The Oregon State University Open Source Lab (OSU OSL) is facing a critical financial crisis that may lead to its closure if $250,000 in funding is not secured by mid-May. This urgent situation arises from declining corporate donations coupled with significant budget cuts from the university’s College of Engineering, exacerbated by federal cutbacks affecting higher education.
For over 22 years, the OSU OSL has been a cornerstone in the tech ecosystem, offering vital hosting and support for numerous free and open-source projects globally. Among its notable contributions are hosting services for Mozilla Firefox, Apache, and the Linux Foundation. The lab provides essential infrastructure that includes reliable software mirroring and virtual machine hosting, which are integral to many projects and organizations.
The closure of OSU OSL could disrupt these services, impacting numerous projects that rely on the lab’s neutral hosting facilities to foster relationships and collaboration between projects and companies. As part of efforts to mitigate this risk, the university is seeking solutions to relocate hosting systems due to the planned deprecation of its outdated data center.
Community efforts are underway to support the financially troubled OSU OSL team. However, urgent action is needed to secure the necessary funds to ensure the lab’s continued operation and contribution to the global tech community. Supporters and stakeholders are encouraged to rally together to preserve this invaluable resource.

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The OSU Open Source Lab is facing a financial crisis, requiring $250,000 to continue operations due to declining donations and budget cuts. The lab has supported major projects like Mozilla Firefox and Linux Foundation for over 22 years. Its closure could affect many open-source initiatives reliant on its hosting services. Urgent community mobilization is needed to secure the lab's future.

OSU Open Source Lab Faces Financial Uncertainty