Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, founded in 1908, with an undergraduate enrollment of 1,500 students as of 2025. The college operates the voter advocacy initiative Elections and Voting Information Center (EVIC) and in 2017 hosted the inaugural Election Science, Reform, and Administration Conference, a left-of-center conference funded by the Democracy Fund. ¹

Background
Reed College is a private liberal arts college founded in 1908,  ^{2 3} while its first classes were held in 1911. Early support included 40 acres donated from the holdings of William Mead Ladd to serve as the campus. Thomas Lamb Eliot, a Unitarian minister, dedicated the college to ideals of “intellectual curiosity, coeducation, nonsectarianism, and egalitarianism.” ^{4 2}

Activities

Reed College had around 1,500 undergraduate students as of 2025, and does not offer graduate classes. The college has a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio. U.S. News and World Report ranked the college #63 in its 2025 National Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. ⁵

Reed College has a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, which has organized several anti-Israel protests on campus, and the college investigated a May 2024 “Anti-Semitic attack” tied to one of the protests on the campus. ⁶

Elections and Voting Information Center (EVIC)

Reed College houses the Elections and Voting Information Center (EVIC), a research center that specializes in the study of American election administrations and polling statistics. The center conducts its research with an eye toward election administration influenced by center-left policy prescriptions. As of 2025, the center was led by founder and director Paul Gronke and research director Paul Manson. ⁷

In 2017, Reed College, along with the Center for Public Service at Portland State University, co-hosted and organized the inaugural Election Science, Reform, and Administration Conference, a left-of-center academic gathering to discuss election advocacy and governmental change. The Conference was funded by left-of-center organizations including the Democracy Fund, the National Science Foundation, and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab.  ¹

Funding

In October 2024, Reed College received a $10 million donation from alumna Martha A. Darling and her husband Gilbert Omenn, its largest “student success” gift, to establish the Martha Darling ’66 Fund.  ⁸

In 2001, the Gates Foundation awarded Reed College $1 million toward an “integrated learning initiative.” ⁹

1. 2017 Conference. Election Science, Reform, and Administration Conference. Accessed September 17, 2025. https://esra-conference.org/2017-conference
2. “Mission and History.” Reed College. Accessed September 17, 2025. https://www.reed.edu/about/mission-history.html
3. “Thomas Lamb Eliot.” Reed Magazine. Reed College. Accessed September 17, 2025. https://www.reed.edu/reed-magazine/articles/2014/thomas-lamb-eliot.html
4. “Reed College.” Oregon Public Broadcasting — Oregon Experience. Accessed September 17, 2025. https://www.opb.org/television/programs/oregon-experience/article/reed/
5. “Reed College.” U.S. News & World Report. Accessed September 17, 2025. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/reed-college-3217
6. https://www.opb.org/article/2024/05/17/reed-college-portland-antisemitic-attack/
7. “Elections & Voting Information Center.” EVIC. Accessed September 12, 2025. https://evic.reed.edu.
8. “Alumna, Trustee Emerita Martha A. Darling and Husband Gilbert Omenn Donate $10 Million to Reed College.” Press release, Reed College, April 23, 2024. Accessed September 17, 2025. https://www.reed.edu/newsroom/press-releases/2024/alumna-trustee-emerita-martha-a-darling-and-husband-gilbert-omenn-donate-10-million-to-reed-college.html
9. “Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Gives $1 Million to Reed College.” Philanthropy News Digest. October 10, 2005. Accessed September 17, 2025. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/bill-melinda-gates-foundation-gives-1-million-to-reed-college