WHO WE WORK WITH
Our Partners
The REV Center creates mutually beneficial partnerships with communities to advance shared goals. Partnerships bring multi-disciplinary teams of EOU faculty and students into communities over the course of an academic year, collaborating on projects. Communities also have the option of working with us on standalone projects. Contact us for more information.
REV brings EOU students to communities across the state to collaborate with local leaders on real-world projects.
The program offers essential, energizing, and applicable learning experiences to graduate and upper-level undergraduate students, while simultaneously providing valuable services to communities.
A REV partnership includes expertise focused on a specific geographic area, yielding deep and substantial outcomes.
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REV undertakes partnerships with eastern Oregon communities each year. We listen to our partners' needs and match these with the capacities of the university faculty and departments. Together, we co-develop projects addressing complex problems which leverage the assets of both the community and our students. Our goal is always to bring high-quality work to eastern Oregon’s communities, while providing learning opportunities for the next generation of rural leaders.
Learn more about our current and past projects.
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The list is growing each year! In the past, we have engaged in projects relating to planning, economics, geography, business, and more. Projects that are the best fit are ones where there is a clear role for student involvement, the project has demonstrated community support and benefits, and funding is available. Learn more about the past projects we’ve completed.
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In addition to the partnerships REV has completed with Oregon communities, we have also collaborated on stand alone projects. Learn more about our past work.
Have a project in mind? Please contact us at staff@revcenter.org or give us a call at (541) 962-3012.
City of John Day
Through funding from the EOU Small Business Development Center, the REV placed a summer student intern with the City of John Day in 2021. The student supported planning efforts regarding the transition of a city-run greenhouse to a cooperative model and conducted outreach to the community in relation to a sustainable local food system.
City of Hermiston
The REV partnered with the University of Oregon’s Sustainable City Year Program in 2022. EOU faculty and students in the Public Administration Department worked with the city to develop a system connecting residents to community resources.
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City of La Grande
In 2021, the City of La Grande received a Rural Opportunity Initiative grant through Business Oregon to enhance the culture of innovation and improve access to resources for entrepreneurs. As partners on this grant, EOU and the REV are actively supporting the research and implementation of this two year project. An EOU student intern is supporting the work by conducting surveys and interviews of entrepreneurs and others in the business community.
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Blues Intergovernmental Council
Faculty and students at Eastern Oregon University are working with the Blues Intergovernmental Council to provide the council with facilitation support services. In 2022, a team at the REV completed a report that provides a socioeconomic analysis describing the impacts of forest-related industries on local economies in 14 counties in eastern Oregon and Washington.
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City of Joseph
Through the REV Center’s Rural Planning Program, officials from the City of Joseph will work with EOU students and faculty members as the city creates a buildable land inventory in 2024. The goal is to also have participants work on policy analysis and code review — work that could lead to an update of the city’s comprehensive plan. The Joseph effort will be aided by a pair of consulting companies, ECONorthwest and Kearns and West.
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Northeast Oregon Economic Development District
Eastern Oregon Workforce Board
Northeast Oregon Economic Development District, the Eastern Oregon Workforce Board, and the REV are currently collaborating to host a series of events to inform, inspire and take action toward resolving shortages of suitable workforce housing in the region.
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La Grande School District
The REV’s Get Outside After School Activity Program (GO-ASAP) offers La Grande Middle School students activities including hiking, paddle boarding, rock climbing, mountain biking, and cross country skiing.
Morrow County
An initiative funded by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development for Morrow County, the REV Center and EOU developed the Rural Transportation Equity in Morrow County study. The study was designed to address the needs of transportation-challenged populations in rural areas and improve access to services for these groups.
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Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development
In 2023, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development’s Rural Transportation Equity program aimed to address the needs of transportation-challenged populations in rural areas and improve access to services for these groups. REV worked with DLCD, Morrow County and Euvalcree, a culturally specific organization, to make public engagement and planning efforts more inclusive, particularly for traditionally underserved groups, and foster improved access to public services. Learn more >
The REV Center is a joint venture of Eastern Oregon University and Wallowa Resources. Designated as Oregon’s Rural University in 2018, EOU has a long tradition of serving rural students and has identified as a goal in its strategic plan the aim to promote prosperity and resilience in rural communities.
As a regional leader in empowering rural communities to create strong economies and healthy landscapes, Wallowa Resources provides steady guidance and support to reach our vision of vibrant and prosperous rural communities across eastern Oregon. Eastern Oregon University and Wallowa Resources work closely together to oversee the REV through a joint advisory committee.
EPIC-N Network
The REV Center is a member of the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities-Network (EPIC-N). This global nonprofit and its members unite the human capital of universities with local governments and communities to improve the quality of life and social wealth for all involved.