OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Named in honor of Ed Ray, a past president of Oregon State, Edward J. Ray Hall was completed in fall 2021. Donors, supporters, community members, and faculty and staff celebrated at an opening ceremony.
Edward J. Ray Hall serves the STEAM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. The building's architectural design encourages academic and research collaborations, flexible teaching and learning environments, and excellence in energy efficiency and sustainability.
It was made possible thanks to a $5 million gift from an anonymous donor, a $1 million gift from Charles McGrath, founder and former president of Grace-Bio Labs, a $1 million gift from the Tykeson Family Foundation, and gifts from other generous donors who together contributed $10 million to match state funding. The total cost of the new building is $49 million.
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OSU President Emeritus Ed Ray’s leadership fulfilled a 30-year quest to bring a four-year university to Central Oregon. His efforts led to the expansion of OSU-Cascades to a four-year university in 2015 and the opening of its campus in 2016. Ray served as Oregon State’s president for 17 years through June 2020. He now is president emeritus and a professor of economics in the OSU College of Liberal Arts.
With innovative design and construction features, Edward J. Ray Hall is OSU-Cascades’ ‘North Star’ for sustainability, setting a standard for future campus buildings and helping us move toward the bold, net zero energy, water and waste goals laid out in the campus’s long range development plan.
An innovative wood construction product and viable alternative to materials like concrete or steel, cross-laminated timber is noted for its strength, beauty and resilience. Timber materials for Edward J. Ray Hall were sustainably harvested and produced from forests in the Pacific Northwest. The building is the first in Central Oregon to be fully constructed using mass timber.
A study confirmed a major sustainable energy source for the expanded campus: geothermal energy. A ground water based geo-exchange system now connects to an aquifer 500-feet beneath the campus surface for year-round heating and cooling of all future campus buildings, starting with Edward J. Ray Hall.