President’s Letter – Fall 2018

October 2018

Friends and Fellow Alumni,

I count living much of my life in rural Oregon as one of my greatest blessings. Growing up on a farm, coupled with unwavering parental love and support provided me with innumerable values-based experiential learning opportunities. It was easy to see the fruits of my labor and consequences of poor decisions. Trust, love, and support were constant. Growing up rural was an advantage for me and I believe that EOU’s rural location is also a tremendous advantage.

Earlier this year, Eastern Oregon University was officially designated “Oregon’s Rural University.” This recognition of EOU’s unique status has already garnered national attention, and represents our deep connection and commitment to rural places. Most important, it signifies the experience students have at EOU.

Embracing our rural roots allows us to provide the six elements of emotional support and experiential learning in college that are correlated with long-term career and life success: EOU students connect with professors that make them excited about learning. They develop authentic relationships and feel truly cared for as individuals. They discover mentors, who support their goals and dreams. With this support, they experience meaningful long-term projects, jobs or internships where learning is applied, and involvement in extracurricular activities.

The stories in this issue provide examples of our rural values manifesting themselves locally and globally. We celebrate the first graduate of our Oregon Teacher Pathway program, a partnership with regional school districts providing a unique and personal teacher development program to rural students. We highlight Mountaineer altruism in one student’s mission to collect shoes for Nigerian youth, and new EOU trustees serving our great institution.

We are Oregon’s Rural University! We have grit and can provide a transformational educational experience few others can. It is the Eastern Edge.

Sincerely,
Tom Insko, ’94
President