybrid-format classes which maximize both time in the classroom and time spent reflecting.” Dr. Söderlund hopes that his Professional Editing class will “be more easily connectable to student’s professional lives.” 

Renovations are still being completed at the Vick building which is set to open in 2020; in the meantime, Western students with Salem-based classes like Dr. Söderlund’s on their fall schedules can expect to continue to receive instruction at the Willamette Education Service District (WESD) Marion Center. Until the Vick building’s official opening, preview photos of the space as well as additional updates can be found on Western’s various social media platforms. 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu