What is Everyday Inclusion?
Everyday Inclusion is a month-long, portfolio-wide inclusion initiative that brings together staff in the Finance and Administration portfolio to pause, connect, reflect, learn new things, and participate in different activities on campus.
What is the theme for 2026?
We are pleased to announce that the theme for Everyday Inclusion 2026 is Duck Vision.
Your VPFA Diversity Committee is planning several events to support employee connection and flourishing, and we can’t wait to share them with you.
This year’s Duck Vision theme honors our feathered friends and their amazing sense of sight.
Did you know:
- A duck’s field of vision is nearly 360°
- They are able to focus on objects that are near and distant, or objects in two separate locations, at the same time
- Ducks can see three to four times further than humans, and their eyes can see colors that we cannot perceive
It’s true! Ducks see nearly everything, in more colors than we can imagine, and from many perspectives at once.
How can we support our own Duck Vision for deeper insight in 2026?
--VPFA Diversity Committee
Sticker contest
We’d like to ask your help to design the sticker that will be distributed to all who participate in Everyday Inclusion events. Stickers will be printed as 3”x3” in full color and shared with employees throughout the month of January.
Pull out your Mr. Sketch markers or dust off those MS Paint skills and create something special to share with your VPFA colleagues! We’ll take submissions in any form, via email to VPFAdiversity@uoregon.edu or delivered to the VPFA office in Johnson Hall.
- Sticker designs that use UO trademarks or brands must comply with UO policies and procedures: https://communications.uoregon.edu/brand-management
- Contact Debbie Sharp or Deborah Butler with questions.
Please submit your sticker designs by November 21, 2025.
Previous sticker submissions for 2024 and 2023 are available online for inspiration.
Everyday Inclusion 2026: in-person and virtual activities
Activities planned for January 2026 are listed below.
There are also a number of activities currently being planned, including:
- Article/short video discussion
- JSMA exhibit tour
- Lego Serious Play session
- Emergency Management/Preparedness workshop
- Mindfulness meditation
- MNCH tour of Roots and Resilience--Chinese American Heritage in Oregon
- Rehearsals for Life virtual session
- Shortbread-making session
- Tour of UO Motor Pool facility
- Yoga
- Zebrafish facility tour
Monday | tuesday | wednesday | thursday | friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 5: Week 1 challenges | Jan 6 | Jan 7 | Jan 8 | Jan 9 |
Jan 12: Week 2 challenges | Jan 13 | Jan 14, 10-10:45am: Greenhouse Facility tour A tour of the UO Research Greenhouses by the greenhouse manager | Jan 15 | Jan 16, 1:30-3pm: Meditations on Flourishing An interactive workshop with Megan Lipsett and David McCormick EMU231+232 (Cedar and Spruce) |
Jan 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Jan 20: Week 3 challenges 2pm-3pm: Tour of UOPD Dispatch - | Jan 21 | Jan 22 | Jan 23, 1:30-3pm: Meditations on Flourishing An interactive VIRTUAL workshop with Megan Lipsett and David McCormick Register to receive the Zoom link. |
Jan 26: Week 4 challenges | Jan 27 | Jan 28 | Jan 29, 1-2pm: Quack the Quiz Hosted by Quizmaster Alex Milshtein | Jan 30, 11am-12pm: Bird Tour One-mile flat loop bird tour (on paved surfaces) with Rachel Glaeser and Emily Hamblen. No birding experience required. Rain or shine--the tour is on. Binoculars will be available to borrow. |
After January
People often ask the VPFA diversity committee to host events throughout the year, in addition to Everyday Inclusion month. If you would like to be informed of other events throughout the year, please contact dsharp@uoregon.edu. Upcoming events may include a tree tour (August 2026) and guided tours of the JSMA and MNCH as new exhibits open and tours are available.
Community Connection Opportunities: August-December 2025
In the lead-up to Everyday Inclusion month in January 2026, we offered some opportunities for community connections in 2025
Day and time | Event |
|---|---|
Wed, Aug 20, 9:30-10:15am | Tour of Print Services
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Thurs, Aug 21, 9:30-10:15am | Willamette River Natural Area Tour with Emily Hamblen, CPFM Sustainability Office About the Walk: In 2022, the University of Oregon had the foresight to designate 24 acres of property as the Willamette River Natural Area. Following this, the University of Oregon Campus Natural Areas Program was initiated in June 2024 and has quickly expanded from a single employee to a vibrant community of students, volunteers, researchers, and external collaborators leading to the engagement of 360+ students, 550+ volunteer hours, removal of 24 truckloads of invasive species, planting of 172 native trees and shrubs and hosting 21 events. Search for wildlife and native plants as we view student-led restoration projects and discuss the strategies used to address the Natural Areas Program’s three-pronged mission of creating restoration, engagement, and research opportunities for students and the surrounding community. About the Guide: As an Oregon Native, Emily is excited to use her 20+ years of wildlife biology experience to give back to the community that she grew up in. She started her journey at Lane Community College, followed by a dual Major in Wildlife and Conservation and Zoology (Oregon State University) and M.Sc. in Wildlife and Conservation Biology (Colorado State University). Emily joined the UO in June 2024 as their first Natural Areas Steward. Where to meet: Meet Emily and your VPFA colleagues at the Map Station right next to the south side of the Autzen/Frohnmeyer bridge.
Birds seen on the tour: (photos by Anupam Katkar) 
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Wed, Aug 27 | Tours of the Central Power Station
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Thurs, Aug 28, 8:15-9:15am | Campus Tours in English and Spanish 
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Tues, Sept 9, 9:30-10:15am |
Tour of CPFM's Zero Waste facility: meet at the Millrace Overlook. 
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Wed, Sept 24, 11:30am-12:30pm | Guided tour of the Transgressors exhibit at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History 
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Fri, Sept 26, 2-3pm | Tours of exhibits at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (free for UO staff, students, and faculty) 
JSMA curators provided guided tours of two exhibits: The curators will also provide an overview of the following exhibits, which we are free to explore on our own for the last 20 minutes.
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Jan |
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Previous Inclusion Initiatives
- 2024: Nourish to Flourish
- 2023: Inclusion in Action
- 2022: Connection and Belonging
- 2021: (Re) Connecting with People and Place
- 2020 Everyday Inclusion
- 2019 Everyday Inclusion
- 2018: Implicit Bias Awareness Month