EOU President's Office

From the President – November 10, 2026

Honor Veterans Day and our Military-Affiliated Students!

Dear EOU Community,

You’re receiving this update a day early as EOU is closed tomorrow in observance of Veterans Day. I am grateful to EOU’s ROTC cadets for organizing today’s on-campus event and to Dr. Paul Nauert and U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Jorge De Anda for being featured speakers.

You might be interested to know that EOU has 309 military-connected students and 14 veteran employees. We’re proud of every single one of them. EOU continues to rank high for our commitment to supporting the educational goals of military-affiliated students, including being recognized with the coveted Military Friendly Gold Designation (opens in a new tab).

I’m particularly honored to share the November 2026 President’s Report (opens in a new tab), which I delivered to the EOU Board of Trustees. It outlines the incredible work undertaken by faculty, staff, and administration. Take a look and congratulate your colleagues for their successes! I mean…wow!!!

As we look forward to the weekend, I hope many of you are planning to see EOU’s production of Mean Girls (opens in a new tab) or enjoy the new exhibition at the Nightingale Gallery (opens in a new tab). Also, congratulations to Coach Morehead-McLean and the EOU volleyball team as they compete in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship this Saturday in Caldwell, Idaho.

I’m still recovering from my annual Halloween horror binge and looking forward to more wholesome activities, like planning what to eat on Thanksgiving. In the meantime, we’ve just completed a Board of Trustees meeting, and I’ll be attending University Council later today. Last week, I had the honor of engaging in conversation with other education leaders at P3EDU on technology and innovation in higher education. For a small university, we are holding our own! As fall sports are finishing regular-season competitions, we’ve had the honor of celebrating the commitment and successes of our senior student-athletes. It has been fantastic to see them working together as teams, and this past weekend, I even got to watch our men’s wrestling team shine brightly.

I hope each of you is finding some sunshine as our days are getting shorter. Thank you for all you do!

Sincerely,

Kelly A. Ryan, Ph.D.
President

Learn More About President Kelly A. Ryan

The Ascent ’29 Strategic Blueprint

Powering Oregon: 2026 Economic Impact Study

A new comprehensive economic study conducted by Econsult Solutions, Inc. (ESI) highlights the vital role Eastern Oregon University (EOU) plays as an economic powerhouse, workforce pipeline, and educational anchor for both the region and the State of Oregon. Designated in 2018 as Oregon’s Rural University, EOU generates $388.1 million in total annual economic output, supports 2,510 jobs, and contributes $19.6 million in state and local tax revenues each year.

The study, titled “The Economic Impact of the Regional Public Universities of Oregon,” quantifies the school’s statewide footprint across four key areas: daily institutional operations, capital investment projects, off-campus student and visitor spending, and the long-term enhanced earning potential of its graduates. Developed in collaboration with Southern Oregon University and Western Oregon University, the report studies the impact of Oregon’s Regional Universities on a regional and statewide level.

Visit the EOU Dashboard for more information. For the full technical report, email govrelations@eou.edu.