UO Joins Center to Study Natural Hazards
Researchers at the University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences are joining a new $15 million National Science Foundation center that will unite researchers across the country to better understand and prepare for natural hazards like landslides, flooding, debris flows and river erosion.
“This new center is so exciting because it recognizes how surface hazards are increasing in frequency and impact,” said Josh Roering, professor of earth sciences at the UO. “We hear more and more about catastrophic events that result from interconnected processes like landslides, outburst floods, fires, earthquakes and thawing permafrost. By bringing together a community of scholars to study these surface hazards, we will improve our knowledge and, more importantly, help translate that knowledge to reduce risk and improve public safety.”
UO researchers will focus on how climate change and shifting storm patterns influence landslides and debris flows. In partnership with academic and tribal groups in Alaska, the UO team will use seismic sensors, satellite imagery, drone surveys and computer modeling to track hazards and predict when and where they are most likely to occur.
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Gifts to the College of Arts and Sciences can help our students make the most of their college careers. To do this, CAS needs your support. Your contributions help us ensure that teaching, research, advising, mentoring, and support services are fully available to every student. Thank you!
What’s Happening in CAS?
The College of Arts and Sciences is proud to announce that the class of 2025 is nearly 3,000 strong: 2,611 undergraduates, 208 master's students, and 117 PhD students. Hear from three CAS students about their proudest accomplishments as an undergraduate student, what their post-college aspirations are, and advice for incoming first-year students.
Plus, hear from Portland real estate developer, philanthropist and UO alumnus Jordan Schnitzer about why he and his family were inspired to give CAS a $25 million gift to the Schnitzer School of Global Studies and Languages.
Also in the June issue of CAS Connection: Find out what Batman's Joker tells us about madness over the past several decades, how the Prison Education Program is transformative for students, why volcanic ash secured by a CAS researcher is highly sought after by researchers from around the world—and more.
Undergraduate Studies
Wherever your academic goals eventually take you at the UO, all Ducks begin their journey with foundational courses in CAS. More than 60 percent of students go on to pursue a major in a CAS department or program. With more than 50 departments and programs, there’s an intellectual home for almost any interest, talent, or career aspiration.
Graduate Studies
The College of Arts and Sciences offers more than 30 master's programs and more than 20 doctoral programs across a diverse range of disciplines. Both as contributors to research teams and through their own scholarship and teaching, our CAS graduate students are indispensable to the vitality of the UO academic mission.
Student Support Services
We provide our students with a variety of resources to help you thrive inside and outside the classroom. Through Tykeson Advising, we provide comprehensive academic and career advising from the start of your journey at the University of Oregon. Learn about career preparation and get assistance in selecting the very best classes. Connect with labs, libraries, IT and tutoring. Find your community on campus.
World-Class Faculty
The College of Arts and Sciences faculty members are a driving force of the high-output, high-impact research activity that has earned the UO membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU). Our world-class faculty members are inspiring teachers.
Among them are five members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, four members of the National Academy of Sciences. They are committed to helping students discover their academic passion. Every day, they work to expand students’ intellectual horizons, preparing them for life after college with real-world knowledge and skills.
Meet our Dean
In the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), we are committed to excellence in research and teaching, student success, and diversity, equity, and belonging.
A liberal arts education—one that offers a breadth of intellectual approaches and perspectives and depth in a major discipline—is the foundation to a purposeful life as a life-long learner, engaged citizen, and leader. The skills you will learn here—from written and verbal communication to analytical and quantitative reasoning, to compassion and understanding—are those that employers seek and will open the door to a wealth of opportunities.
You will find more than 50 majors and a multitude of minors within CAS, and seemingly endless opportunities for personal exploration and discovery. Whether you are an incoming first-year student, a grad student or a transfer student, you can map an exciting future and be part of a fun, warm, engaged liberal arts community here. Come join us. And go Ducks!
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Happening at CAS
Electrochem PNW 2025
5th Oregon Center for Electrochemistry Annual Conference ECS PNW Section Fall Meeting
(No fee) Registration required Includes banquet and poster session.
Invited speakers:
- Sossina M. Haile – Northwestern
- Jin Suntivich – Cornell
- Iryna V. Zenyuk – UC Irvine
- David Prendergast – Lawrence Berkeley Lab
- Nicolas Holubowitch – New Mexico Tech
- Michael Nellist – Solid Power
Visit the conference website for more information and to register.
Electrochem PNW 2025
5th Oregon Center for Electrochemistry Annual Conference ECS PNW Section Fall Meeting
(No fee) Registration required Includes banquet and poster session.
Invited speakers:
- Sossina M. Haile – Northwestern
- Jin Suntivich – Cornell
- Iryna V. Zenyuk – UC Irvine
- David Prendergast – Lawrence Berkeley Lab
- Nicolas Holubowitch – New Mexico Tech
- Michael Nellist – Solid Power
Visit the conference website for more information and to register.
9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
A mini-conference to foster community, coalition, and collaboration among diversity scientists in Oregon.
Many people express the hope that the current political climate’s antagonism toward diversity and the work of diversity scientists is transient—things will go back to ‘normal’ after the midterms or after the next presidential election or when the supreme court makes a particular ruling. But attacking diversity isn’t new and it isn’t going away. The goal of this mini-conference is to bring together scholars of Diversity Science—which we think of as anyone investigating strategies to reduce group-based discrimination and promote the inclusion of marginalized groups. We believe we best support each other and the communities we serve by building coalitions and fostering collaboration.
In this spirit, we invite all Diversity Science scholars across all disciplines to join us this fall at this year's Consortium of Diversity and Equity Scholars Conference, co-chaired by Dr. Chanel Meyers and Dr. Curtis Phills. We welcome submissions from scholars at all levels. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh, an award-winning scholar, equity strategist, certified coach, and leadership consultant with over 25 years of experience working across higher education, non-profits, and global organizations. She currently serves as Vice President for Equity and Inclusion at the University of Oregon.
Registration for attendees and presenters is due by September 5, 2025.
If you're not presenting but still want to attend, we still highly encourage you to register! This is a great opportunity for students to network with scholars across many disciplines and learn more about diversity science as it affects us all.
noon
Join the University of Oregon School of Law's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center and cross-campus partners—including the Department of Native American and Indigenous Studies, the Native American Law Student Association, and the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics—for the 19th Annual Rennard Strickland Lecture at Oregon Law.
Our community is thrilled to welcome Amy Bowers Cordalis as this year's lecturer.
Amy Bowers Cordalis is a mother, fisherwoman, attorney, and member and former General Counsel of the Yurok Nation—the largest Indigenous Nation in California. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, a nonprofit advancing Indigenous sovereignty through the protection of cultural and natural resources, including the undamming of the Klamath River. She is the recipient of the United Nations' highest environmental honor, Champions of the World Laureate, and has been named to the second annual TIME100 Climate List (2024), featuring the one hundred most influential leaders driving business to real climate action.
Her book, The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family's Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life, will be published by Little, Brown/Hachette on October 28, 2025, and is currently available for preorder.
Questions about the event? Contact the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center at enr@uoregon.edu.
Attend in person in Room 110 of the law school or join remotely via Zoom Webinar.