Archive: stories

Over its 50 years of service, Eastern’s dental hygiene program has helped students pursue a passion for dental health.   By Melodie Little Eleven years after fleeing cartel violence in his Mexican hometown, 22-year-old Carlos Valdovinos, a newly minted graduate of EWU’s dental hygiene program, is ready to start making a difference. Valdovinos is the…

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…

Faculty and staff runners from Eastern’s team ‘Red ’ continue to dominate Bloomsday’s Corporate Cup.   On May 1, after a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Bloomsday road race made its triumphant return to the streets of Spokane. Much to the chagrin of their competition, EWU’s Red team, a running force that has dominated the race’s…

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…

EWU alumna Melodi Wynne, ’07, a citizen of the Spokane Tribe who has become a leader in the movement to restore “food sovereignty” to the Native peoples of the Upper Columbia Plateau.

The 2022 EWU Alumni Awards Gala was held on Friday, April 15, at the Pend Oreille Pavilion inside Northern Quest Resort & Casino.

Essays edited by Eastern alumna Summer Hess explore one of Spokane’s most interesting urban spaces. Just southwest of the University District, near the corner of N. Browne St. and Main, lies one of Spokane’s most trendy city blocks, a bustling pocket of once neglected, now mostly restored historic buildings.     The casual visitor might…

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…