From the President – February 19, 2025

From the President – February 19, 2025

Dear EOU Community,

I had the opportunity to attend the EOU Chamber Choir and Music Department’s You, Me & We show, and I found myself getting emotional – even misty-eyed – as it represented so much of what we do. I thought about the students who performed last year and hoped they were successful and happy in their post-graduation lives. I watched others who are continuing in their growth as performers, as well as some who participated for the first time. I’m really proud of the way that our faculty and staff make events like this possible (thank you Red Cross Drug for your financial support!). I am also extremely proud of our students who rise to the challenge. 

It’s a truly beautiful thing that we do – we see potential in each other and we are willing to foster its development. 

I saw this same spirit at our basketball game last weekend and in the student experiential learning session at the recent Board of Trustees meeting. I also witnessed it in some performance appraisal listening sessions we’ve been having. 

People want to mentor, coach, and support each other. They want to find ways to help.

And of course, I’ve heard about some amazing things that are happening across the university. I recently delivered a 13-page president’s report (!) to the board (thanks to the deans and athletics) highlighting some of the great work we’ve been doing.

Some more highlights I’ve heard about directly include:

Despite adverse weather conditions which impacted the numbers originally shared in my president’s report, EOU welcomed 254 students, 14 advisors, and 17 FBLA chapters on February 6. Participants competed for the opportunity to advance to the state FBLA competition in Portland. Thank you, Dean McConnell, the College of Business and all who supported making this a great experience!

Congratulations to the Eastern Oregon Science Journal staff: The Eastern Oregon Science Journal, Volume V (2022-2024), received two awards from the American Scholastic Press Association: First Place with Special Merit and Most Outstanding Department Journal (Social Science). The journal was praised as “an amazing publication… a model for those up-and-coming magazines.” Great job!

We’ve had a LOT of snow.  Big shout out to our grounds crew for coming in early, clearing our sidewalks, and keeping us all safe!

Thank you for sharing your highlights—keep them coming! I appreciate all that you do every day contributing to the beautiful work we do.

Sincerely,

Kelly A. Ryan, Ph.D.