Raymond Oelke Endowed Faculty Fellow in the Arts

Ray Oelke, MAIS ’89, planned an estate gift to establish the Raymond Oelke Endowed Faculty Fellow in the Arts. The fund was created after Oelke passed away in February 2023.

Oelke taught middle school art in Corvallis for 13 years before deciding he wanted to concentrate on his own art. To that end, he worked on theater set production for local high schools and community theater groups and earned a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from Oregon State University.

The Raymond Oelke Endowed Faculty Fellow in the Arts drives teaching excellence in the School of Visual, Performing and Design Arts by supporting faculty utilizing the latest arts and technology methods and engaging in transdisciplinary collaboration. Oelke was interested prioritizing support for faculty members focused on interactive installation and performance, immersive systems, human-computer interaction, robotics, data-driven visualization/sonification, creative AI/generative practices, computer music and/or time-based media.