The Urban Rural Ambassador’s Institute is a collaboration between Eastern Oregon University and Portland State University, in partnership with theNational Policy Consensus Centerand theRural Engagement and Vitality Center. This 3 credit seminar is spaced over 2 weekends on both the PSU campus in Portland and the EOU campus in La Grande.

该学院为两所学校的学生提供了一个了解俄勒冈州社区之间的共性和差异的机会，为理解跨州城乡“鸿沟”工作的细微差别建立了一个关键的框架。学生们将参加小组讨论，参加来自不同选举官员和社区领袖的讲座，并与全州各地的人们建立关系。Likely topics include: resource access and extraction, land use and food systems, housing and homelessness, and energy and climate change.

Advancing collaboration on urban-rural solutions

The institute will allow tomorrow’s leaders to learn from each other about regional commonalities and differences. Students will develop the capacity to forge a path through the tension and stalemate that often characterize urban-rural debate, and to find solutions that fit local economies, values, and ways of life for the advancement of Oregon as a whole. Likely topics include: Land use and natural resources Food production/food security, Housing and homelessness, and Environmental impacts

Media about the Urban-Rural Ambassadors Institute

• Check out this brief film about the program:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_gn6QvRKw
• See aTime Magazinefilm about the program: Carlisle, Madeline. 2020. How Students in Oregon Are Bridging the Rural and Urban Divide,Time Magazine.https://time.com/collection/apart-not-alone/5809203/bridging-rural-urban-divide/
• See an article about the program: Hughes, Dick. 2019. Urban-Rural Ambassador program bridges the divide. The Other Oregon/A Voice for Rural Oregon.https://www.theotheroregon.com/features/feature_stories/urban-rural-ambassador-program-bridges-the-divide/article_1724715c-246e-11ea-b3f5-9bef5d4dc0e2.html

Scott Fairley Memorial Scholarship

The Scott Fairley Memorial Scholarship Fund provides tuition for undergraduate students from Eastern Oregon University to participate in the Urban and Rural Ambassadors Summer Institute, a partnership of Portland State University and Eastern Oregon University. Those who worked closely with Fairley knew well his advocacy for eastern Oregon, whether it was through his work as a state employee or his time on the city council. He was known as a collaborator with an uncommon ability to bring people together on divisive issues. He took his positivity, combined with his breadth of knowledge, to bridge discussions in Salem often for the good of communities of Eastern Oregon. The memorial fund is a fitting tribute to a public servant who understood rural and urban issues and served the public across the state.//www.convoclubs.com/urban-rural/give-to-the-scott-fairley-memorial-scholarship-fund/

Endorsement from Governor Kate Brown

In April of 2018, Governor Brown visited Eastern Oregon University to sign a bill allocating $9 million toward building a field house on their campus. At the media event, she took the opportunity to announce Portland State’s collaboration with Eastern Oregon University on the Urban-Rural Ambassadors Summer Institute.

“I am very happy to announce the launch of the Urban-Rural Ambassadors program. This is a new partnership with EOU and with PSU and Oregon Solutions. It will challenge students, whether from La Grande or Portland to provide creative solutions to meet the needs of our diverse communities and support our local thriving economies.”

Oregon Governor Kate Brown

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