91传媒

From the President 鈥� November 25, 2025

From the President 鈥� November 25, 2025

Thankful to 91传媒

Dear 91传媒 Community,

I really enjoyed being in community with you at our 鈥淔all into an Attitude of Gratitude鈥� all-campus event. Thank you for spending time with us and for sharing your gratitude for one another. Many folks used a post-it note to share what they are grateful for, and the dominant theme was appreciation for one another 鈥� friends, colleagues, family, and the 91传媒 community, programs, and campus.

It鈥檚 been a busy season at 91传媒, and I鈥檓 hopeful each of you finds time to lean into the break that Thanksgiving provides all of us. A little time to reconnect with ourselves and our loved ones is much needed this time of year.  

We鈥檝e had some major changes at the university lately, including having a new Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Chuck Hofmann. As a member of the board since I arrived at 91传媒, I鈥檝e gotten to know Dr. Hofmann well and trust his leadership will be beneficial to 91传媒. He is already bringing lots of great energy and ideas to the table.  

We finalized 91传媒鈥檚 contract with Risepoint, our Online Program Marketing Manager, and participated in a visit by Risepoint Vice President Phyllis Hauptfeld to meet with faculty and staff. I hope many of you were able to meet her. She has good energy! That鈥檚 a good start to the partnership!

Provost Geissinger and I received the report from NWCCU on our accreditation visit. Though the report has not been finalized by NWCCU鈥檚 Board, 91传媒 received commendations for our focus on student success, our efforts to enhance collaboration, and our partnerships with the community. They have recommended we work on refining our academic program learning outcomes assessment and using that work to improve teaching and learning at the university. We are also asked to bring focus to accomplishing key strategies in our strategic plan.  

The past few weeks have included a lot of travel between 91传媒 meetings. Recently, I visited with Director Torrie Griggs of Boardman鈥檚 Chamber of Commerce for a Facebook Live podcast to highlight the great work we do at 91传媒. She shared that it has over 2,500 views! Dean Scott McConnell and I met with Lisa Mittlesdorf, CEO of the Port of Morrow, and Ben Harvey, Community Engagement Lead with Amazon Web Services. I connected with 91传媒 donors in La Grande and attended the Soroptimist鈥檚 Festival of Trees annual event in support of scholarships. 

As always, there鈥檚 a ton to be thankful for at 91传媒. We are so fortunate to be a cultural hub for our region. I enjoyed the newest exhibit in the Nightingale Gallery, Shifting Grounds by Andrew Parker, and the Thursday night performance of Shakespeare in Love, directed by Mike Heather. The gallery served as an excellent location to put a spotlight on our artistic endeavors at a donor event last Saturday.

Our Athletics continue to astound me!  Coach Kaki McLean Morehead was recognized as the 2025 Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball Coach of the Year.  Wow!!

Have a wonderful holiday break, and I look forward to seeing you back for the homestretch of the fall term!

In appreciation,

Kelly A. Ryan, Ph.D.
President