University of Oregon
EN-9: Community Partnerships

The Community Service Center (CSC) of Oregon is an interdisciplinary organization that assists Oregon communities by providing planning and technical assistance to help solve local issues and improve the quality of life for Oregon residents. The CSC is housed at the University of Oregon. The role of the CSC is to link the skills, expertise, and innovation of higher education with the economic development and environmental needs of communities and regions in the State of Oregon, thereby providing service to Oregon and learning opportunities to the students involved. Projects last anywhere from a few weeks to multiple years.

The Holden Leadership Center engages the University and the broader community in reciprocal partnerships to create educational programs for students, to promote leadership through service, to foster and promote inclusive environments and to advance social justice and civic engagement. One of the center's many goals is to partner with student groups, campus units, and community agencies to create and support meaningful opportunities for Oregon students to work with K-12 youth and schools to increase educational equity and achievement. Another goals is to develop and implement quality programs in the community addressing real community assets and needs, designed with students, faculty, and community members as genuine partners. Projects last anywhere from a few weeks to multiple years. The UO funds and provides space and resources for the Holden Leadership Center. http://leadership.uoregon.edu

Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) is an AmeriCorps program administered through the University of Oregon's Community Service Center. The mission of the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) Program is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions, through the assistance of trained graduate-level participants who live and work in communities for 11 months. Participants assist communities and agencies in the development and implementation of plans for achieving a sustainable natural resource base and improving rural economic conditions while gaining community building and leadership skills. Communities that complete an application for assistance and are able to provide a $20,000 cash match will be considered as possible host communities. RARE participants assist communities in the development and implementation of projects for achieving a sustainable natural resource base and improving rural economic conditions. The RARE program is now in its 20th year and over the years it placed more than 400 volunteers and served nearly every Oregon County. As each community has individual needs, each participant focuses on community specific projects typically in the following areas: downtown development, public health, transportation planning, community education, economic development, food systems improvement, and natural resources planning. http://csc.uoregon.edu/rare/

Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) is a cross-disciplinary organization at the University of Oregon that promotes education, service, public outreach and research on the design and development of sustainable cities. Our work addresses sustainability issues from the regional level down to the building. We know that creating the sustainable city cannot happen within only a single discipline, and that’s why SCI is grounded in a cross-disciplinary approach to solving community sustainability issues. SCI focuses on sustainability based research and teaching opportunities, shares this expertise with scholars, policymakers, community leaders, and project partners, and develops academic courses, professional training, and certification. Our work connects student passion, faculty experience, and community needs to produce innovative, tangible solutions for the creation of a sustainable society.