Michael Sirrine

EOU hires alum to take over grants
and sponsored research

By Laura Hancock
Media and Publications Writer
lhancock@eou.edu

La Grande, Oregon – Eastern Oregon University alum Michael Sirrine has accepted the position of Director of Grants and Sponsored Research at EOU, beginning June 30.

Sirrine was born in La Grande and attended EOU, graduating summa cum laude in 1974 with a degree in social anthropology with an emphasis in social welfare. He stayed on for a fifth year as a graduate student at EOU, achieving a second bachelor’s of arts degree in general studies with a focus in psychology.

Sirrine has been involved in grants development since he was a student at EOU. In 1972 he wrote his first grant for a Law Enforcement Assistance Administration program. The same year he and professor Wally Vannette created the Institute of Community Studies, an organization designed to apply student resources, helping local agencies and government with projects.

“Every job I’ve had has included this component in a greater or lesser degree,” he said. “A grant is the end product of a planning and program development process. I can apply these skills in any field.”                                                                  

The last 12 years have found Sirrine and his wife living in Burns, Ore., where they own and operate several small businesses including Strategic Staffing Services, a temporary services agency, and Sirrine Design, a Web site design service. Sirrine also offered consulting services under Sirrine Management Services, consulting with businesses and government across the state.

“In a small community, you have to wear a lot of hats,” he said. The population of Burns is just under 3,000.

In 1991, Sirrine created the grants development office at Eastern Montana University, where he stayed for more than a year. At EOU, Sirrine will take on the role of promoting and facilitating grantsmanship on campus, while pursuing larger institutional grants.

“The president has ambitious goals,” Sirrine said.

Those goals include creating a new strategic plan for the University – the Blue Print for Excellence – which Sirrine says will drive what he does, pursuing projects on all fronts. Sirrine uses the newly completed Science Center, which was partially funded by economic development funding, as an example.

“It’s wide open,” he said. “We’re ramping up for a big explosion of research and grant funded activity on campus.”