Eagle 1 Newsletter: December 2022

Dear Eagle Family and Friends,

I can hardly believe that 2022 and my first six months as president of EWU are coming to a close. Fall term has ended and winter break has begun for students, and we’ve sent them off with holiday well-wishes. I’m sure every employee agrees that it isn’t quite the same without our students, and we’re all looking forward to the vibrant campus community resuming in 2023.

December is typically a quiet month – and cold weather can keep us from connecting as a campus community. For that reason, I’ve taken the extra effort to provide opportunities for engagement and gathering for our campus community. We held the annual President’s Holiday Reception to join together, eat festive goodies and enjoy some easy conversations with fellow Eagles. I also held another campus Zumba class for employees (back by popular demand!) to break up the day and get in a good workout. I hope all of you have plans to intentionally gather, whether with family or friends, to stay connected and share in the joy of the holiday season.

Last week, we held our last Board of Trustees meeting for the calendar year where we were able to once again highlight the amazing work our faculty and staff do in support of the EWU mission, as well as highlight our programs, achievements, goals and progress. Like universities across the nation, Eastern is looking to address difficult challenges in the coming years – enrollment, housing, belonging and community impact.

Over two days, staff and faculty presented to the Board current and future actions and plans we will take to keep moving Eastern forward. We’ve developed a roadmap to identify opportunities for greater engagement with prospective, accepted and current students to increase the sense of belonging to the Eagle family. We’re also making progress on our sustainability goals, identifying landscaping alterations that will reduce our carbon footprint, and furthering our research through the Prairie Restoration Project. Finally, we’re embarking on a strategic resource allocation process for 2023. This intensive process will allow us the opportunity to examine our academic and support programs to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our students now while positioning ourselves for long-term success in the changing landscape of higher education. 

Eastern has a 140-year legacy as a regional, comprehensive university and deep roots in the greater Spokane community – for 140 years we’ve prepared students to thrive in the workforce and create social change in our communities, and we want to ensure we continue our legacy for years to come.

Finally, I want to say thank you for your support of Eastern and our mission to transform lives through excellence in learning. We are incredibly proud of our students, our alumni, and our ongoing impact in this region. Have a wonderful holiday season, and Go Eags!

Shari McMahan, PhD
President
Eastern Washington University