While in West Africa for the past 4.5 years, I came to understand and appreciate Cervantes' aphorism: "The road is always better than the hotel." No matter how bad the treks up country on dusty excuses for roads, with truck-swallowing pot holes, washouts, mud up to the hub caps, and unmanned ferry crossings, the hotel still made the road seem a fond memory. The name of the "Bird Safari Camp" halfway up country has an exotic ring. In reality the electricity shut down after 10 p.m., bringing the ceiling fan to a full stop in a small, hot, humid hut. The mosquito netting draping the cot sported holes big enough for a fist. Mosquitoes were always in an eating mood, and toads that liked the cooler, crude cement floor squatted underfoot, waiting for their own next meal. Ah, for the rutty road.


Now, Oregon State University-Cascades Campus is not a hotel. But, you could say we are in the travel business. We are keenly interested in what roads you want to explore, how these experiences will change you, and how you will contribute along the way. Hopefully, our curriculum will guide your pursuits and help you determine what you will need to take with you. It will also show you how to deal with unforeseen events, discoveries and challenges along the way that change you and influence your next choices.


OSU Cascades is young and developing, and more likely to respond to your influence because of it. You can and should be a full participant in your education here. You can grow with us and change how we grow. You will be interacting with a bright group of pioneering students. You will learn from them and they will learn from you. Be a leader. Work with them to put your stamp on this Campus. You will develop road worthiness, the ability to get the most out of the trip and leave the best of yourself with others along the way. You will grow from this experience. So, too, will the University. The students who enroll at OSU Cascades Campus long after you have graduated will benefit from your presence here. Your graduation and the challenges you take on thereafter will be our reward.


At OSU Cascades, you will benefit from being part of Oregon State University, one of the nation's oldest, finest and largest research institutions. You will also benefit from being a student at OSU's smallest, most intimate, and friendliest campus. You will attend classes that are small. You will be in the company of faculty who are passionate about their discipline, eager to get to know you, motivated to help you, and skilled at creating programs that are relevant and rigorous.


Here at OSU Cascades, you will be in the company of staff who know you by name and will help you diagnose problems and make course corrections when necessary . Remember that you are taking yourself with you. No matter the destination, you are always the passenger, and the destination is often unpredictable. Change will be a constant foil for your education, both personal and professional. Resilience, perseverance and open-eyed wonder at the beauty of it all may be your most important qualifications. And upon your arrival, be prepared for the realization that the journey was the main event. "He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must take the wealth of the Indies with him." (Spanish proverb)