Club Meeting: Oregon Tech: Oregon’s Polytechnic University

Dr. Nagi Naganathan, president of the Oregon Institute of Technology, will talk about how the state university with locations in Wilsonville and Klamath Falls is nurturing an innovative workforce for the post pandemic world. He began his tenure as the seventh president of the Oregon Institute of Technology in April 2017. He focuses internally and externally to extend the reach, recognition, and influence of the state’s only polytechnic university. Under his leadership, this past June, Oregon Tech was officially designated as “Oregon’s Polytechnic University” by the Oregon Legislative Assembly through House Bill 2472A, which was signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown. During the last four years, under his leadership, Oregon Tech has secured capital and supplementary operating budgets of more than $90M to build a new engineering and technology building and to renovate other instructional and athletic facilities at Oregon Tech. In addition, he has begun or expanded several new partnerships with industries, including corporate and higher education collaborations such as OMIC R&D and Oregon Tech’s first doctoral program in physical therapy, in partnership with OHSU. Enrollment of new freshmen at Oregon Tech has now increased for three successive years. This, in turn, has helped Oregon Tech secure bonding authority of $55.6M to build a new residence hall on the Klamath Falls campus. This project is in addition to the more than $90M in capital projects mentioned earlier.

The Rotary Club of Wilsonville meets weekly Thursdays at noon to carry out its purpose of providing service and fellowship to members and the Wilsonville community. The club is holding hybrid “Virtual In Person” (VIP) meetings. People may attend in person, or they may use Zoom (http://www.tinyurl.com/Rotary97070). Guests are welcome. Masks are required for in-person attendance except when eating, drinking or speaking at the microphone. For more information, email president@wilsonvillerotary.com.

Before joining Oregon Tech, Dr. Naganathan served as dean of the College of Engineering at The University of Toledo for 15 years; was UT’s interim president during 2014-15; and was a member of the faculty since 1986. As dean, he led the UT College of Engineering to achieve historically high student enrollment and implemented a mandatory co-operative experience program for all students – one of only eight in the nation – to exceed 18,000 placements, in partnership with more than 2,500 employers, in 44 states and 37 countries. He has served as a consultant for many industries and as a board member for various organizations. He has earned the prestigious rank of Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, among other recognitions.