New EOU Programs Address Area Workforce Needs

This article originally appeared on and was written for La Grande Economic Development by Golden Shovel Agency.

Workforce advancement is a multi-faceted endeavor to meet the needs of employees and employers alike. In rural communities like La Grande, developing a skilled workforce is critical to advancing the region’s economy. Educational institutions like La Grande’s Eastern Oregon University (EOU) can help promote that development. EOU is initiating two new programs this year to address local workforce needs - Agriculture Entrepreneurship and Healthcare Administration. 

“EOU seeks to promote local workforce advancement by drawing students to our college by offering exciting, pertinent programs,” said Dr. Chad Mueller, program coordinator of a new Agriculture Entrepreneurship program. “By reducing barriers to their enrollment and making them attractive to employers, students can interact with our residents and businesses to solve our next generation problems.” 

Agriculture Entrepreneurship

This fall, the first cohort of students will participate in EOU’s new Agriculture Entrepreneurship program. It is intended to help develop and support the future agriculture workforce in the region by having students learn essential skills and taking that back to the businesses in their hometowns, family farms or branching out to new endeavors. EOU Agriculture Entrepreneurshiphopes the program can stimulate agricultural innovation to promote residents’ livelihoods in La Grande and the surrounding communities by addressing the issues of food security, production and resource efficiencies and evolving climate patterns. The program will help students embark on many career paths in the agriculture industry, from accounting and marketing to food production systems management, government relations and agripreneurship.

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