From the President – January 17, 2024

From the President – January 17, 2024

Our winter term is off to a fine start, and I’m eager to see us glide through winter into the spring.

Our strategy teams for the Ascent 2029 strategic plan began their work over the past two weeks. You can expect to hear about opportunities to share your input and ideas soon. I’m excited about the energy these teams will bring to our campus, as we coalesce around shared goals to take action. Kathryn Shorts shared in our first meeting that the culmination of these plans will be the biggest party in EOU’s history, as we celebrate the incredible transformation of the university from a teacher’s college to an institution offering over 30 degrees, including graduate programming!

Some more great news from our campus to be proud of:

• Yahoo Finance recognized EOU’s online Economics degree program for being one of the nation’s best. We beat out some major players! Congratulations to economics’ faculty!
• By my count, our incredible facilities staff cleared nearly two feet of snow in the past two weeks. Make sure to thank them for this dedication to campus safety when you see them! What a marathon of snow removal!

What have I been up to? Quite a bit! In addition to the regular round of meetings, I had a great time on the first day of winter term classes doing some impromptu painting with our students. It was such fun to take the time to sit and chat for a spell. VP Tim Seydel and I made our way to Salem to meet with legislators and share with the House Committee on Higher Education some of the joys and challenges of sponsoring athletics at Oregon’s regional universities. Speaking of, I attended men’s and women’s basketball’s winning games against Walla Walla, very exciting to catch the action! While in Salem, I attended another productive meeting with the Oregon Council of Presidents. Now that I’m returning home, I’m excited to visit Mike Sell’s exhibit, “No Photos Please,” in the Nightingale Gallery. 

In closing, I’d like to thank EOU staff and faculty for their thoughtful participation in our request for ideas on budgetary savings and investments. The EOU Budget and Planning/TAC committee is currently reviewing the suggestions and will forward their priorities to cabinet soon. We will continue this work and find ourselves in a better financial position in the next academic year because of you!

Wishing you joy in this wintry season!

Sincerely,

Kelly Ryan, Ph.D.

President