SAH MDR Annual Conference
October 1-4, 2026
Eugene, Oregon
SAH MDR is excited to host our annual conference this year in Eugene, Oregon, October 1-4, 2026. This year's theme will be Power Dynamics: People, Places, and Working Spaces of the PNW.
Power Dynamics will explore how power—everything from electrical to social—shapes place and communities. From the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project (slated for decommissioning) to McKenzie Hall (originally built as the law school at the University of Oregon) to the Mims House (among the first residences in Eugene owned by a Black family), this conference will focus on how the built environment functions as a lens for understanding who holds power—and who doesn’t.
Share your Research
Our priority deadline has passed, but you can still propose a paper, pecha kucha, or a speakers panel for this year's conference. The call for proposals will continue to stay open for the next several weeks.
Registration is open!
Check out our preliminary schedule (subject to change) with more information coming soon:
Thursday, Oct 1
12pm-3pm – Tour of University of Oregon archives and Special Collections at the Knight Library (tour will include Marion Dean Ross chapter archives)
3pm-5pm – Tentative: Possible tour at a site of interest in downtown Eugene or self-guided Strides for Social Justice tour developed by the Oregon Black Pioneers
5:30pm – No host social at Falling Sky Brewing (1334 Oak Alley)
Friday, Oct 2
9am-12pm – Tour of Leaburg Hydroelectric Project power plant (van transportation included in registration)
Tour will be hosted by Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB) and will include expertise in cultural resources, historic concrete and concrete infrastructure, EWEB history, duty officers who operated the power generating infrastructure, and preservationists central to the writing and administering of the National Register Historic District.
12pm – Boxed lunches on van
1:30pm-4:30pm – Paper sessions at McKenzie Hall, University of Oregon (designed by DeNorval Unthank Jr.)
6pm – No host social at Annex (1236 Kincaid St)
Saturday, Oct 3
9am-11:30am – Paper sessions at McKenzie Hall, University of Oregon
11:30am-1pm – Lunch on your own
1:30pm-4:30pm – Eugene Modernism Tour (combination of walking and van transportation)
Explore Eugene through buildings that reflect our region’s contribution to Modernism, including Carmel of Maria Regina Monastery (Bogen, Hosey & Green, 1962), the Eugene Civic Center (Architects’ Collaborative, 1954) and the Saraha Nyingma Buddhist Institute (originally the Unitarian Church of Eugene, Balzhiser, Seder & Rhodes 1963), and many more!
5pm – No host social at McShane’s (86495 College View Rd)
Scholarships Available
This year we are again offering conference scholarships which will include complementary registration as well as up to $500 in travel support. Applications are especially welcome from students, emerging professionals, and attendees from historically underrepresented communities, but we are happy to receive an application from anyone needing financial assistance for any reason.
Scholarship recipients will be required to write and submit a brief reflection on their experience at the mini-conference (accompanying photos encouraged!) which will be published in the SAH MDR e-news.