You can view a PDF of the full EWU Foundation 2024-25 Annual Report via this link: Foundation Annual Report

Key component upgrades bring reliability, sustainability and safety improvements to Eastern’s Rozell Physical Plant.

Weaving his way through a warren of ductwork, piping and electrical conduits, past boilers and chillers, condensers and blowers, Matt Deppa, chief engineer at EWU’s physical plant operation, pauses in front of a 10-inch programmable logic control display. After a quick look, he turns toward a visitor. “Here’s the thing,” Deppa says, his voice rising to be heard above the rumble and whirr of machinery, “a lot of people really don’t know what we do in here.”

“In here,” is EWU’s Rozell Physical Plant building, an unprepossessing structure perched above the corner of Elm and Washington streets. What they “do” in there is operate and maintain the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that keep Eastern comfortably habitable through every season of the year.

Now, thanks to a combination of a $20 million state budget appropriation and targeted grants, Deppa and the rest of the Rozell crew are two years into a multi-faceted overhaul, one that includes key structural and component changes. The goal? To boost the reliability, sustainability and safety of Eastern’s heating and cooling systems for decades to come.

Upgrades already in place include two new high-efficiency, low-emission boilers that provide safer, more consistent heating with less fuel. There are also five new liquid-cooled “chillers” — massive units that cool water used by campus buildings for air conditioning — along with four new cooling towers that boost the chilling system’s performance. Electrical upgrades include moving high-voltage switches previously located in Eastern’s tunnel loop, to safer, above-ground locations.

For the crew members who operate and maintain this dizzyingly complex array of infrastructure — many of whom, like Deppa, learned the trade while serving on ships with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps — changes in the 1970s-era facility were welcome indeed.

On a recent tour, Steve Schmedding, EWU’s facilities engineer and senior project manager, joined up with Deppa to show off the new additions. Schmedding, a Navy veteran, explained how identifying modernization priorities, then obtaining funding and moving forward, has been a 10-year-long process. “Our plans are in a binder that’s 80-pages thick, at least,” Schmedding says. He estimates that work on the whole of the plan is just over half-way to completion.

For his part, Deppa says showing off the fruits of this planning is something he’s always happy to do. Usually that means tours for students, faculty members and community groups.

“It’s great when people are interested,” Deppa says. “We’re definitely proud of the work we do here.”

I’ve said it often over the past two years: The future is bright. Every day, the work happening across our campus inspires me.

Our students are engaged in scientific inquiry, creative expression and scholarly discovery that stretches far beyond the classroom. Learning at Eastern is collaborative and intentional, creating meaningful opportunities that build confidence, spark curiosity and foster a sense of belonging. Applied learning is transforming lives, and the results reaffirm the vital role public higher education plays in shaping strong, resilient communities.

But we also recognize that the pathway to college is not equally accessible for every student in our state. Washington continues to experience some of the lowest college-going rates in the nation — an urgent challenge that demands a holistic approach. Strengthening this pathway means supporting families, engaging students early in their K-12 journey, and smoothing the transition from high school to college. It is essential not only for individual success, but for the long-term health and vitality of our regional economy.

Eastern is committed to doing its part. We are expanding support systems, deepening external partnerships and ensuring every student who dreams of higher education feels welcomed, encouraged and prepared to thrive.

And we are profoundly grateful for our community of supporters who sustain our mission. You show up for our students and continue to believe in the potential of every new Eagle. That enduring commitment is one of our greatest strengths, and it keeps this university moving forward, together.

Shari McMahan, PhD
President, Eastern Washington University

One of my greatest privileges as alumni director is witnessing the impact of our graduates. Each day I am reminded of the passion, pride, and unwavering commitment that define our 125,000-strong alumni community. I see Eagles stepping up—mentoring students, attending regional gatherings, cheering on our teams, sharing their stories and carrying the spirit of Eastern into their communities and workplaces around the world.

Your engagement matters. Whether you join an event, volunteer your expertise, support scholarships or simply wear your red on Fridays, you help strengthen the Eagle4Life experience for generations to come. Our team is here to help, and we remain focused on building meaningful opportunities that keep you connected—to each other, to campus, and to the future of EWU.

I encourage you to get involved in whatever way fits your life right now. Each action—large or small—strengthens our community and helps shape the future of Eastern. In 2026, the Alumni Association is expanding opportunities for you to engage—on campus, on the road and online. From career networking to regional meet-ups and enhanced traditions, we’re creating more ways for you to stay connected, give back and celebrate what it means to truly be an Eagle.

Thank you for your continued enthusiasm, generosity and love for this university. Together, we are writing the next chapter of what it means to be an Eagle4Life.
Go Eags!

Kelsey Hatch-Brecek,
Director of Alumni Relations

An Eastern undergraduate brings bookselling back to Cheney.

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, the Nashville-based author turned bookseller Ann Patchett was asked why she was so passionate about bookstores. “I think a big component of loving books is the desire to share them and to talk about them and to recommend them to other people,” she said. “We have to take responsibility for the places where this happens, not wait for them to go away and then miss them terribly.”

For many years, Cheney has been missing such a place, and terribly.

No longer. Hidden away behind 1st Street’s Mason Jar restaurant, Paperbound Books is a tiny, impossibly cute gathering place for readers. It’s proprietor, Kate MacDonald, 25, is an Eastern undergraduate studying music technology. She runs the store pretty much on her own — a solitary labor of love that allows her to serve as content curator to a diverse clientele. “Books make people happy. You just have to match them with the right one,” she says.

Even as a little girl growing up in Idaho, MacDonald loved books. “I had a 300-book, thrift-store collection by the time I was 12, and they were all alphabetized in a notebook,” she says. The idea for Paperbound came after she moved from Spokane to Cheney and found herself lamenting the lack of a bookshop.

“I’d always wanted to start something on my own,” she says. “I was like, ’Why can’t I do something like that here?’”

So MacDonald set to work. She typed, “How do you write a business plan?” into Google, then honed a strategy with several local experts. Next she created a website and started amassing inventory, collecting tomes from wherever people were divesting themselves of used volumes. She started selling at pop-ups and the Cheney farmer’s market, all the while keeping her eyes open for potential brick-and-mortar storefronts.

Her ambitions got a big boost from Douglas LaBar, the Mason Jar’s owner, who told her his building had a great little space available. He then proceeded, with the help of his father-in-law, the building’s owner, to personally complete Paperbound’s charmingly bohemian build-out. “We just want a bookstore in here,” LaBar told MacDonald. “And this is going to be yours.”

In spite of the challenges facing all booksellers these days, Paperbound has been a success. After recently celebrating the shop’s one-year anniversary, MacDonald is optimistic that her many customers represent a resurgence of interest in the printed word. “People stopped reading printed books for a really long time because of e-books, digital and social media, all of that,” MacDonald says. “But I’m confident that the pendulum is swinging back from digital media to physical objects. Especially with Gen Z, books are definitely back in style.”

As are, she might have added, cozy places to connect with them.

A recent graduate revives EWU’s 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.

Few days in our nation’s history can match the shock and horror of Sept. 11, 2001. As we approach the 25th anniversary of that dreadful morning, it’s especially important that succeeding generations of Americans remember the attacks and, especially, the heroism of the firefighters and police officers who sacrificed their lives to save others.

This fall, thanks in large part to Denise Quiroga ’25, a student-turned-alumna who wasn’t yet five years old in 2001, Eastern’s 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb returned to the Cheney campus. The event challenges participants to complete a strenuous stair assent in remembrance of the New York City firefighters and police officers who rushed into the burning twin towers — some of whom climbed as many as 110 flights of steps — in an attempt to reach trapped office workers and visitors.

Quiroga, who graduated last June with a bachelor’s degree in biology, spearheaded the effort remotely in partnership with other members of Eastern’s “Easy Come, Easy Grow” garden club. This year’s climb, which originated in Dressler Hall before being halted due to Covid-19, was, at Quiroga’s urging, relocated to Roos Field.

Mark Este, director of EWU community engagement, recently gave Quiroga a shout-out for her outstanding work. “She pulled in all these different campus departments, such as facilities, the police department, the veterans resource center, sustainability, community engagement, our office, to try to make this happen and get all the moving parts in place,” Este says. “It’s a really cool, collaborative effort.”

Roos Field proved to be an ideal fit for the event, in part thanks to the day’s sunny skies and mild temperatures. Of the 100 people who attended, more than 50 participated in stair climbs and walks.
Nathan Henson, captain at the Cheney Fire Department, turned out to Roos with several colleagues. “We’re pretty excited to see this happening again,” Henson said.

Henson said firefighters and police rarely think of the dangers to themselves when they are serving their communities: Answering the call of those who need them simply comes as second nature to most first responders.

“I think [the memorial event] is a good reminder of why we do what we do,” Henson says. “A lot of times you don’t think about the loss side of things; you are just going and doing a job because you enjoy doing it, and you enjoy serving your community.”

Eastern gains national recognition for preparing its students for real-world success.

Eastern Washington University has only recently adopted an official identity as “the region’s polytechnic.” But for years it has earned national acclaim for what academic administrators like to call “prioritizing the application of knowledge to professional practice.”

This year is no exception. Just prior to the beginning of the current academic term, EWU was designated a 2025-26 College of Distinction by an Austin, Texas-based organization that ranks universities according to their effectiveness in helping students “learn, grow, and succeed.” The honor represents, in effect, a national seal of approval for Eastern’s impressive track record of preparing students for real-world success.

Eastern didn’t just earn an overall “College of Distinction” designation — it was also recognized in eight specific program areas, as well as for its overall affordability and support for military students.
“EWU has a proud history of providing a transformative undergraduate experience that prepares our students to thrive in the workforce and to serve as leaders in their communities,” Shari McMahan, Eastern’s president, wrote in a statement following the award announcement. “Being recognized as a College of Distinction across such a wide range of fields reaffirms our strength in hands-on learning, as well as our commitment to affordability and academic excellence.”

Through research and interviews, Colleges of Distinction honors universities that “make a meaningful impact on students’ lives, not just the institutions that fight their way to the top of the more traditional rankings lists.” The recognition criteria is based on what they call the “four distinctions”: engaging students, great teaching, vibrant communities and successful outcomes.

The Colleges of Distinction honor comes on the heels of a coveted status upgrade from the Carnegie Foundation, which last year designated EWU as one of the nation’s Research Colleges and Universities. Both designations were important acknowledgments of Eastern’s success in boosting collaborations and student opportunities. Or, as Tyson Schritter, COO at Colleges of Distinction, puts it: “EWU’s programs reflect the kind of innovation and intentionality that prepare students for life after graduation.”

An update aims to boost the impact of Eastern’s land acknowledgment.

The formal acknowledgment that Native peoples are the original inhabitants and stewards of the land where EWU now resides has for years been a part of Eastern’s milestone events — from convocation to commencement. In addition to recognizing EWU’s relationship with area tribes, most notably the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the acknowledgments are meant to serve as a reminder of the often violent displacement of our region’s Indigenous peoples. They also seek to raise awareness of Native peoples’ ongoing presence, and to signal EWU’s commitment to reconciliation.

Earlier this year, under the leadership of Cola Boyer ’20, EWU’s director of tribal relations, the university unveiled an update to its official acknowledgments statement, one that reflected students’ desire for something more “impactful and meaningful.”

“That was probably the very first task that was given to me by the students, and I was more than happy to take it on,” Boyer says of the acknowledgment update. She says she began by exploring the origins of Eastern’s previous statement, then looked outside the university for inspiration.

“I looked at other universities’ land acknowledgments and came up with something that I felt met the mission and the feeling of Eastern Washington University and the Native American students who study here,” Boyer says.

After drafting a new version, she shared it with a group that included Professor Margo Hill, director of American Indian Studies, Evanlene Melting Tallow, program coordinator and recruiter for American Indian Studies, and with Native students. Together they made revisions that addressed tribal sovereignty issues and more fully confronted the systemic hardships area tribes have endured.

Boyer says the new land acknowledgment is more than just a formal recognition that Native people lived on the lands of the Cheney campus. “It’s giving a history of the tribe — the Spokane Tribe that was here — and it’s giving a deeper meaning to what this institution is now, and what it is rooted on.”

Our region needs nurses. EWU’s $100 million ‘Build Our Future’ campaign is prioritizing solutions.

Something was wrong with 6-year-old Anthony Orozco. He was always tired. His belly hurt. He stopped jumping on his trampoline. His skin was turning blue.

Anthony’s dad rushed him to a Yakima clinic. A doctor pushed on his stomach, and Anthony cried out in pain. A nurse held his hand while someone poked his small arm with a long needle. The little hand squeezed the bigger hand: “It’s going to be okay, Anthony,” the nurse said.

Soon the doctor delivered the diagnosis: childhood leukemia, a form of cancer. Anthony and his mom boarded a helicopter that day to Seattle Children’s Hospital. They would spend the next 14 months in treatment there.

Through it all, Anthony remembers friendly nurses calming his fears and making him smile. “The nurses were super helpful, caring and loving. They left a huge impact on me. Since the day I became cancer free and got to go home, I knew I wanted to become a nurse when I grew up,” says Anthony, 21, now a junior in the EWU School of Nursing and a recipient of the EWU Nursing Scholarship.

Everyone — from birth to end of life — will need a nurse’s help. Unfortunately, there is a nationwide critical shortage of nurses. The federal Health Resources and Services Administration recently projected a gap of close to 64,000 full-time registered nurses by 2030.

After graduating its first cohort of 40 students last spring, EWU’s School of Nursing, housed in the SIERR Building in Spokane’s University District, is now teaching four cohorts simultaneously, meaning 80 students could graduate each year with a fully accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.

Want to support students like Anthony Orozco and help ensure our region is adequately staffed with nurses? Find a scholarship or program fund at ewu.edu/give/funds. You can also make a transformational gift by naming the School of Nursing, a classroom, study area, skills lab or other space. Contact Kaarin Appel, EWU senior director of philanthropy for the College of Health Science and Public Health, at kappel@ewu.edu or  (509) 220-4418.

A group of Eastern music students finds inspiration in the great outdoors.

During the summer of 1829, the German composer Felix Mendelssohn, age 20, journeyed with a family friend to the Hebrides. Then, as now, these remote Scottish islands contained all the ingredients of Romantic fascination: towering cliffs battered by powerful storms, sun-dappled hillsides spiked with basalt, ghostly moorlands haunted by Celtic mysteries. Little wonder that some of Mendelssohn’s greatest work emerged from the place.

The sublime national parks and wildlands of the American West have long been the setting for similar flights of inspiration, as a group of young EWU composers recently discovered for themselves. Led by Jonathan Middleton, an EWU professor of music theory and composition, eight members of Middleton’s composition course in September spent a week at one of the greatest of these Western treasures, Grand Teton National Park. There they sought, as Mendelssohn did in Scotland, to find inspiration for 3-to-5-minute “pastoral” compositions, several of which will be performed by the Spokane Symphony Orchestra during a joint appearance with the EWU Orchestra in Showalter Auditorium on March 12.

James Lowe wasn’t born in the Hebrides, but this resident of Scotland knows well their allure. As the Spokane Symphony’s conductor and music director, he also knows that using music to convey the magic of such places isn’t easy. During a visit to Middleton’s class this fall, Lowe gently probed and prodded the young composers, helping them articulate their ideas and ambitions. He also apprised them of the challenges involved in preparing music for performance. One recurring theme? Don’t overdo it. “Here’s my thing,” Lowe said. “The greatest music expresses everything you want in the simplest possible way.”

The Tetons trip was funded in part by a $5,000 donation from a music-loving donor, as well as a grant from the recently established Youngs Endowment for National Park Studies (see our Spring/Summer 2025 issue). For the student participants, the experience was priceless. “Thank you for giving us this opportunity to learn and grow as composers,” wrote one of them, Joey Gagne. “I will remember it for the rest of my life.”