From the President – October 2, 2024

From the President – October 2, 2024

Dear EOU Community:

We had a great first week of the academic year that was full of activities. By the time you’ve read this, our office has hosted Karaoke on the Quad, and I hope I have not embarrassed myself! 

One of my favorite parts of the updates I share with you is being able to recognize the hard work and dedication happening every day at EOU. I invite you to share some of the good work of your colleagues with me by completing this staff recognition survey by Monday, October 14, 2024. Recognitions will be shared with staff during an upcoming staff appreciation reception after our next Board of Trustees meeting. (Please note our faculty will be recognized at our spring event).

For those of you looking to learn more about the activities of our amazing team, take a look at the EOU website our Exceptional AP Staff Profiles for fall term. Or find some time to listen to Associate Professor Kelly McNeil’s podcast interview. According to Interim Dean Dutto, “Her work is out front in the field, and a great example of extending disciplinary expertise into an adjacent field that desperately needs it.”

I’ve been a busy bee, buzzing around the campus with my listening sessions, attending many Week of Welcome events, and getting out in our community. Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with La Grande City Council and attend an event for community leaders to celebrate the Grand Opening of the new Wildcat Center. 

For those of you looking for updates about the Grand Staircase project, we’ve updated our website with a timeline to show how we’ve engaged with others in the (ongoing) approval process. We hope you will share this with those who may have questions. I took a drive and a walk down to our construction site two times last week and I was amazed by the beautiful work completed by Garco. I challenge those who question whether or not it’s still “grand” to take a peek at the progress. 

Finally, I thought I’d share an interesting new study that dives into the views of Americans about higher education and the declining populations that have challenged enrollments over the last decade. I find the study offers a more nuanced perspective than many I’ve read.

Wishing you a great week!

Sincerely,

Kelly A. Ryan, Ph.D.
President