The Oregon Senate recently confirmed two of Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s nominations for the State Board of Higher Education. Tony Van Vliet, a retired Oregon State University professor and former state senator, and Adriana Mendoza, an Eastern Oregon University student, were confirmed Nov. 17. Their terms will continue through June.
Van Vliet served as the District 35 state senator from 1975 to 1995. During his tenure in the state legislature, he served on the Emergency Board, according to an Oregon University System press release. He also served on Education and Human Resources Subcommittees, and was on the state’s Environmental Quality Commission for eight years , according to the Oregon University System Web site. During the 1991 legislative session, he was co-chair of the Ways and Means Committee.
State Board of Higher Education President Henry Lorenzen said Van Vliet will serve as a vital link between the state board and the legislature.
“He’ll be a good conduit for (the board) in relaying the feelings of the legislature back to the board and the Chancellor’s Office,” Lorenzen said.
Additionally, Van Vliet was a professor of forestry at OSU for more than 30 years before retiring in 1991. He also served as director of the Career Planning and Placement Center, according to the OUS Web site, and received a number of awards for his teaching while at OSU.
Mendoza is a business administration major at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, minoring in Spanish. Mendoza is now one of two board members to hail from eastern Oregon — Lorenzen is from Pendleton.
“Adriana brings a important viewpoint which is that of a student in a Eastern Oregon regional college,” Lorenzen said.
More importantly, added Lorenzen, was the perspective that Mendoza will bring as a regional college student. Regional colleges are the smaller OUS campuses in more rural areas such as Oregon Institute of Technology, Southern Oregon University and Western Oregon
University.
“(Mendoza’s) perspective is important because the strength of the board is that it draws form various backgrounds and various points of view,” Lorenzen said.

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