From the President – October 30, 2024

From the President – October 30, 2024

Dear EOU Community,

The last few weeks were anxious ones, with me checking our numbers hoping the good news would hold in this strange new era of higher education. And they did! I’m pleased to share with you that our headcount now sits at 2,954, an increase of 2.7% over last year; this is the second year in a row we saw growth in our headcount. Our enrollment gains are powered by growth in the number of new freshmen (20%), increased retention rates, and our continuing graduate students year over year. We’ve also grown in student credit hours and FTE, and the number of on campus students grew by 98. 

Such good news is hard won, especially in an environment in which national signs show a 5% loss in first year students at universities like ours. Congratulations to our admissions and advising teams, as well as development and financial aid for working hard to make a tough year better. Each of you plays a role in making EOU an attractive place to learn – thank you!

Powering all these numbers was our increased retention rates. Our overall retention rate for new freshmen and transfers stands at 70.6%, showing growth in both categories. These numbers are so important to what we do. It’s hopefully the first sign that we’re headed towards graduating more students and growing the number of degree recipients in our region. (That performance funding would be a nice bonus, too!)

As I shared at convocation, these numbers represent our shared progress and commitment to student success and an engaged university. I sense that our momentum continues to grow.

There’s always loads to be proud of at EOU:

• The Chemistry Club at EOU is making headlines again! They achieved national recognition receiving an Outstanding American Chemical Society (ACS) Student Communities Award for the 2023-2024 academic year. 
• You may have read in The Observer, OnlineU recognized EOU as one of the nation’s best schools for an online bachelor’s in fire science degree. OnlineU includes affordability and student satisfaction in determining their rankings. 
• We are excited for Dr. Tiara Good, Assistant Professor of Communication, whose new book Rhetorical Pain – Collective, Healing, and Hope has just been released. I encourage you to check it out! 
• Last week was the first meeting for the 18 faculty and staff who volunteered to be part of IMPACT Equity Training. An additional 16 students are participating in the student programming entitled “IDEAL Leadership Training Program for Students and Student Leaders,” with two of these being online students. These free professional development programs provide opportunities in which individuals will both learn and develop projects to better EOU. I’m so proud of these cohorts!

As always, I’ve been keeping my busy schedule. Last week, EOU hosted the Northeast Oregon Regional Solutions Advisory Committee Meeting. The governor established this committee to focus on our region’s economic development priorities, and I was honored to be chosen as the convener. I also had visits with some local city leadership and a wonderful meeting with Art Center East (with some amazing cake!). I launched the President’s Commission on Student Success and Belonging; this student group will deliver to me some suggestions on increasing student success and engagement, while also taking a leadership role in tackling peer-to-peer solutions around bias incidents. It was a wonderful first meeting of sharing and learning about each other.

Of course, there’s always more to share. University Council and senior leadership met with Modern Think, who delivers the Great Colleges to Work For Survey to discuss EOU’s results and how to improve. Look out for more on this in the coming weeks and months as we share our plans. 

Out of respect for each of you, I’ll stop there. Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Kelly A. Ryan, Ph.D.