APLU Names Oregon State University 2025 Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award Winner

Philadelphia, PA – In recognition of extraordinary community outreach and engagement, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) today named Oregon State University (OSU) the winner of the 2025 C. Peter Magrath Community Engagement Scholarship Award during a ceremony at the group’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.

“Congratulations to Oregon State University on winning the Magrath Award,” said APLU President Waded Cruzado. “We’re very pleased to recognize OSU for the central role the university played in collaboration with its community to tackle a pressing challenge, protecting wildlife and preserving a critical industry for the state. OSU’s efforts demonstrate the extraordinary power of a land-grant university marshalling its resources and expertise far beyond the confines of campus to meet its state’s needs.”

When Oregon’s largest commercial fishery was threatened by a rise in whale entanglements, an interdisciplinary team of Oregon State University (OSU) researchers partnered with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, commercial fishing industry members and other community stakeholders to better understand and address the challenges facing both industry and marine mammals.

OSU convened a working group of subject matter experts, industry, and environmental groups to develop a shared understanding of challenges to both industry and whales, identified key knowledge gaps, and leveraged community connections to address the problem. The group designed a plan to better understand and predict whale distribution in Oregon waters, assess overlap between fishing gear and whales to identify areas and times of increased entanglement risk, and share co-created knowledge with commercial fishermen and marine resource managers to mitigate further entanglements.

University researchers boarded U.S. Coast Guard helicopters and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ships to collect and analyze data on the locations of over 4,000 whales. Between 2016 and 2024, OSU’s research team surveyed over 42,000 miles during 376 days, revealing when and where the density of humpback and blue whales peaked over the Oregon continental shelf. A follow-up predictive analysis mapped whale distribution with fishing effort to identify areas and times of elevated entanglement risk and informed Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Dungeness Crab management decisions, helping to protect Oregon’s iconic whales while ensuring the sustainability of the state’s commercial fishery and coastal communities.