{"id":968,"date":"2022-01-13T21:19:53","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T21:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/?post_type=stories&p=968"},"modified":"2022-01-13T21:19:53","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T21:19:53","slug":"the-buzz-is-back","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/news\/the-buzz-is-back\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018Buzz\u2019 is Back"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/h6>\n
After a year-and-a-half long pandemic-induced hiatus, Eastern\u2019s interim president <\/span>celebrates students\u2019 return.<\/h6>\n

 <\/p>\n

On a near-perfect, end-of-summer Tuesday in September \u2014 less than 24 hours before the university\u2019s much anticipated return to in-person instruction \u2014 Eastern\u2019s interim president, David May, took the stage in Showalter Auditorium to deliver an emphatic message: \u201cWe are back!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a vibrancy on the mall that we have not had since March 2020,\u201d May told a cheering, fully masked crowd. \u201cJust take a moment and let that sink in: March of 2020. Today there\u2019s a buzz. There\u2019s a buzz that those of us who have been around this place know and love. It\u2019s intoxicating to feel the energy of so many people back in this special place.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust take a moment and let that sink in: March of 2020. Today there\u2019s a buzz. There\u2019s a buzz that those of us who have been around this place know and love.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

May\u2019s address came 18 months after students, faculty and staff last congregated on EWU\u2019s Cheney campus, a virus-induced necessity that denied nearly two full classes of Eagles the often life-altering experience of full-on campus engagement. \u201cStudents have been awaiting this day perhaps more eagerly than any of us \u2014 and you can see it in the smiles on their faces,\u201d May said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know one thing we\u2019ve learned in the last year-and-a-half,\u201d he added to applause, \u201cwe are not an online university!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The speech, May\u2019s second official \u201cstate-of-the-university\u201d address, wasn\u2019t entirely celebratory. Critical issues face the university, he said, and the to-do list is long.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Among EWU\u2019s top priorities, May noted, is attracting additional state backing \u2014 along with private donor support \u2014 for critical student and institutional needs. The university must also, he said, continue to address its enrollment and retention challenges, while at the same time engaging with faculty in a comprehensive, collaborative discussion of how best to optimize Eastern\u2019s academic offerings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Such concerns notwithstanding, however, May\u2019s address remained upbeat. \u201cIf we remain resolute, if we look for solutions rather than blame, if we are creative, if we are responsive, if we build together: Then we are Eagle Strong,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a year-and-a-half long pandemic-induced hiatus, Eastern\u2019s interim president celebrates students\u2019 return.   On a near-perfect, end-of-summer Tuesday in September \u2014 less than 24 hours before the university\u2019s much anticipated return to in-person instruction \u2014 Eastern\u2019s interim president, David May, took the stage in Showalter Auditorium to deliver an emphatic message: \u201cWe are back!\u201d \u201cThere…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":970,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-968","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-campus","stories_categories-students","stories_tags-fall-winter-2021"],"acf":{"featured_video":"","subheading":"","display_byline":false,"display_date_published":false,"Links":false,"Resources":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":983,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/968\/revisions\/983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}