Oregon State University-Cascades student Kimberly Markley in Edward J. Ray Hall in Bend.

Kimberly Markley was 31 when she first voted in an American election. She had grown up in a conservative religious community near Dayton, Ohio, and voting was against church rules. Markley grew up thinking that her voice didn’t matter, she said. Now five years older and an Oregon State University-Cascades sophomore, Markley said the college helped expand her world view. She says the college’s recently approved degree in political science may be the perfect program to enhance her desire to become politically active.

“I never voted because I didn’t think that my voice counted,” she said, adding that college helped her “find direction in the roots I was trying to put down in this town. It gave me courage to actually speak up and be involved.”

The university’s new political science degree program was approved by its board of trustees Jan. 28, along with an economics degree.

For Markley, pursuing the major would be a stark departure from her upbringing.

Markley grew up in an Anabaptist community, a tradition that includes the Mennonites and Amish and is known for its commitment to adult baptism, pacifism and simple living. In her conservative church, women focused on cooking, cleaning and raising children. Many were homeschooled, like her.

“Women did not need to work outside of the home,” said Markley, a computer science major. “Their work as a mother and raising children was very valued, which I appreciate that outlook. But it’s not for everyone.”

Markley started classes at OSU-Cascades in 2020, becoming the first member of her family to go to college. Through her coursework, she read the works of philosophers like Aristotle and Immanuel Kant and felt a newfound inspiration to seek a life full of learning.

“It’s such an opportunity to expand your imagination of what is actually possible,” Markley said of her college courses. “Not only are you learning the skills and abilities, but you’re learning all the things that you never imagined before.”

That includes participation in university programs and student efforts. Markley works at the OSU-Cascades Innovation Co-Lab and recently helped advocate for state funding toward a new $5 million Student Success Center, which will be constructed on the Bend campus within the next five years.

The new degrees are planned to start in the fall. They are expected to round out the college’s liberal arts program and provide new opportunities for Central Oregon students and the local workforce, Interim Vice President Andrew Ketsdever said in an interview Wednesday.

“These are two really well-established degrees on the main campus in Corvallis,” Ketsdever said. “We’re really excited to bring those over so students from Central Oregon can have access to degree programs that will be a difference for our region.”

Ketsdever said the decision to launch the degrees was influenced by the demand in the regional workforce. According to estimates from O*Net Online, a website operated by the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 1,600 jobs requiring an economics degree are projected to open annually over the next decade.

Roughly the same total goes for jobs requiring a political science degree.

Ketsdever said the degrees will complement what he described as growing fields in Central Oregon. He said the college and its consulting firm are projecting a 5% to 8% job growth in the regional workforce requiring economics or political science degrees over the next decade.

The jobs include those at all levels of government, foreign service, nongovernmental organizations, journalism and public management. Ketsdever noted the political science degree can also pave students’ path to law school.

The new degree programs still require the approval of the statewide Provost’s Council and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, which Ketsdever expects to happen by spring. Then, the college could see new professors hired to meet the demand of new college students as the college grows toward what Ketsdever anticipates to be between 3,000 to 5,000 students.

Following the launch of the new degrees in the fall, Ketsdever said the university is hoping to offer new majors in engineering, business and science, pending approval from OSU’s board of trustees. He said the college anticipates offering two to three new degrees per year.