Summer has arrived and it feels so good! We waited a long time for the good weather to arrive and boy did it ever arrive. The end of June was in the upper 90’s and then mellowed out to low 80’s and upper 70’s, it’s been beautiful. Campus is quiet but there are still quite a few friendly faces wandering around. It’s a beautiful time to visit campus if you are in the area. All of the rhoddies are in full bloom, trees are vibrant with color, birds are chirping and people are smiling. If you haven’t been back in awhile, you should check out the local scene as well. There are great restaurants and bars in both Monmouth and Independence, art galleries, coffee shops and more. There is just something magical and special about this place, especially this time of year around Independence Day.  

We are busy planning summer and fall events and look forward to welcoming our new President, Dr. Jesse Peters in August. There is a lot to look forward to and some really exciting times ahead. Before moving too far into the future, let’s reflect on the past and look at all that we accomplished in June. 

Wolves Athletic Auction 

It was so good to see so many familiar faces on June 4 at the Wolves Athletic Auction. This year was the first year in two years since we have had the auction in person and the evening did not disappoint. Student-athletes were present selling raffle tickets, golden tickets and sharing their WOU experience with guests. Our student speaker, Maya Hopwood, shared her story of going from an orphan in Namibia to ultra success at WOU with the help of her adoptive family and support from scholarships. People showed up big time and we fundraised more than $70,000 for our student-athletes and athletic programs. Thank you for your support, we can’t wait to see you future events. 

Sendoff 

On the evening of June 10, a fun and energetic group of about 300 soon to be graduates and their families gathered at Gentle House to celebrate their graduation from Western Oregon University. They enjoyed lawn games provided by Playground Sports, local beer from Parallel 45, awesome raffle prizes provided by local shops, and had a fun night commemorating their time at WOU. This event was planned by WOU students in the Comm 410 class in conjunction with Alumni Engagement. The students did an amazing job planning this event and I can’t thank them enough for their support. We look forward to next years event and congratulations graduates!