About

The Oregon Association of Scholars is a non-profit organization incorporated in the state of Oregon that promotes excellence, freedom, and merit in higher education in the state. It is composed of professors, graduate students, college administrators and trustees, and independent scholars committed to protecting and advancing the integrity of higher education in the state. It is the state chapter of the National Association of Scholars, a national organization of 2800 members.

Our Mission

The Oregon Association of Scholars upholds the classical standards of excellence in scholarship and teaching in higher education, centered on intellectual freedom and political diversity, the search for truthful knowledge, and the promotion of virtuous citizenship.

History

Oregon Association of Scholars Award Photo

The OAS was re-established in 2016 by Dr. Bruce Gilley, you can read about OAS history in an article Professor Gillery published in 2019 “Why I Set up the Oregon Branch of the NAS.”

Leadership

The current President of the chapter is Shawnn Hartley, M.A. His academic background is in the fields of Psychology and Sociology and his professional experience crosses the areas of mental health & social services, public policy, and evaluation.

Shawnn Hartley, M.A.

OAS members are active scholars and researchers in many fields with a shared passion for unbiased scholarship and the virtues of informed and pluralistic debate. Examples of OAS member publications are shown here.

Sample Member Publications

David Churchman (Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences, California State University), Why We Fight: The Origins, Nature, and Management of Human Conflict. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America (2013).

Keith E. Stanovich (Professor Emeritus of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto), “Were Trump Voters Irrational?” (2017)

Bruce Gilley (Professor of Political Science, Portland State University), “Chinua Achebe on the Positive Legacies of Colonialism” (2016)

John Beahrs (Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University), “Traumatophobia:  Paradoxical Amplification of Posttraumatic Symptoms, and the Role of Third Parties” (2016)

James Huffman (Dean Emeritus and Erskine Wood Sr. Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School), “Either You’re With Us or Against Us: No Room For the Skeptical Environmentalist” (2002)

Robert McCullough (Managing Director, McCullough Research and Adjunct Professor of Economics, Portland State University), “Replacing the Columbia Generating Station with Renewable Energy” (2017)

David Williams ( Helen P. Rumbel Professor for Cancer Prevention, Linus Pauling Institute and Professor, Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University), “Environmental PAH Exposure and Male Idiopathic Infertility: A Review on Early Life Exposures and Adult Diagnosis” With Erin Madeen. (2017)

N. Christopher Phillips (Professor of Mathematics, University of Oregon), “The Weak Ideal Property and Topological Dimension Zero”, With Cornel Pasnicu. (2017)

Gale H. Roid, (Former Professor, Dept of Psychology, George Fox University and Director of the Doctoral Program, School of Education, Southern Methodist University) “Father Closeness: Its effect on Married Men’s Sexual Behaviors, Marital, and Family Satisfaction,” With Ryan Hosley, Ken Canfield, and Susan O’Donnell. (2008)