Fall 2018
News articles
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...
Oregon’s Rural University
As Oregon’s Rural University, EOU works to connect and engage students at all levels with innovative programs and partnerships. Over the past several months, faculty and staff have connected high school students with State Parks, developed their leadership skills, and bridged the urban-rural divide. GO-STEM About 50 young scientists became Chief Science Officers through a...
Home away from home
Four college friends left Eastern Oregon College and scattered across the U.S.: Satwant lives in California now, Sami is outside Washington D.C., Riad’s out in Ohio, and Sally lives near her mother in La Grande. But when they get together, it’s like no time has passed at all.
Donor Spotlight: Denver and Jean Ginsey
A numbers game A love for baseball and talent for athletics in general guided Denver Ginsey from student body president at La Grande High School to Eastern Oregon College in 1946, and his aptitude for math and science kept him in the game long after graduation. Denver, ’48, and his wife Jean, and her two...
In their shoes
After six years away from his home in Nigeria, EOU senior Peter Eke boarded a flight in July that took him — and hundreds of pairs of shoes — back to the community where he grew up.
Cycle of mentorship supports region’s newest teachers
From a young age, Shelby Spriet knew she wanted to teach. “I honestly just always had the mindset that I was going to be a teacher one day,” Spriet said. “I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else really.” During her senior year of high school in Pendleton, she became one of the first students to...
Serving transfer students at regional centers
A way forward Personal essay by Andrea Williams Last spring, the sudden closure of Marylhurst University left more than 700 students without an academic home. Andrea Williams, Regional Center Director for EOU in Gresham, stepped up to help displaced students navigate the uncertain path forward. There was such a range of students, from seniors with...
One big, trappy family
Three years ago John Shorts agreed to serve as advisor for the brand-new Trapshooting Club at EOU. “We discussed it and he said yes because we figured it was just one night a week,” his wife Kathryn Shorts said. “We laugh about that now.” Kathryn and John are both staff members on campus. He works...
New trustees, long-time ties
Governor Kate Brown appointed three new members to join EOU’s Board of Trustees this fall: Susan Corey, Quentin Durfee and Gary Keller. Corey will serve a four-year term as a regular trustee, while student and faculty representatives Durfee and Keller serve two-year terms.
Running away with it
Conference Champs Student-athletes on the men’s outdoor track and field team were determined to bring home a conference championship in 2018. “They told me, ‘Coach, we’re not competing for it, we’re going to win it,’” Welch said. The men’s team reclaimed the Cascade Collegiate Conference title for the first time since 2015. Ranked third and...
Climbing the rungs
A bachelor’s degree from Eastern Oregon University unlocked upward mobility for alumnus Aaron Markham’s already successful career. In 2006 the Sunnyside, Wash., fire chief and 15-year department veteran started online courses with EOU. “I was looking at professional development,” Markham said. “To be a chief in a larger department the minimum education requirement listed on...
Mountaineer Tracks
WEDDINGS Kelsha (McCabe) Erickson, ‘12 eloped with Abram Erickson on December 31, 2017 in Bend. Kelsha is a former EOU Alumni Association board member. Nikki (Osborne) Strock, ’15 and ’16, married Austin Strock, ’17 and ’18, on July 14, 2018 in Selah, Wash. Both the bride and groom earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from EOU....
