The Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) is a

public college A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

with a residential campus in

Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city ...

, an urban campus in

Wilsonville, Oregon Wilsonville is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded with the name Boones Landing for the Boones Ferry that crossed the Willamette River, the communit ...

, and additional locations in Salem and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Almost all students complete externships, co-ops, or other hands-on training inside and outside the classroom.

History

Oregon Tech was founded as the Oregon Vocational School on July 15, 1947, to train and re-educate returning

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

s. Under the direction of Winston Purvine, the first classes were held in a deactivated Marine Corps hospital three miles northeast of Klamath Falls. The following year, the school's title was changed to the Oregon Technical Institute. In the first school year, 1947–1948, veterans constituted 98 percent of student enrollment. By 1950, the figure was 75 percent. In that year, in response to the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, the school received a contract for training soldiers in welding and warehouse management. In 1953, Associate degree programs in

Surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

and Structural Engineering Technologies were first accredited by the Engineers Council for Professional Development. In 1954, KTEC, the institution's first radio station went on air. By 1953, associate degree programs in the Surveying and Structural Engineering Technologies were first accredited by the Engineers Council for Professional Development. Not long after in 1956, KOTI television opened on campus. However, KOTI is no longer operated on campus. In 1962, the institute was accredited by the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools. In 1970, the first bachelor's degree programs were accredited by ABET. It would be 25 years later when the first master's degrees were offered. In 1975, the first Geo-Heat Center was established. The campus was transferred to its current location in 1964, followed by another name change to the Oregon Institute of Technology in 1973. In 2012, the Oregon Institute of Technology officially rebranded to its current name "Oregon Tech". Oregon Tech's four locations in the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metropolitan area, metro area with its urban area, core in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It has 5 principal cities, the largest being Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Man ...

were consolidated into a single campus in Wilsonville in 2012 at

InFocus InFocus Corporation is a privately owned American company based in the state of Oregon. Founded in 1986, the company develops, manufactures, and distributes Digital Light Processing, DLP and LCD Video projector, projectors and accessories as well ...

' former headquarters. By 2015, the Oregon Institute of Technology became an independent public body governed by Board of Trustees. On April 26, 2021, the faculty went on strike after more than 500 days of initial contract negotiations between the faculty union and administrators. This was the first strike conducted by a public college or university faculty union in Oregon's history.

Campuses

* Oregon Tech Klamath Falls, the University Residential Campus * Oregon Tech Wilsonville, the University Urban Campus Oregon Institute of Technology 2014

Athletics

The Oregon Tech (OIT) athletic teams are called the Owls and Lady Owls (sometimes known as the "Hustlin' Owls"). The institute of technology is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Cascade Collegiate Conference The Cascade Collegiate Conference (or Cascade Conference) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member schools are located in the Northwestern United States and in Britis ...

(CCC) since the 1993–94 academic year. Oregon Tech competes in 13 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field and volleyball. The mascot for Oregon Tech Athletics is Hootie the Owl.

Rivalries

Oregon Tech's traditional athletic nemesis is

Southern Oregon University Southern Oregon University (SOU) is a public university in Ashland, Oregon. It was founded in 1872 as the Ashland Academy, has been in its current location since 1926, and was known by nine other names before assuming its current name in 1997.Kre ...

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population w ...

. The close proximity of the schools and alternate academic foci (science and technology at Oregon Tech, liberal arts at SOU) result in a natural rivalry between the two.

Men's basketball

OIT has won multiple

NAIA Men's Basketball Championships The NAIA men's basketball national championship has been held annually by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics since 1937 to determine the national champion of men's college basketball among its members in the United States and ...

. Former men's basketball coach Danny Miles completed his 1,000th win February 1, 2014, in his 43rd year of coaching at OIT. This is the fourth most of any men's college basketball coach all-time (NCAA & NAIA).

Softball

OIT's softball program won the NAIA Softball Championship in 2011. OIT was the national runner up in the NAIA Softball Championship in 2021.

Mascot

Oregon Tech's mascot, ''Hootie the Hustlin' Owl'', is a great horned owl and has been portrayed as a costumed character since 1980. He sports the jersey number 47 as an homage to the school's founding year. Known originally as "OIT OWL", he first hatched out of a giant papier mâché egg during a home football game. Hootie's other alias was "OWLY OOP" in the 1990s amidst the loss of the school's football team, in an attempt to further emphasize their basketball program. The beloved owl mascot was created by executive secretary Nancy Cox, inspired by the San Diego Chicken after attending a Padres game in 1980 and proceeding previous attempts at an official school mascot such as a rally head in the 1960s named "OTIS" and a live owl. Notable stunts include skydiving, ziplining, basketball trick shots, and various feats of acrobatics and professional dancing abilities. Performed by actress Brooke Eldridge (2021–2025), as featured on ABC Nightline News. Accolades: • CCC Mascot of the Year 2014, 2018 • Mascot Training Camp Champion 2023 • Mascot Hall of Fame Awards Nominee 2023 (best video skit, most community impact)

Notable alumni

* Benny Agbayani, professional baseball player * Joe Cain, professional football player * Tim Freeman,

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

* Ty Knott, professional football coach * Wayne Krieger,

and

Oregon State Police The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a Police, law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OSP enforces all of Oregon's criminal laws and assists local law enforcement agencies. Casey Codding has served as Superintendent (police), Superi ...

* Nate Lewis, professional football player * Doug Mikolas, professional football player * Justin Parnell, college basketball coach * Don Summers, professional football player

Photo gallery

File:Oregon Tech old campus.jpg, The old Oregon Tech campus File:Oregon Tech in winter 3.jpg, Winter Jan. 2024 File:Oregon Institute of Technology.jpg, The OIT hillside monogram File:Oregon Tech Wilsonville Outside.jpg, Oregon Tech Wilsonville File:Oregon Tech Formula Car.JPG, Oregon Tech SAE Formula car File:Oregon Tech Fall term.jpg, Oregon Tech in Fall season

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{Authority control Public universities and colleges in Oregon 1947 establishments in Oregon Universities and colleges established in 1947