[6] Southern Oregon University is organized into seven academic divisions: the Oregon Center for the Arts at SOU; Business, Communication and the Environment; Education, Health and Leadership; Humanities and Culture; Social Sciences; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; and Undergraduate Studies.

[13] He became the institution's longest-serving president to date, retiring in 1969 from what had been renamed Southern Oregon College – to reflect more diverse course offerings – in 1956.

[14] The campus now includes 175 acres with modern facilities, enrollment of more than 6,000 students and more than 1,100 degrees conferred annually.

[15] Southern Oregon University consists of seven academic divisions: the Oregon Center for the Arts at SOU; Business, Communications and the Environment; Education, Health and Leadership; Humanities and Culture; Social Sciences; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; and Undergraduate Studies.

In addition to the main campus, classes are offered at a Medford facility that SOU shares with Rogue Community College.

[16] The Oregon Health & Science University also maintains a school of nursing program at the SOU main campus.

[19] On February 9, 2021, Southern Oregon University was named #4 on a ranking of "Most Affordable Online Colleges for Students With Learning Disabilities in 2021.

During the 1997–99 biennium, Rogue Community College and Southern Oregon University received regional partnership funding from the legislature to jointly launch several new initiatives to provide additional access for a larger number of residents in southern Oregon.

[22] The alliance is intended to streamline students’ educational pathways and address the region's specific workforce needs.

The project almost doubled the size of the existing library and created much-needed room to expand publications and collections.

The print edition of The Siskiyou began in 1926, and its editorial staff pioneered the shift to an entirely online student newspaper in January 2012.

Outside magazine rated Southern Oregon University one of the top 20 schools in the U.S. where students can hit the books and the backcountry.

[29] SOU became the original Bee Campus USA in 2015 and in 2018 it was named the nation's top pollinator-friendly college by the Sierra Club, as part of its annual “Cool Schools” rankings.

Southern Oregon competes in 20 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include basketball, cross country, cycling, football, golf, soccer, track & field and wrestling; women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cheerleading, cross country, cycling, dance, golf, soccer, softball, track & field, volleyball and wrestling.