Learn more about Clark Honors College (CHC) student and Oregon Design Duck (ODD) Emma Koontz, who is majoring in Planning, Public Policy and Management, in this great student profile courtesy of CHC.

Are you interested in community building, natural resources, food security, natural hazard planning, economic development or land use planning? If so, you should consider applying to serve as a Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps member.

At the College of Design, there is a "rare" opportunity for graduating students and alumni looking to gain professional experience and make a difference in Oregon's rural communities. The Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) Program, an AmeriCorps program administered through the Institute for Policy Research and Engagement (IPRE), has been engaging and working alongside rural communities since 1994 to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions. Linking the expertise of staff and faculty within IPRE with the resources of the University of Oregon, RARE members have access to tools and resources that ensures a one-of-a-kind service experience that is hard to match anywhere in the country. 

Congratulations to the University of Oregon's Institute of Policy Research & Engagement (IPRE) and the student team of Ashley Balsom, Thea Chroman, Tram Anh Hoang, Alli Langley, and Jordan Totty, led by IPRE Community Planning Workshop project manager Aniko Drlik-Muehleck, for their project, "What's Up Downtown? A Playbook for Activating Oregon's Upper Stories", winning the 2022 Student Achievement in Planning at the American Planning Association: Oregon Chapter Annual Conference in Pendelton.

PPPM alumni, Bill Holmstrom '00, was appointed by Oregon Governor, Kate Brown, to the board of directors of Cherriots, Salem's public transit service.

Read about how College of Design alumni Tony Andersen, BS ’07 (planning, public policy & management) led the Debris Management Task Force created by Governor Kate Brown and state leaders to work with all levels of government and community to oversee a recovery operation of nearly 1,200 staff and contractors as they helped Oregon communities heal from the wildfires of 2020.

RARE Specialist, Alison Smith, recounts their year two of service with the South Central Oregon Economic Development District (SCOEDD) in Klamath and Lake Counties. Over the last year, Alison completed a COVID-19 Economic Needs Assessment, participated in various community outreach and engagement initiatives, attended important meetings, got to know the community, and heard about what the community wants to get done.

PPPM's Institute for Policy Research and Engagement is leading the way when it comes to bridging the gaps between its research of the pandemic and the policies that our local, state, and national governments put into practice

Researchers from the University of Oregon jumped on the opportunity to study COVID-19 and the implications it could have on the present and the future. Here are a couple of research highlights from the College of Design.

The Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Cities and Landscapes in the Pacific Rim, a culmination of a multiyear collaboration project between numerous universities including faculty and staff from the University of Oregon's College of Design, was published on March 16, 2022. School of Planning, Public Policy, and Management (PPPM) associate professor Yizhao Yang led this initiative with Anne Taufen of the University of Washington as co-editors of this handbook.

Brendan Irsfeld, a second-year UO graduate student enrolled in the Master of Community and Regional Planning program, talked with NITC about student organization LiveMove, his love for transportation, and what the future holds after graduation.

The Environment Initiative at the University of Oregon has announced a new faculty fellowship program funded by the Office of the Provost and has named John Arroyo, assistant professor of engaging diverse communities in the School of Planning, Public Po