Finding a specific person at a massive institution like the University of Oregon (UO) shouldn't feel like a chore. Yet, if you've ever tried to hunt down a professor’s office hours or a specific staff member in the sprawling EMU, you know it’s rarely as simple as a quick Google search. The University of Oregon find people process is actually split across a few different digital silos, and honestly, if you don't know which one to click, you’ll just end up staring at a generic "404 Not Found" or a blank directory page.
It’s a big campus. Thousands of students. Thousands of faculty.
The primary tool everyone points to is the official UO Find People directory. It’s the "phone book" of the digital age for the Ducks. But here is the thing: it’s not just one list. Depending on whether you are a current student, an alum trying to reconnect, or just a local resident looking for a specific department head, your "entry point" changes.
The Core Directory: Where Most People Start
The official UO directory is the bread and butter of this search. You can usually find it at the top of the uoregon.edu homepage or by going directly to the "Find People" URL. It’s pretty straightforward, but it has some quirks that drive people crazy.
First off, it’s mostly for faculty and staff. If you’re looking for a student, you might be out of luck unless they’ve explicitly opted into being searchable. Privacy laws like FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) are a huge deal at Oregon. UO takes student privacy seriously, which means the University of Oregon find people tool is often "scrubbed" of student data by default.
When you use the search bar, try searching by last name first. It’s more reliable. If you search "John Smith," you might get fifty results. If you search "Smith" and then filter by department, you’ll find your person way faster. The directory usually gives you an email address, a campus office location (like Johnson Hall or Knight Library), and sometimes a direct office phone number.
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Privacy Settings and the "Missing" People
Ever wondered why you can't find a friend who definitely goes to UO?
It’s usually the privacy flag. Students can go into their DuckWeb account and check a box that says "No, don't put me in the directory." Once that’s checked, they effectively vanish from the public-facing University of Oregon find people search. Faculty don't really have this luxury—they are public employees, so their info is almost always out there.
DuckWeb and the Internal Search
If you are a student or staff member yourself, you have an advantage. You can log into DuckWeb. This is the backend system where the real data lives.
Inside DuckWeb, the search functionality is a bit more robust. You can see departmental listings that might not be fully indexed by Google yet. It’s the "internal" version of the find people tool. Most people forget that DuckWeb isn't just for checking grades or registering for classes. It's a communication hub. If you're trying to find a classmate for a group project in a 300-level Psychology course, checking the "Class List" or "Canvas" portal is actually a better move than using the general public directory.
Finding Faculty: The Departmental Shortcut
Honestly, the main directory can be clunky. If you know someone works in the Biology department or the School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC), go to that specific department's website.
Every department at UO maintains its own "People" or "Faculty" page. These are often much better than the global search because they include:
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- Professional bios.
- Recent publications.
- Specific office hours (which the main directory almost never has).
- Photos (crucial if you’re trying to remember what your TA looks like).
For example, if you’re looking for a researcher at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, their dedicated site is going to give you way more context than the generic UO directory.
What About Alumni?
This is where it gets tricky. Once someone graduates, they often drop off the standard University of Oregon find people search. The university doesn't keep personal emails for life in a public-facing way for security reasons.
If you're an alum trying to find an old friend, you need to head over to the UO Alumni Association (UOAA). They have a "Duck Connect" platform. It requires a login, but it’s the only legitimate way to track down people who haven't been on campus since the 90s.
The "Social" Workaround
Let’s be real. In 2026, most people aren't using a university directory to find a student's phone number. They are using LinkedIn or Instagram.
If you search "University of Oregon" on LinkedIn and then click "People," you can filter by graduation year, major, and even where they live now. This is often more effective than the official university tools for finding anyone who isn't a current professor.
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A Note on Security and Ethics
Please don't be a creep. The University of Oregon find people tool is there for academic and professional networking. UO has strict policies against using directory information for commercial solicitation. If you start scraping emails to send "buy my product" blasts, the Information Services department will likely flag your IP and block you.
Also, keep in mind that "office locations" can be confusing. UO uses a lot of abbreviations. "JAQ" is the Jaqua Center. "PLC" is Prince Lucien Campbell Hall. If you find someone's office in the directory, make sure you look up the building code on the UO Map website before you start walking across campus.
Specific Steps to Find Someone Right Now
If you need to find a Duck today, follow this hierarchy of searching. It will save you about twenty minutes of clicking around.
- Start with the UO Find People page: This is for faculty, staff, and GEs (Graduate Employees).
- Check the Departmental Site: If they are a professor, the department page (like "UO Economics Faculty") will have their specific CV and office hours.
- Use Canvas/DuckWeb: If you are a student looking for a peer, these internal portals are your only real hope for finding classmates.
- The "Duck ID" trick: If you have someone's email (like jsmith5@uoregon.edu), you can sometimes find their full profile by searching just the "jsmith5" part in the directory.
- Verify the Location: Once you have a name and building, use the UO Interactive Map to find exactly where they sit. The campus is huge; "Gerlinger Hall" has a lot of corners.
If you’re still striking out, the "Human" directory is the best bet. Call the main UO switchboard at 541-346-1000. Sometimes the old-school way—asking an operator to connect you—is the only way to get through when the digital tools feel like a maze.
The directory data is refreshed frequently, usually nightly, so if someone just started a new job at the university, give it 24 to 48 hours before you expect them to pop up in the search results. If you are a staff member and your info is wrong, you have to update it through the "MyTrack" system or contact HR—you can't just edit the directory yourself.