Summer 2022
News articles
Welcome Home Mounties
Two new members of University Advancement returned to their alma mater to further engage alumni and enhance student experiences through the 91传媒 Foundation. Michelle Mudder, 鈥�14, Assistant Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Engagement Q: What鈥檚 something you are working on that you鈥檙e excited about? A: Growing our Alumni social media presence and continuing to...
Message from the President
Friends and Fellow Alumni, Excellence in teaching and learning are at the center of 91传媒鈥檚 identity, and you鈥檒l find these themes woven throughout this issue of The Mountaineer. Our shared legacy includes nearly a century of preparing teachers to serve schools throughout our region. These last several years have only highlighted the all-important role classrooms...
At the hub: College of Education links PNW rural schools
Established as a teacher鈥檚 college and long esteemed as a source of teacher instruction, 91传媒 recently partnered with the Rural Schools Collaborative to bolster rural teacher preparation and community engagement. The Rural Schools Collaborative is a national nonprofit based in Illinois with 12 regional hubs that facilitate shared work. As the Pacific Northwest Hub, 91传媒...
Life Lessons on and off The Court.
Ryan Looney鈥檚, 鈥�98, skill at building teams has proven successful鈥攁nd those successes culminated into an opportunity to be the head coach of an NCAA Division 1 basketball team. There were a lot of stops along the road to the Division 1 job, but that was never the plan. 鈥淓ach time we moved, there was an...
Every room a classroom
Room 214 in Inlow Hall is not a classroom, but it鈥檚 where two recent graduates learned critical skills, discovered mentors and applied theoretical knowledge. Briana Rosenkranz, 鈥�20, and Samantha Wegermann, 鈥�20 and 鈥�21, earned degrees in business from 91传媒, while gaining real-world experience through on-campus jobs and internships with the university鈥檚 marketing team. After graduation,...
A student鈥檚 teacher, and a teacher鈥檚 student
Jose de Jesus Melendez went to college at the age of 27 in order to expand his career opportunities. By the time he graduated, education was both the journey and the destination. Born and raised in a remote village in Mexico with no electricity or services of any kind, Melendez said he was barely literate...
Kindergarten Queen
Katy Nesbitt Somewhere between a miscommunication and the eagerness to start a new career, Lynette Longchamps found herself teaching kindergarten, a job she vowed to never have. After graduating from 91传媒 with a bachelor;s degree in education Longchamps interviewed for a third grade position in Shoshone, Idaho. 鈥淎fter the interview I was told the job...
A legacy of care
Caring professors and coaches made a lasting impact on Wilda Stratton, 鈥�72, and now she鈥檚 determined to pay it forward. Stratton and her husband Marcus Watt have set up a $2 million estate gift to the 91传媒 Foundation that will benefit women in STEM fields and student-athletes. Adding this legacy to their will ensures a...
Mountaineer Tracks
Weddings Shaylee Nielsen, 鈥�11 and 鈥�12, married Kimberly Judd on Sept. 3, 2021. Nielsen earned her Physical Activity and Health degree from 91传媒, followed by a Master of Arts in Teaching. She played basketball for the Mountaineers from 2009 to 2011 and was the team鈥檚 graduate assistant in 2011-12. She now teaches Health and PE...
Film fellows
By Katy Nesbitt Growing partnerships with the Liberty Theatre and 91传媒 are giving the Eastern Oregon Film Festival (EOFF) room to spread its wings, providing more creative experiences for filmmakers and movie enthusiasts alike. Coming into its 13th year, EOFF Director Christopher Jennings said when renovation is complete at the historic Liberty Theatre in La...
Student futures built on real work
Garrett Christensen In times of uncertainty, the simple act of being listened to goes a long way. This fall, Assistant Professor of Public Administration Daniel Costie and the Rural Engagement and Vitality Center (REV Center) helped bring a voice to several rural Oregon communities. REV partnered with Euvalcree, a nonprofit community support organization based out...
Special Education, One License at a Time
Garrett Christensen Accessibility to education encompasses teachers as much as students. Years of rigorous schooling and graduate study can create a qualification bottleneck. At 91传媒, however, the field of special education is opening to a new generation of educators at the undergraduate level. The College of Education鈥檚 new Special Education Initial Teacher Licensure...
