EOU Alumni Association

Week of Welcome 2019

EOU Alumni Association

Get involved. Give back. Make lifelong connections.

Attending EOU gets you access as a member of the Eastern Oregon University Alumni Association (EOUAA) – the proud community of the Mountaineer Nation.  EOUAA is your opportunity to build lifelong relationships with other Mounties and continue to support EOU.  Through social activities, alumni and friends forge connections with their alma mater and current and future Mountaineers.  Alumni are crucial to the success of EOU and our current students.  Once you attend EOU, you’re a Mountaineer for life – and we proudly support you!  Once a part of the EOU Alumni Association you’re helping do your part to make the Mountaineer Nation even stronger.

The EOUAA is a non-dues-paying group, founded alongside the EOU Foundation in 1964 to support EOU alumni and maintain their connections with their alma mater.  This is a network of more than 15,000 worldwide graduates or those who have taken a minimum of EOU courses (or its partner programs).  The EOUAA aims to promote the university’s mission and vision, encourage communication amongst alumni, partners, and friends, promote financial support of EOU, and actively support a network of alumni who will, in turn, help raise the profile of EOU.

Alumni Newsletter


Campus News

EOU Students and administrators on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol Building

EOU Receives Federal TRIO Grant to Support Student Success

Eastern Oregon University took nearly thirty students, faculty, staff, and trustees to the Oregon State Capitol in Salem to participate in 2026 University Day, joining the state’s seven public universities for a day of advocacy in support of higher education.

Students who participated in University Day represented both EOU’s La Grande campus and its online student population from communities across Oregon, reflecting the university’s statewide footprint and commitment to access for rural and place-bound learners.

University Day provided EOU students with a hands-on opportunity to engage directly in the legislative process, meet with elected officials, connect with higher education advocates, and network with fellow students from across Oregon. Participants attended meetings, learned about current policy issues affecting public universities, and experienced firsthand how advocacy shapes higher education at the state level.


Teach Rural Oregon Receives Oregon Rural Classroom Grant from foundry10

Teach Rural Oregon is pleased to announce that it has received an Oregon Rural Classroom Stipends grant from foundry10. The $17,000 grant will be used to provide classroom setup and support grants to rural undergraduate and graduate student educators. These student educators are either currently placed in a rural school for their field experience or student teaching, or they accept a position in a rural Oregon school district after receiving their certification. Funds will allow educators to set up their classrooms, purchase essential materials and supplies, and invest in their schools. Thanks to this grant, 66 new educators will each receive a one-time $250 award to support their work.

Teach Rural Oregon Alumnus in their elementary school classroom.

Inlow Hall on the EOU campus on a snowy day.

EOU Board of Trustees Focuses on Access, Advocacy and Long-Term InvestmentFacilities Operations Manager

The Eastern Oregon University Board of Trustees met February 18–19, 2026, advancing governance improvements, reviewing state funding issues, and reinforcing EOU’s role as Oregon’s Rural University. 

Central themes of the meeting were access and advocacy. Trustees discussed digital accessibility compliance and faculty innovation to support student success, and learned from students who met with legislators during the Public University Student Lobby Day on Feb. 12 in support of funding to improve access to higher education. 

President Kelly Ryan and Vice President for University Advancement Tim Seydel provided state and federal legislative updates and reviewed the Higher Education Coordinating Commission’s Spending & Efficiency Report. Trustees expressed concern about Oregon’s low national ranking in per capita higher education funding and emphasized the need for sustained, systemic investment to better serve students and rural communities.


Young Artists Take the Spotlight in EOU’s Regional High School Exhibition

The Nightingale Gallery of Eastern Oregon University presents our annual “Eastern Oregon Regional High School Exhibition.”  The exhibition runs from Feb. 20 to March 13. There will be an opening reception for the exhibition on Friday, Feb. 20, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the gallery. Awards will be presented at 5:30 p.m. that evening. The “Eastern Oregon Regional High School Exhibition” provides a unique experience for young artists. This is the first opportunity most of them have to not only exhibit their work but to exhibit alongside their eastern Oregon peers. 

“Bringing high school art into the University’s Nightingale Gallery is such an enriching event,” says Jaime Gustavson, Art Teacher at Union High School. “Union students look forward to the exhibition every year.”  

The exhibit also allows the community to engage with the creative work of students from high schools throughout our region.  Students working in a variety of media in grades nine through twelve will have up to two works on view.

Eastern Oregon Regional High School Exhibition cover slide featuring three examples of student art.

Students lined up and singing on the set of Thous Hast Thy Will in preparation for the upcoming performances.

Shakespeare, Set to Music

When Hannah Brown steps onto the stage in Loso Hall this March, she won’t just be performing Shakespeare. She’ll be singing it.

“It’s very different,” said Brown, a senior at Eastern Oregon University. “Nick took all of those Shakespeare words and put them into songs. The words are Shakespeare, but the music is all originally Nick.”

The music belongs to Nicholas Vece, ’24, who returned to campus to premiere Thou Hast Thy Will, a 14-piece song cycle built from Shakespeare’s sonnets and monologues. The Winter 2026 production runs March 12–14 at 7 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on March 15 in the Schwarz Theatre.

Alumni News

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December 1

Sophomore Conner Fecht carries a family legacy forward at EOU

Sophomore Conner Fecht carries a family legacy forward at EOU Sophomore pre-nursing major Conner Fecht is the newest student voice on Eastern Oregon University’s (EOU) Board of Trustees. From his seat at the table, he brings his own perspective as a rural student preparing for a career in health care, along with the story of […]

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October 28

From EOU to Entrepreneur: Megan Gustafson ‘25 Turns Lessons into a Thriving Business

From EOU to Entrepreneur: Megan Gustafson Turns Lessons into a Thriving Business Before turning 22, Eastern Oregon University (EOU) alumna Megan Gustafson turned classroom lessons into real-world success, launching her own marketing firm, landing her first client, and wrapping up her MBA. These days, she balances business plans, client meetings, and soccer coaching with an […]

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October 21

Eastern Oregon University Celebrates a Successful 2025 Homecoming Weekend

Eastern Oregon University Celebrates a Successful 2025 Homecoming Weekend La Grande, Ore. — Eastern Oregon University (EOU), along with EOU Athletics, the EOU Foundation, and the EOU Alumni Association, extends a heartfelt thank-you to all who braved the cold and rain to take part in the 2025 Homecoming festivities. Alumni, friends, families, students, and guests […]

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This special calendar edition of the Mountaineer Magazine celebrates Eastern Oregon University month by month, highlighting the people, programs, and generosity that strengthen Oregon’s Rural University and expand opportunity across the region.

  • Celebrating Possibility: The EOU Foundation announces a record $1.3 million in scholarships, bringing students and donors together to demonstrate how generosity expands access, fuels achievement, and transforms lives.
  • Hope Has a Hometown: EOU’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program prepares graduates to meet urgent rural behavioral health needs, empowering professionals like Kate Gekeler, ’22, ’25, to serve the communities they call home.
  • From ’55 to Forever: Alumnus Bob Peshall, ’55, turns gratitude into legacy through a planned gift that will strengthen music programs and create new scholarships for future Mountaineers.
  • No Place for Hunger: Campus and community partners rally to address food insecurity, ensuring students have the stability and support they need to thrive academically and personally.

And more: reflections from emeritus faculty, a proud military leadership tradition, student voices shaping university governance, Homecoming celebrations, and stories of alumni and donors investing in EOU’s future.