UNIVERSITY DAY
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts (PRAx)
At Oregon State University, it is our tradition for all faculty and staff to gather together on University Day, a celebratory launch to the academic year. University Day includes a powerful keynote address, meaningful discussion, awards recognition, and fun prizes for participants.
New Employee Welcome Breakfast
8:30am to 10:00am | CH2M HILL Alumni Center
The new Employee Welcome Breakfast is a great way for new employees to meet colleagues, learn about the university, and kick-off University Day festivities.
This event is by invitation only. Employees with an original hire date on or after September 15, 2024 will be invited. Registration is required.
Keynote Address
10:30am to 12:00pm | PRAx: Lynne Hallstrom Detrick Concert Hall
Daniel Porterfield, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society, will speak.
Expo and Lunch
12:00pm to 2:00pm | PRAx: Toomey Lobby
Gather with 40+ units, and over 1,000 OSU faculty and staff, to celebrate the OSU community, learn about resources on campus, and network with your colleagues before the kickoff of the 24-25 academic year. Grab some lunch and meander through the booths to learn more about resources and opportunities on campus. Registration is required for tabling; no RSVP required to attend.
Registration for booths at the University Day Expo is coming soon!
Join the fun and bring your message, materials, and swag to share with the OSU community. Registration for tabling will be organized soon. Please email [email protected] for information.
2025 University Day Speaker
Daniel Porterfield
President and CEO, Aspen Institute
Since 2018, Dan Porterfield has served as President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. He has been recognized as a visionary strategist, leader, and advocate for young people and purpose-driven leadership. A lifelong educator and former college president, he is the author of the 2024 book, Mindset Matters: The Power of College to Activate Lifelong Growth.
At the Aspen Institute, Porterfield has led an era of organizational development and growth. Since 2018, fueled by new investments, the Institute’s operating budget has increased from $158 million to more than $260 million, and its endowment has tripled to more than $350 million.
Prior to leading the Aspen Institute, Porterfield served for seven years as the President of Franklin & Marshall College. During his presidency, Franklin & Marshall set records for applications, fundraising, and fellowships; developed cutting edge new centers for student wellness, career services, and faculty excellence; and constructed a new athletics stadium and visual arts center.
Porterfield previously served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Development and as an award-winning professor of English at his alma mater, Georgetown University, and as communications director and chief speechwriter for the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Porterfield serves on the National Board of Directors of Teach For America and as a trustee of Colorado College. He was named a White House Champion of Change in 2016 and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned B.A. degrees from Georgetown and Oxford—where he was a Rhodes Scholar—and his Ph.D. from The City University of New York Graduate Center, where he was awarded a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities and wrote his dissertation on the poetry of American prisoners.