OSU-Cascades Closer to Becoming A Four-Year Campus

OSU-Cascades, the Oregon State University campus in Bend, has taken another step toward becoming a four-year university. Currently, it offers only upper division courses.  Some 46 acres could be added to the campus following a tentative approval given to the purchase of a former pumice mine.   A study by Carlson Geotechnical found no areas of significant instability while citing the need for improvements to the site. While initial campus development will involve an adjacent ten-acre wooded plot, purchase of the mine would allow the University to accommodate five thousand students.  Jane Barker, senior project manager of the University’s campus expansion, told the Bend Bulletin a lot of work remains to be done.  But, she said, the report provides a range of options for dealing with the unusual proposed site.