From the President – July 15, 2026

A Productive Summer

Dear EOU Community,

As I often share, I’m proud to be part of a regional public university (RPU). EOU is uniquely positioned to advance eastern Oregon and the state’s agenda for a civic-minded and economically impactful region that advances knowledge and sparks curiosity and creativity. In fact, institutions like ours serve the majority of college students (opens in a new tab), and the return on investment for students who attend RPUs offers a strong retort to those who would question our value. This article also shares that some of our students’ concerns differ from others. Unfortunately, rural Oregon, and particularly eastern Oregon counties (opens in a new tab), fall well below urban areas and state and national degree completion. We have a special mission. 

Summer is a time of deep planning for the next academic year and resolution of the last fiscal year. We’re welcoming new students monthly at Mountaineer Days and hosting an exciting mix of camps. We’re planning out our major activities for the next legislative session, sharing our priorities, and listening to others. We are working on our responses to NWCCU’s findings, and perhaps taking a little more time than we have during the academic year to chat when we cross paths in the halls or quad! (This last part is my favorite).

We continue to have great news emerge: 

Our greatest news is that the Master of Social Work (MSW) program has achieved “Candidacy Status” from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Candidacy signals our continued progress toward meeting the highest standards of program quality and peer-reviewed excellence in social work education. We are very proud of Director Christine Saladino, Practicum Education Director Dezette Johnson, and the team!

GO-STEM’s Mobile Maker Lab received a $60,000 grant from the Reser Family Foundation to continue to support CTE-related work.

Thanks to a generous donation from the Oregon Food Bank, we are upgrading equipment in our food pantry.

Of course, busy-ness (business) never ends. I’ve had the opportunity to speak to the La Grande City Council twice regarding our upcoming baseball and softball field projects. Drs. Nicole Howard, Mollie Rockafellow, and I met with Secretary of State Tobias Read to discuss a voter engagement campaign. 

I visited the set of Bad Day for Bigfoot and met with recent graduate Henry Hoelscher, who is impressing everyone on his first movie set with his incredible work ethic. I read a short story by recent graduate Simon Johnson, published in a collection titled Masculine, and watched a movie by current student Abel Anaya.  

In light of it being the summer season, I thought there might be interest in my summer reading list! During the daytime, I read some of Kurt Gray’s Outraged: Why We Fight about Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground. In the evening, I’m reading Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. I just finished Asako Yuzuki’s Butter, which I listened to on my walks. Cabinet is currently reading Daniel Coyle’s The Culture Code. 

Let me know if you are interested in reading The Culture Code, and perhaps we can use one or more of our lunch and learn series to discuss? And let me know if you’ve read something else amazing lately! Always working on my “to-read” list.

Wishing you well,

Kelly A. Ryan, Ph.D.
President