EOU board welcomes new trustees

EOU board welcomes new trustees

News contacts:
Tim Seydel, Vice President for University Advancement, 541-962-3740
Laura Hancock, Communications Coordinator for University Advancement, 541-962-3585

LA GRANDE, Ore. July 8, 2016 – Four individuals nominated by Oregon Governor Kate Brown and confirmed by the state senate have joined Eastern Oregon University’s Board of Trustees.

Nicole Almanza is a student and her involvement on campus extends to multiple clubs and organizations, including serving as president of Latino Impact, a club promoting Latino culture at EOU.

Almanza is an active member of the International Student Association and is also an EOU Ambassador. She is majoring in pre-optometry and physical activity and health, with a concentration in health and wellness. Her minor is chemistry.

Helen Moore is a classified staff member with a 36-year employment history at the university. She is currently a purchasing agent in the Information Technology department.

Moore is active in EOU’s shared governance process and has been involved in the leadership of SEIU 503 Local #081 for the past 20 years, most recently serving as secretary-treasurer. She is also finishing a second two-year term as a member of the SEIU State Board of Directors. An alumna of university, she holds a bachelor’s of science in history.

Linda Reed-Jerofke is an applied anthropologist and professor of anthropology at EOU. She has cultivated relationships with regional tribes, and federal and state agencies through her work and has professional connections with the area business community as a Rotarian.

Reed-Jerofke also brings detailed knowledge of the Associated Academic Professionals contract, which covers teaching faculty. She holds a doctorate of anthropology and a master’s of anthropology from the University of Oregon; a master’s of historical archaeology from the University of Leicester; and a bachelor’s of anthropology from Appalachian State University.

Brad Stephens is replacing Tom Insko as a voting member of the board following Insko’s appointment as EOU president.

Stephens is a retired orthopedic surgeon from Wallowa County who originally had a practice in La Grande. He is also a former team physician for EOU, helping teach courses on athletic injuries, and was the medical director of the United State Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York. He returned to the region in 2007 and settled in Wallowa County, where he practiced until retiring in 2014.

Stephens has served as secretary to the EOU Foundation Board of Directors for the past two years and is the current chair of Wallowa Resources, a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustaining the working landscape in Wallowa County. He holds a bachelor of arts from Harvard University; a doctor of medicine from Tufts University School of Medicine; and he completed his orthopedic residency at Dartmouth Medical School.

“All of the individuals who pursued a nomination to serve with our board should be congratulated,” Insko said. “Their commitment to EOU is to be commended and I am thrilled to begin working with the new trustees who have been confirmed.”

Almanza, Moore and Reed-Jerofke are replacing Elsie Praeger-Goller, Pat Hinton and Ray Brown, whose terms expired at the end of June.

Students, staff and faculty serve two-year appointments on the board, while EOU’s president and 11 community positions serve four-year terms. Total board membership is 15 and service is voluntary.

For more information visit www.eou.edu/governance.