Terra

This summer will take the Oregon State University athlete, a junior in bioengineering and the University Honors College, further than she has ever gone, at a pace that surprises even her.

Richard “Rick” Spinrad, who has overseen national research initiatives from leadership positions in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Navy, will join OSU in July as vice president for research.

An agricultural leader from Purdue University became dean of the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences in August.

Ah, summer vacation. Time to kick back, right? Not so much for OSU students who are discovering opportunities to expand their horizons. They’re modeling blood flow, studying wildlife conservation in Africa, surveying Oregon’s old-growth forests and teaching entrepreneurship.