National Policy Consensus Center

Urban Rural Ambassadors Institute

Bridging the Divide

Urban-Rural Ambassadors Institute

Bridge over a canyon

About the Urban Rural Ambassadors

Urban Rural Ambassadors is an immersive field-based class created jointly by the state’s urban university - Portland State University and the state's rural university - Eastern Oregon University (in La Grande, Oregon). It is open to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at Portland State University or Eastern Oregon  University in any major or program. (Students at Eastern Oregon University enroll in the course through their university.) Students with an interest in community development, environmental management, political science, public administration, urban planning, and more have taken this class. The class is also open to any member of the public wishing to take the class as a non-degree student.

In this three-credit class, students learn about commonalities and differences across Oregon communities. That knowledge serves as a critical framework for becoming a leader who works collaboratively across what has been described as Oregon’s urban-rural divide. Urban Oregon and rural Oregon share many public challenges, such as environmental health, housing, and climate change, though the geographic and policy context, and the requisite strategies, may often be quite different. Oregon’s capacity to address important public issues is, in large part, dependent upon the ability of the state’s urban and rural interests to work together, and – where there are important differences – to work through those differences for the common good.

Spring 2025 Offering

In 2025, the course will be hybrid. It will include one weekend-long residential field trip to La Grande and one weekend-long residential field trip to Portland as well as several online sessions with guest speakers and activities to complement the field outings.

The course schedule is as follows: 

  • Online session #1: April 17, 12:00-1:30 p.m. 
  • Online session #2: April 24, 12:00-1:30 p.m. 
  • Online session #3: May 1, 12:00-1:30 p.m. 
  • Portland field trip: May 9-11 
  • La Grande field trip: May 16-18 
  • Online session #4: May 29, 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Portland State University students, please note:  The Urban Rural Ambassadors course is open to any student enrolled at PSU in any major or program or level (it will likely serve as an elective in your program). Spring 2025 course numbers are USP410/510 CRN: 63939 and 62489 

Eastern Oregon University students, visit your school's website for information about signing up for the course.

QUESTIONS?

Contact Kristen Wright, kjwright@pdx.edu

Check out this video from students who participated in previous offerings of this course. Some details of the offering have changed.

Download transcript (PDF)

More Media about the Urban-Rural Ambassadors Institute

Endorsement from Governor Kate Brown

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

Testimonials

Here are the ways some past students have committed to being urban-rural ambassadors in the future:

  • Explore rural communities more (post-COVID) and make connections!
  • Seek out more BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] rural voices, experiences, and perspectives in Oregon
  • Investigate apartment development opportunities in more rural communities in Oregon. 
  • Explore urban-rural environmental health