Category: Campus

As in-person graduation returns, Eastern’s alumni director greets our newest Eagles for life.   It hasn’t always been easy, but I’m pleased to report that my first 10 months as director of alumni relations have continued to be the “absolute dream” that I hoped it would be. I’ve witnessed amazing things, and met even more…

Work begins to refit a ‘Sputnik-era’ Science Building.   Just weeks after EWU’s glittering new Interdisciplinary Science Center opened its doors, construction began on the $45 million first phase of a Science Building renovation — a companion project that promises to usher in a new era of research and discovery at Eastern.     The…

A premium bus plaza promises to keep riders warm and (mostly) wind-free.   At Eastern, one’s EagleCard identification doubles as a bus pass for rides on any Spokane Transit Authority route. It’s a benefit meant to encourage individual Eagles, particularly those living up the road in Spokane, from fouling the air, congesting the highways and…

In June, Shari McMahan took the helm as Eastern’s 27th president.   After a nationwide search involving more than 60 applicants, the EWU Board of Trustees in March announced that Shari McMahan, currently provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, San Bernardino, would become Eastern’s 27th president. McMahan will succeed David…

A glass-tiled “mosaic mural” adds a colorful focal point to Eastern’s Interdisciplinary Science Center.   Even as students and faculty members continue settling into Eastern’s new Interdisciplinary Science Center, the work of adorning the building’s light-filled interior continues apace. Among the most striking of these decorative touches is a colorful, two-panel “mosaic mural” of glazed…

The Soviet Union’s successful launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957 didn’t just shock and embarrass the American political establishment, it led to a frantic game of superpower one-upmanship. Among the positive outcomes of the ensuing “space race” was a renewed national interest in — and greatly increased funding for — university-based science and…

Despite the odds, Eastern’s greatest-ever quarterback is ready to quiet the next-level doubters. By Dave Cook Turning heads is what Eric Barriere ’21 did best on the football field at EWU. It began during Eastern’s recruiting process, as Eagle recruiters watched him win championships as a high schooler in California. Then, upon arrival in Cheney…

Bob Quinn, a geography professor with a passion for the weather, died on Oct. 10. In 1967, Robert “Bob” Quinn, a newly minted assistant professor of geography at Eastern Washington State College, arrived in Cheney to find himself confronted by the coldest, snowiest winter in the city’s recorded history. His new colleagues no doubt thought…

Erin Ross, EWU alumna and member of the Cowlitz Tribe, will guide Eastern’s Tribal Relations Office.   In July, Eastern named Erin Ross ’99, ’15, alumna and member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, its new director of tribal relations. For Ross, the job is all about extending and improving engagement with the Native communities upon…

Eastern students take on the cyber crooks.   A ransomware attack shuts down Colonial Pipeline, largest fuel supplier to the East Coast; a cryptocurrency heist drains $600 million from the accounts of the PolyNetwork blockchain site; a data breach exposes the personal information of 50 million T-Mobile account holders: These brazen cyberattacks, all pulled off…