{"id":86597,"date":"2026-01-15T18:34:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/?post_type=stories&#038;p=86597"},"modified":"2026-01-15T19:32:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:32:04","slug":"student-success-oriented-leader","status":"publish","type":"stories","link":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/news\/student-success-oriented-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"A &#8216;Student Success-Oriented\u2019 Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6 class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">During his two-year tenure, Alexander Schilt brought energy and enthusiasm to Eastern\u2019s top job.<\/span><\/h6>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">B<span class=\"s3\">y his own admission<\/span>, Alexander \u201cAlex\u201d F. Schilt \u2014 the scholar who became Eastern\u2019s 22nd president \u2014 was never a great student. But he did have a knack for perseverance and, especially, effective leadership. In high school he was elected student body president. At the University of Wyoming, he was known for effectively representing fellow undergraduates who ran afoul of the student affairs dean.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\"><span class=\"s4\">As both a scholar and university administrator, Schilt never lost this passion for helping students \u2014 especially strivers like him \u2014 make the most of their collegiate opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">He brought this passion to EWU after H. George Frederickson retired as Eastern\u2019s president in early 1987. EWU\u2019s Board of Trustees had convened a national search for Frederickson<span class=\"s4\">\u2019<\/span>s successor, and Schilt, who at the time was serving as chancellor of the University of Houston\u2019s downtown campus, was selected. He assumed Eastern\u2019s highest office later that year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">\u201cJust looking at Alex, you see energy and enthusiasm for Eastern Washington University,\u201d Mike Ormsby, then chair of the EWU Board of Trustees, told this magazine. \u201cHe has a strong background in student services; he knows how to work with people; and he has worked in both urban and rural areas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">Schilt\u2019s tenure included the first major renovation of the Science Building, upgrades to collections\u2019 organization at JFK Library and securing legislative approval for development of what is now the University District in Spokane.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">Early in his term, however, Schilt gained a degree of notoriety for his decision to forego campus residency and instead move into an EWU Foundation-owned house in Spokane. He thus became the first Eastern president to decline to reside in University House, also known as the President\u2019s House, since completion of its construction in 1929. The house regained its status as home to the university\u2019s leaders in 1998.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">After two years of service, Schilt resigned the EWU presidency in September 1989. He returned to the University of Houston, where he served as system chancellor until 1995. He is remembered there as a visionary, student success-oriented leader who \u201claid the foundation for its future growth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\">Alexander \u201cAlex\u201d F. Schilt died on July 9, 2025. He was 84 years old.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alexander Schilt brought energy and enthusiasm to Eastern\u2019s top job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":86591,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-86597","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-in-memoriam","stories_tags-fall-winter-2025-26"],"acf":{"subheading":"","featured_image_format":"cover","display_byline":false,"display_featured_image":true,"display_date_published":false,"featured_video":"","Links":false,"Resources":false,"page_override_title":"","page_hide_sidebar":false,"page_enable_page_nav":false,"page_persona_bar_default_tab":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/86597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/86597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86661,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/86597\/revisions\/86661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}