From the President – October 16, 2024

From the President – October 16, 2024

Homecoming was a rollicking success! I felt a lot of joy seeing the incredible relationships we’ve forged with our students over time. They keep coming back to EOU because we supported them on their path to success. It was delightful to see so many of you having fun together, too. I love it!

We have some great news from Assistant Professor of Biology, Brian Myers, whose collaborative research article “Quantification of threats to bats at localized spatial scales for conservation and management” was published by PLOS ONE, and he was interviewed by Newsweek to discuss his findings. Professor Myers’ team “came up with a new method that can be used to determine threats bats (and other species) face locally, because species face different threats in different geographic areas.” Congratulations!!

The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences created a wonderful event to celebrate Professor Cori Brewster, who was selected as the Distinguished Faculty Member of 2024. It was so heartwarming to see Dr. Brewster is surrounded by students, faculty, and staff who shared the incredible impact she’s had on the university. I’ve been so impressed by her commitment and dedication to student success that it was an honor to acknowledge her.

Last week I finished my round of visits with all of the units on campus. (It took a few weeks, but we got there!) I enjoyed sharing space and conversation with all of you, and I’m hopeful we can keep the collaboration and discussion going. In November, our Koffee with Kelly series returns, and we promise to hold one in the afternoon this academic year for those of you who have been unable to make morning sessions.

Of course, it’s a really busy time at EOU. I’m grateful to all of you who have supported students in these first few weeks of the academic year, in addition to conducting university business. We’ve had two great first meetings of the University Council and Faculty Senate; both teams are working to advance EOU and hope you will stay engaged in our shared governance work. It takes all of us! 

I’ve had the opportunity to present at the InterMountain Education Services District. They shared that we’re doing a good job working with our school districts through our Early College Initiatives’ dual credit work and the support they receive from the College of Education. I also presented at the La Grande Rotary updating them on our momentum this year. Over the past few weeks, we also met with the Oregon Agricultural Foundation, our Alumni Association, and the EOU Foundation. It’s always a rewarding experience to chat with our biggest boosters!

Fall colors are on display and our university is spectacularly beautiful right now. I hope you take a moment to get outside and view the splendor!

Sincerely,

Kelly A. Ryan, Ph.D.