From the President – May 15, 2025

From the President – May 15, 2025

May is a tough time of year at the university. Yes, it’s really beautiful. But also yes, we are really tired. This includes our students. I recently wrote a peppy email to our students encouraging them to focus on their next step rather than the longer journey, and I got some really great emails back sharing what their next steps are. Among those emails was high praise for EOU that I want to share with you. 

A student wrote: “This school has been awesome! This is only my 3rd term here, but I feel like I have already learned so much. Every teacher I have had has been amazing! I’m really enjoying getting to know them and have had pleasant interactions with every single one of them so far.  My peers have been great too! Even though I am almost twice the age of most of them, they don’t make me feel like it. I’m looking forward to one more school year after this term and walking across the stage next year.”

I hope this note empowers your next step, because what we do every single day matters.

Thank you to all who participated in my EOU swag survey. The most popular responses to “What EOU swag would you use?” were stickers, non-plastic water bottles, and socks!  We’ve heard you, and now we will get to work.

I’ve been sharing our progress on the Ascent strategies since February – with the EOU Board, at university council, at faculty senate, and now to all in the community. We are proud to release the new Ascent 2029 Strategic Blueprint webpages that include our collaborative work in building and realizing our strategies and plans. Check it out!

I’ve had many opportunities this week to be in community with you. One highlight over the past few weeks was attending the CEAD conference. Dr. Jeremiah Sim’s message of compassion, love, and community was exactly what I needed to hear, and it lifted my spirits to learn more about his journey and teachings.  

I also wanted to publicly express my gratitude to Alassane Diagne for filling in as Interim Director of Admissions. And of course, a hearty welcome back to Dr. Genesis Meaderds! We missed her!

Finally, I wanted to share that we will focus on the Great Colleges to Work For Survey at the next University Updates, which will be in person and on Zoom on May 15. As you may recall, I hoped to discuss this in February, but we had so many changes coming from the federal administration that we had to shift gears.

Hang in there. We’re almost at commencement – our most important day at the university!

PS.  Great news – our Softball and Men’s Track and Field teams won the Cascades Championship again! Congratulations to Coach Welch and Christian on their incredible successes!!

PPS: Breaking news! With a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 8th inning of the NAIA Softball Opening Round, our softball team is headed to the NAIA World Series!

Sincerely,