Dear EOU Friends and Family,

I am excited to announce the beginning of construction on a new Grand Staircase! This historic connection between EOU and the community has served as a wonderful symbol of our strong relationship for nearly 100 years. The Stairs are also a unique, one-of-a-kind architectural feature that sets us apart from other colleges and universities: no one else has anything like it.

The Grand Staircase was one of the top discussion items brought to me as the new President.  Many longtime faculty and staff, alumni, and supporters shared wonderful stories about the Stairs, including events like Evensong, wedding proposals and ceremonies, graduation photos, paintings of Mt. Emily and the valley from the viewpoint, and even small cars being relocated to the Staircase! 

The tremendous work to find resources for the project secured $4 million from state and federal funds. Those funds have been used to remove the structure that had become unsafe and unstable, and to plan for a new structure. This month, we will see construction begin on the new Grand Staircase, to be completed by the end of November 2024. 

Given the limited resources and increasing costs, building a full replica of the original Grand Staircase was not possible. However, we felt it was incredibly important to maintain the historic character and structure of the Staircase and certainly to ensure it remains an important pathway to and from the university. The main feature change you may note is that the new Stairs won’t have balustrades–it was simply not economically feasible. The design and other features of the new Stairs are a true reflection and nod to the special architectural design of the original Grand Staircase, and I’m excited to see it finally come to fruition.

This has been a passion project for many of our staff at EOU for many years. I want to thank everyone who worked tirelessly to find funding, manage the engineering and construction, communicate with our alumni and community, and negotiate through offices and departments for plan approvals so that we may build and enjoy a beautiful view and connection to the community.   

Please watch Infoline and the website for updates on the construction, and thank you for being a part of this exciting transformation.

Warm regards,

Kelly A. Ryan, Ph.D.
President

About the Grand Staircase