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CORVALLIS - Oregon State University will sign an agreement with the Medgar Evers Institute on Tuesday, May 13, in Bend guiding future cooperative efforts between the two institutions on scholarly research, education, and public outreach efforts focusing on human rights.

A ceremony will be held at Cascade Hall on the OSU-Cascade Campus in Bend beginning at 11:30 a.m. Signing the memorandum of understanding will be Tim White, the OSU president; Myrlie Evers-Williams, wife of the slain civil rights leader; and Jay Casbon, campus executive officer of the OSU-Cascades Campus in Bend.

The non-profit Medgar Evers Institute has headquarters in Jackson, Miss. The institute was founded to advance the work of Medgar Wiley Evers, a prominent figure in the civil rights movement who was assassinated in 1963. The agreement paves the way for the development of a western states regional office of the institute in Bend, where Myrlie Evers-Williams lives.

"This is a very important agreement for Oregon State University because the issues of human rights are so compelling and the potential for forging new partnerships that benefit students and scholars is so great," said OSU President Tim White. "It also is a natural tie to the Central Oregon region because of the growing strength there of both the Medgar Evers Institute and the OSU-Cascades Campus."

Evers-Williams said the partnership with Oregon State University will help the Medgar Evers Institute achieve its goals of exposing new generations of students to the history of the American civil rights movement and the cause for which her husband died.

"One of primary goal is to make the history of the civil rights movement come alive for today's people - especially the young people," she said. "If we can help them understand the past and encourage them to creatively address today's human rights challenges, they will be in a much better position to help shape the future. "The key may be stewardship," Evers-Williams added. "We want to inspire people of all ages to take on the role of stewards in defending and advancing civil rights and human rights in their community."

As part of the agreement, OSU and the Medgar Evers Institute will:

• Cooperatively pursue scholarly research, education and programming that addresses historical, current and emerging issues focused on civil and human rights;
• Create new partnerships with other institutions of higher education throughout the nation;
• Pursue joint funding from foundations, donors and other sources to fund projects of mutual interest that will serve Oregon, the nation and other countries, with a particular emphasis on engaging youth and scholars in human rights issues.

"There are a number of exciting possibilities for collaboration," said Orcilia Zuniga-Forbes, OSU's vice president for University Advancement. "We will explore faculty and student exchanges with other universities as well collaborate on scholarly research and educational programming."

Medgar Evers was born in Decatur, Miss., in 1925, served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II, and graduated from Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Alcorn State University) in 1950, where he met Myrlie. After graduation, Evers and his brother, Charles, worked in various business enterprises and began organizing local affiliates of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. By 1954, Evers had become the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi.

On June 12, 1963, Evers was shot and killed in an ambush in front of his home. He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. This year marks the 40th anniversary of his sacrifice in the struggle for human rights.