Oregon
Oregon lags most states in public higher education funding, report finds • Oregon Capital Chronicle
The Oregon Legislature continues to spend far less on higher education than other states, according to a new report, leading to some of the highest costs of attendance among universities in the West.
Oregon is ranked 44th in the nation for public funding of higher education and 37th in the nation for per-pupil funding, according to the latest annual State Higher Education Finance report from the Colorado-based State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission is a member of the association.
The report compared state-by-state funding data from the 2022-23 fiscal year. While higher education investment in Oregon has increased in recent years, it has not been enough to make up for more than a decade of underfunding and of relying heavily on student tuition to cover rising costs, said Ben Cannon, executive director of the commission.
Cannon and university presidents have repeatedly asked the Legislature for more higher education dollars and a model of funding that balances state investment with tuition revenue.
“We are continuing to rely on students to balance our budgets,” Cannon said in testimony to a legislative ways and means subcommittee last year.
Unreliable revenue source
Enrollment declines across Oregon’s seven public universities and 17 community colleges over the last five to 10 years have been more than twice the national average, the report found, making tuition an unreliable source of funding.
“Over the next 10 years, or whatever portion of that 10 years I’m around for, I will hope to partner with the Legislature to restore the ‘public’ in our public system of higher education,” Cannon told the members of the subcommittee.
Per-pupil investment in Oregon’s public higher education system was more than $2,500 less than the national average last year, according to the higher education finance report. In Oregon during the 2022-23 school year, the state invested about $8,400 per full-time enrolled student each year. The national average that year was more than $11,000 per student. State investments in financial aid for middle and low-income students have increased in the last decade, but still fall behind national averages. Washington invests twice as much funding in scholarships for such students compared to Oregon.
“You have a situation in Oregon right now, where the vast majority of Oregon’s public university presidents are from outside of the state and we’re shocked,” said Eastern Oregon University President Kelly Ryan, who took over in 2023. “We’re shocked at what we found. And we’re also in wonderment about how we’re supposed to get our work done in such a drastically underfunded environment.”
Ryan had to cut 8.4% of the university’s budget for the 2023-24 school year – about $5 million.
“They (the Legislature) acknowledge we’re really important to building a tax base, building a workforce, but it’s hard for us to stay front and center,” she said.
Decade of disinvestment
Oregon’s higher education funding model has relied since the 2008 recession more heavily than many other states’ on raising tuition to cover rising operating costs, with funding since then cut in half.
“A whole lot of students took on a whole lot of debt in order to help the state keep its Corrections (Department), Human Services (Department) and K-12 systems afloat during the worst recession anyone had seen in their living memories,” Cannon told the Legislature.
Oregon’s public universities and colleges now derive 32% more of their revenue from tuition than most public higher education institutions in the country, the report found. Between 2013 and 2023, revenue growth from student tuition in Oregon increased 23%. The national average for tuition revenue growth was 1.5% during the same period.
Every one of Oregon’s seven public universities is increasing tuition in the upcoming school year, and has done so just about every year for the past 10 years. Average tuition at those schools today is about 26% higher than it was a decade ago. The rising costs of housing around Oregon’s universities have also driven up costs and affordability concerns, Cannon said.
“A state that invests relatively little is going to have institutions that are likely going to have relatively high tuition, and that’s absolutely what this report illustrates,” he told the Capital Chronicle.
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The good times keep on rolling for the Oregon Ducks in the recruiting world. Dan Lanning and the Ducks scored a massive commitment from five-star quarterback Will Mencl out of Chandler, Arizona.
Oregon had been rumored to be leading the race for Mencl’s services for months, but the No. 1 quarterback in the country, per Rivals, cleared the air and committed to the Ducks on Wednesday evening. Mencl chose the Ducks over Auburn and Penn State, both of which battled hard for him down the stretch.
However, Mencl has been connected to Oregon for a long time. While he was offered last fall before breaking out in his junior season, Mencl has been a fan of the program long before he popped up on the Ducks’ recruiting radar. In a post shared by Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, Mencl was announced as a quarterback for the Ducks when he was a kid at the 2019 NFL Draft fan experience in 2019.
Now, Mencl is ready to don the green and yellow for real and make his childhood dreams come true. The Ducks have made a point to get Mencl on campus as often as possible and as recently as last week. The continued connection between both sides is ultimately what made the decision easy for the nation’s top passer. Mencl said he told Lanning and the Oregon staff about his decision on Sunday.
“The biggest thing was the relationship with the staff,” Mencl said after committing. “I feel like that continued to grow over time, especially when I first got there last spring. Being able to sit down with Coach Koa, really being an underlooked guy at that time, and kind of blowing up my junior season. And then, the path to the NFL. You can’t deny what they do with quarterbacks and the type of scheme they run. I felt like that was the best fit for me and my family to get to the next level.”
Koa Ka’ai, Oregon’s new quarterback coach, made waves earlier in the offseason after his recruiting test about ice cream flavors went viral, but that doesn’t appear to have scared Mencl off. In fact, the two have a close connection that Oregon hopes will translate to success on the field in the near future.
“My relationship with Coach Koa, I feel like that is super, super strong,” Mencl told Rivals. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with Coach Lanning about the culture there and how they’re going to continue to sustain greatness throughout the program.”
Mencl exploded onto the national recruiting scene with a massive junior season for Chandler. He completed more than 70% of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions in his junior season, leading Chandler to a state title berth. He also rushed for 741 yards and an additional 17 touchdowns.
The Ducks expect to have some competition for Mencl to compete with when he joins the team for the 2027 season, with Dylan Raiola and Akili Smith Jr. already on the roster and competing for a role as the backup. Oregon has gone to the transfer portal as well in recent seasons, finding success with Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and now Dante Moore.
Oregon has recruited well at quarterback in the past, establishing an NFL pedigree that attracted Mencl. Maybe he will be the one to buck the trend and give the Ducks a true, homegrown product under center.
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‘Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,’ a Wine Enthusiast contributor said of an Oregon wine
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Wine Enthusiast released a list of the top 40 sparkling wines around the world in 2026 – highlighting two bottles of bubbly from Oregon.
“While it can seem like you need a fortune to enjoy high quality sparkling wine, you honestly don’t. Excellent affordable bubbles are being produced around the world, often in places you might not expect. Each of the selections on our inaugural Top 40 Sparkling Wines list delivers personality, freshness, and celebration for under $75,” Wine Enthusiast wrote.
Wine Enthusiast divided its list into separate sparkling categories including, Champagne, Italian Bollicine, American sparkling and bottles $25 and under.
Snagging a spot on the American sparkling list: Corollary Wines in McMinnville.
Corollarly’s 2021 Momtazi Carbonic Rosé Pinot Noir scored 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.
“This is a Peter Max print of a wine, with vivid aromas and flavors to match the wine’s electric Kool-Aid color. It is filled to the brim with aromas and flavors of macerated strawberries, candied rose petals, apricots, and a bitter note similar to watermelon rind. Pour in the largest glass you can find while slow dancing in your socks,” wrote Wine Enthusiast contributor Michael Alberty.
The second Oregon winery to earn a spot on the list: Lytle-Barnett in Dundee.
Wine Enthusiast also gave Lytle-Barnett’s 2018 Brut Rosé Pinot Noir Chardonnay 96 points.
“Bubbles as persistent as an eight-year-old with a question deliver aromas of dried rose petals, macerated strawberries, and a touch of fresh hay and talc. This 70/30 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend is packed with flavors of lemon zest, Honeycrisp apple slices drizzled in caramel, and a dollop of raspberry,” Alberty wrote.
The nods to Corollary and Lytle-Barnett come as the wineries recently helped launch Method Oregon, a nonprofit made up of 50 Oregon wineries aiming to turn Oregon into a global sparkling wine destination.
A 73-year-old man was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison for the 1983 killing of his then-girlfriend. It was a case that went unsolved for more than 40 years.
The sentence was announced by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield.
In July 1983, Teresa Peroni, 27, was reported missing after attending a party in the Selma area of Josephine County southwest of Grants Pass. She was last seen walking in the woods with her boyfriend Marcus Sanfratello.
Authorities deemed Peroni’s disappearance suspicious, but they lacked evidence to bring charges against anyone.
In 1997, a human skull was found on private property near where Peroni disappeared. In 2024, authorities in Josephine County reopened the case. In addition to re-interviewing witnesses, they collected new DNA evidence to build a case against Sanfratello.
With the DNA, experts at the University of North Texas confirmed the skull was Peroni’s.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man arraigned on murder charge in Oregon for death of then-girlfriend in 1980s cold case
A grand jury indicted Sanfratello of second-degree murder, on June 27, 2025.
Police arrested Sanfratello in Chico, California the next day. He was then extradited to Oregon to face the charge of murder.
Under a plea agreement, Sanfratello pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter.
He will serve at least 10 years in prison, Oregon’s attorney general’s office said.
“For Teresa Peroni’s family, this has been a 43-year wait for an answer they never should have had to wait for,” Rayfield said in a news release. “Cases like this remind us of why we don’t give up. It doesn’t matter how many years have passed — if someone took a life, we’re going to keep working until we can hold them accountable.”
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