A Legacy Of Care

Caring professors and coaches made a lasting impact on Wilda Stratton, ’72, and now she’s determined to pay it forward.  Stratton and her husband Marcus Watt have set up a $2 million estate gift to the EOU Foundation that will benefit women in STEM fields and student-athletes. Adding this legacy to their will ensures a […]

The Ripple Effect of a Musical Legacy

Only recently has Duane Boyer started thinking about his legacy after five decades in the classroom. After graduating from Eastern Oregon College cum laude in 1969 the Eastern Oregon University guitar and banjo instructor was hired in 1973 to teach music. Eastern Oregon State College would not change its name until 1997 when it became […]

A Legacy: Past, Present, and Future

Sunshine radiates through the massive windows into the new Health & Human Performance (HHP) offices overlooking the Track & Field Complex.  In the past, sharing only one lab between classes, research, and testing, coupled with program faculty spread between offices across campus, the thought of a state-of-the-art lab and teaching facility wasn’t even a concept.   […]

From College Sweethearts to Blue & Gold Legacies

In a cozy corner of the Library on EOU’s campus, longtime alumni Mary Jo Lemon, ’66, and her husband Terry Lemon, ’69, reminisced about their memories as adults, students, and children.  “I remember my mother bringing my sister and me to her office and just playing in the halls of Inlow,” Mary Jo said smiling. […]

Scott Fairley’s Legacy

Connecting communities and building bridges Embarking on a journey with her classmates through the bustling heart of Portland, EOU student and Pendleton, Oregon native Addison Bonzani experienced the rush of city life for the first time. But getting here was not a simple process. Two powerful forces conspired to make her adventure possible: the Urban-Rural […]

Donor Spotlight: James Gorham

Part of something bigger A new business in his old hometown inspired James Gorham, ’95, to get involved in the EOU Foundation. Now, more than 10 years later, the business is thriving and Gorham is a member of the EOU Foundation Board of Directors. After graduation, he earned his master’s in physical therapy and opened […]

Comfort in crisis

EOU Foundation funds keep students enrolled through life’s challenges Last year alone, 27 students benefited from EOU Foundation Crisis Awards. The funds support online and on-campus students who find themselves in difficult situations, where medical expenses, car trouble or childcare costs could threaten their progress toward earning a degree. These private funds close the gap to […]

Donor Spotlight: Ted and Mary Brown

They’ve got a spark in them The late Ted and Mary Brown bequeathed a bevy of interests to their three children. Ted, who taught at EOU, studied for a master’s in entomology and followed his passion from teaching Spanish, to anthropology, to education courses, and leading outdoor recreation groups. Mary worked on campus as an […]

Donor Spotlight: Denver and Jean Ginsey

A numbers game A love for baseball and talent for athletics in general guided Denver Ginsey from student body president at La Grande High School to Eastern Oregon College in 1946, and his aptitude for math and science kept him in the game long after graduation. Denver, ’48, and his wife Jean, and her two […]

Donor Spotlight: Linda and Herb Jolliff

It all adds up One good teacher can make the difference between loving math or hating it. But for Herb and Linda Jolliff, ’66, a calculus professor at EOU taught them even more. The two met in Leroy Damewood’s class in 1963 and graduated together three years later. “We met and got to know one […]