Southwestern swing provides chance to meet extraordinary Oregonians
August 13th, 2009Jan and I have started to become familiar with Oregon’s coast, mountains and other landscapes through travels around the state. More importantly, we are meeting and hearing from Oregonians who so generously support the University of Oregon and higher education.
We were recently in the southwestern part of the state to visit the university’s Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston. The UO has been teaching and researching marine biology on Oregon’s south coast since 1924. This was a great opportunity to meet with Oregon’s leaders, such as state legislators, mayors, county commissioners, community college presidents, and officials from southwestern Oregon’s federally recognized tribes, Coquille Indian Tribe and the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians, as well as the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians.
We also enjoyed a lunch with members of the Roseburg Rotary Club where I talked about the university’s relationship with the state and enjoyed some good-natured ribbing from ardent Beavers who enjoy the competition of the football field and share our commitment to higher education.
As the state’s flagship institution, the University of Oregon’s teaching and research mission covers all thirty-six of Oregon’s counties. More than training tomorrow's community leaders, our research and public service programs help Oregon communities—large and small—every day.
When the weekend came we shifted into tourist mode, visiting the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Britt Festival and Crater Lake. We still can't believe we live in this stunning place. When Dorothy closed her eyes and said "there's no place like home," she was thinking of Kansas, as did we not so long ago.
Dorothy however, didn’t know what she was missing. There’s no place like Oregon.
Highlights are featured in the photos and video below.
Photos
(click on an image for a larger view)
Video
In the video below, we present a UO blanket to two leaders of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, the Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, Chief Warren Brainard (right) and Chairman Bob Garcia (left).
