Category: Students

Auriana Mitchell brings a youthful perspective to Eastern’s 130-year-old governing body.  Beginning in the 1970s, the nation’s higher education governing boards gradually began to acknowledge that student voices deserved a place at the table. Though the state of Washington was a little late to the game, for just over two decades its regional university boards…

After a year-and-a-half long pandemic-induced hiatus, Eastern’s interim president celebrates students’ return.   On a near-perfect, end-of-summer Tuesday in September — less than 24 hours before the university’s much anticipated return to in-person instruction — Eastern’s interim president, David May, took the stage in Showalter Auditorium to deliver an emphatic message: “We are back!” “There…

The pandemic isn’t over, but Eastern is celebrating its return to ‘near normal.’ By Melodie Little Back in March 2020, just a week after the EWU men’s basketball team learned its appearance in the NCAA Tournament had been canceled, the university announced there would be a one-week extension of Eastern’s typical week-long spring break.  The…

Joddie Gleason, Eastern’s new women’s basketball head coach, aims to elevate a program in search of titles.   Helping student athletes flourish both on and off the basketball court is the goal for Joddie Gleason, who in November made her debut as head coach of Eastern’s women’s basketball team. Gleason comes to Eastern from Seattle…

For one of the world’s most accomplished athletes, nothing has come easy. By Charles E. Reineke It was raining as EWU student and Team USA Paralympian Jaleen Roberts settled into the starting blocks at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium — a light but steady downpour, just like the PNW showers she’d trained in back home.  The 2020…

Back in 1951, the publication that launched 35-years before as the State Normal School Journal changed its name to The Easterner. (The image at left depicts  newsroom staff members in 1962. The photo below, circa 1960, shows the paper being printed on presses owned by the Cheney Free Press.) The Easterner newspaper today remains the…

A foundation’s benevolence means Jessica Scognamiglio, and dozens of other hard-working Eagle students, face a less burdensome path to graduation.   By Leilah Langley. Photos by Chris Thompson. For decades, students have come to Eastern Washington University because it offers a uniquely attractive combination of access and affordability. But for many who matriculate at EWU,…

A 10-year, $500,000 gift aims to encourage ‘experiential learning’ at the Catalyst.   EWU research to be conducted at Spokane’s new Catalyst building — the zero-energy engineering marvel featured in the Fall/Winter edition of Eastern magazine — got a big boost earlier this year. The McKinstry Charitable Foundation, headquartered in Seattle, announced in February a…

Since 2016, Eastern admissions staff members have partnered with Spokane Public Schools and local-business donors to bring red and black Eagle sweatshirts — and big, beautiful smiles — to local fifth graders.   The hoodie project, started five years ago by an anonymous EWU alumnus, involves Eastern staff and students visiting regional elementary schools, handing…

For more than 50 years, Bill Youngs has put students first.   During his more than 50 years at EWU, Bill Youngs, author, mentor and professor of history, has used his uniquely successful brand of teaching and scholarship to positively influence the intellectual and personal growth of hundreds of Eastern students. Along the way he…