The Board of Trustees of Oregon State University approved Jayathi Murthy as the institution’s next president

FREMONT, CA: Jayathi Murthy became the first woman to hold the position of dean at the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science, where she currently holds the position. She also lectures in the UCLA department of mechanical and aerospace engineering. She will hold the position of president of Oregon's largest public institution for the first time as a woman of colour. Murthy is glad to join the university and expresses her gratitude to the university’s outstanding faculty, staff, and leaders, as well as their dedication to inclusive excellence, student success, and extensive experience and leadership in online education. She also remarked that OSU is well-positioned to address the many challenges in how higher education will be best provided in the years to come.

Murthy and Charles Martinez were competing for the OSU leadership position. The College of Education at The University of Texas in Austin is led by Martinez. Before this, he worked for more than 20 years in Oregon, holding several posts at the University of Oregon. The board of trustees invited Murthy and Martinez to OSU's main campus in Corvallis late last month to oversee a more transparent and honest hiring procedure. The OSU board selected Murthy without opposition. OSU Board of Trustees Chair remarked that Dr Murthy is the ideal leader and person to lead this extraordinary university, which is experiencing great momentum. The university's dedication to and advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusive greatness will grow under Dr Murthy's leadership, as will OSU's incredible impact in Oregon, the United States, and around the world. Murthy emphasized her belief that Oregon State will survive the pandemic and become a national leader. She added that, in her direction, the institution will enhance its investment in research infrastructure.

One of Murthy's main areas of study in UCLA's engineering school was improving access for marginalized people. She stressed her plans to implement it at the University. As an educator and administrator, Murthy stated that advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion is a strongly held conviction of mind and is important to my work. She also mentioned her experience being the only girl engineering student since she was 16. Murthy pledged to make certain that all OSU students have access to top-notch student support services, including advising and financial aid. Murthy will begin working at OSU in September in her new position. Becky Johnson, the university's interim president since May 2021, will be replaced by her.