located in downtown Ashland.
== History ==
Southern Oregon University began as "Ashland Academy" in 1872, founded by Ashland's Methodist Episcopal Church. The Rev. Joseph Henry Skidmore served as its first president. In 1878, the school was renamed the "Ashland Academy and Commercial College", and then renamed "Ashland College and Normal School" in 1882, "Ashland State Normal School" in 1886 and "Southern Oregon State Normal School" in 1895. While Oregon lawmakers designated the institution in 1882 as an official state normal school — a teachers’ college — the state provided no funding. It closed in 1890 and reopened five years later, still relying on tuition and donations for revenue. The Oregon legislature finally recognized the institution's needs in 1897 and approved a first-time appropriation of $7,500. The school flourished, but the legislature reversed course in 1909 and eliminated funding for Oregon's normal schools.
"Southern Oregon State Normal School" closed at the end of the school year and remained …
