Alumni

Hello readers, I hope you are well and enjoying this lovely spring weather and staying healthy and happy.  I love seeing spring pop up and feeling it in the air. The buds on trees, the cherry trees blooming, the vibrant colors surrounding us from bushes, flowers, trees and other flora. It’s a great time of year and always brings hope of new life and new beginnings. 

Campus has been getting busier as the year goes on and we get further into spring. WOU is the host site for Salem Health and their vaccination clinic in the Pacific Room at the Werner University Center so many people have been arriving on campus weekly to get their vaccination. Student-athletes have been returning to campus to practice and play. Both softball and baseball have had home games, track and field have hosted a number of events, and volleyball has been playing on the road as well. Football is also practicing and prepping for their spring game and fall season. Spectators are not allowed at games and matches just yet but it is great having our student-athletes back and playing. 

March was a whirlwind of a month as we prepped for spring and the return of small, in person events later this year. March’s big news was Giving Day. We are blown away by your continued support and generosity. Through your support and donations we raised more than $200,000 for students and programs on Giving Day! We cannot thank you enough for your donations and helping us surpass our goal by double. THANK YOU, from everyone at the Foundation and on behalf of WOU students. If you’d still like to donate, you may do so though the giving page.  

Upcoming events- 

• On April 23rd we will celebrate the completion of the Dean Jack Morton Memorial Lobby at the WOU Welcome Center. This is an invite only event for people who donated to the lobby project. Small groups will gather to tour the space and all CDC and OHA regulations will be followed to follow Covid-19 protocols.  
• The annual Wolves Athletic Auction will be held online from May 29 to June 5. Items are available to bid on for a week. You must register online at wouwolves.com to view and bid on items. Help our student-athletes by supporting scholarships and more. 
• Do you like to golf? Want to support WOU women’s athletics? Save the date for the annual “Wolves on the Green” golf tournament on July 29. This year’s tournament will be held at McNary Golf Club. Get your group of four together and watch for more details to come out soon. 

We look forward to seeing you this spring and summer! Be sure to check wou.edu/alumni for updates and events and more. Soon the 2021 Alumni Award of Excellence winner will be announced as well. Stay tuned for great things to come. Take care, Wolves. 

Happy spring, friends. A lot has happened since last month’s edition. I hope everyone is safe and now has power from the winter storm we experienced in February. What a wild start to 2021! Campus was closed on Friday, February 12 due to ice and snow and then over the weekend freezing rain came in and caused a lot of ice damage. Unfortunately, many trees were damaged and broken in the ice storm. Fortunately we have a dedicated and talented staff of facilities workers here on campus who have been busy clearing and cutting and fixing everything.  Thank you to the WOU Facilities Services staff! You are heroes and we love you! 

In other news, it’s lovely to see flowers coming up and buds on trees. The smell of spring is in the air and you can catch glimpses of new life budding all over. The track and field teams have been practicing at the track, the choirs have gotten creative and are also utilizing the outdoor space at McArthur Stadium to practice their songs and the sports teams are working out regularly. Campus feels busy and that is a wonderful thing. 

Tomorrow, March 2nd is Giving Day. In this special edition of PawPrints you can find information on how to give, matches and challenges happening and more. If you know what you want to give to just click here and make your gift. Thank you for helping us help WOU students and for your donations, we appreciate you! 

Hello alumni and friends. How is everyone doing with their New Years resolutions? It’s hard to believe we are in the second month of 2021, yet here we are. I hope your year has started off well and you have been able to enjoy the great outdoors and/or do whatever makes your heart happy. Here in the Willamette Valley we are starting to see some signs of spring popping up like daffodils and buds on trees. It’s the promise of new life coming soon and changes on the horizon, my favorite things of all. 

January was a month full of planning and prepping for the new year. We enjoyed a great After Hours event on the 12th that featured alumni board member Griffin Bates ’00 sharing tips and tricks to make and keep New Year’s resolutions and goal setting. It’s been great having people from all over the US and beyond join us for our After Hours events. We hope you will join us this month on the 9th. 

On the 16th the WOU Alumni Board of Directors met virtually via Zoom for their winter meeting. They enjoyed hearing updates and having a conversation with WOU Foundation Executive Director, Erin McDonough. The next board meeting will be on April 10. If you are interested in learning more about the WOU Alumni Board, contact Emily at 503-838-8710. 

There are two great virtual  events coming up this month. We have a new Wolves Teaching Wolves class and a fun After Hours event that will include sharing your WOU love stories. Check them out in the newsletter and I hope you tune in. 

Happy New Year alumni and friends! I hope this year treats you well and has started off on a good note for you. Here on campus winter term started yesterday on January 4. 95% of instruction will be done online for winter term, just like we did in the fall.  A decision for spring term instruction will be made later this term. 

What plans do you have for the new year? Here in alumni relations we are planning for virtual and hybrid events and look forward to seeing some familiar faces in the very near future. We are continuing with our monthly Alumni & Friends After Hours events on the second Tuesday of the month and we are have introduced a new monthly series- “Wolves Teaching Wolves” which features alumni volunteers showing off their skills and teaching virtual classes for fellow alums. There is a lot to look forward to indeed, but before we get to far into 2021 let’s take a look back at December. 

Holiday Tree Lighting 

We hope you were able to watch the Holiday Tree Lighting in November but if you missed it, you can watch it here. Special thanks to the Monmouth-Independence Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center for their sponsorship of this very important annual community event.

Wolves Teaching Wolves- How to Make your own Holiday Centerpiece

On December 14 WOU Alumni Board member Betty Crawford ’80 hosted a group of alums via Zoom from her home in Cairo, Egypt. Betty’s class was teaching people how to make centerpieces for the holidays and the results were great! Everyone had a great time and each centerpiece turned out beautifully. Thank you to those who participated and we look forward to seeing you all again at future events. 

Alumni & Friends After Hours: Holiday Cheer 

The December edition of Alumni & Friends After Hours featured a how to on making one of my favorite holiday cocktails, the cranberry margarita. A group of alumni and friends logged into Zoom  on December 15th to watch the cocktail tutorial and share their favorite holiday traditions. It was a pleasure seeing some familiar faces and meeting new people as well. if you want the margarita recipe contact Emily at lafone@wou.edu.

Hello alumni and readers. Happy holidays! I hope this holiday season finds you happy, healthy and warm. As we round the corner into a new year I like to reflect on the last year, like many of us do. In the e-newsletter I share some highlights from the year and the success we have had during our virtual events in 2020, be sure to check that section out for some  cool information. As crazy as 2020 has been, there has been a lot of good to come out of it as well. I hope your year ahead is full of happiness, prosperity and health. 

Hard to believe November is already behind us. It was a busy month but full of fun events and seeing friendly faces on the screen. Get the recap of the month’s happenings below. 

Senior Kickoff

On Nov. 10 a group of about 40 eager WOU seniors logged into Zoom to get the scoop on their upcoming graduation. Campus partners such as Financial Aid, the Registrar’s Office, SLCD and others presented to the group to share what needs to be done within their departments to graduate. The students were engaged and asked poignant,  direct questions to make sure they understood what steps to take to graduate. A special thank you goes out to our campus partners who helped make this event happen and to Jostens for logging in and helping us help our students! 

Education Career Connect 

Alumni Relations and SLCD partnered up to present the latest in the Career Connect series on Nov. 18. A fantastic panel of alumni in the education field joined WOU students to answer their questions and share their professional experiences. The students enjoyed hearing from alumni and how their got into their current careers while receiving advice and getting valuable information from alumni. Thank you to SLDC for your collaboration, we look forward to the next Career Connect event. 

Hello readers, I hope you are doing well and staying warm and healthy. We have officially entered the holiday season, now that November is upon us. I, for one, am looking forward to time in front of the fireplace sipping a warm beverage, wearing cozy sweaters and scarves, and enjoying all the season has to offer. Do you have a favorite fall tradition when this time of year rolls around? Let us know at alumni@wou.edu, we’d love to hear from you.

As we enter the final two months of 2020 we have lots planned as we say goodbye to what has been a strange year with many twists and turns. November has a few fun events such as an emergency preparedness presentation for the November Alumni & Friends After Hours and the 53rd Annual Holiday Tree Lighting! Both of these events will be virtual and/or live streamed through WOU TV. Make sure to mark your calendars and check them out.

October was a busy month as well. We hosted a few virtual events and enjoyed seeing some new and familiar faces on Zoom. Get the full recap below.

Alumni & Friends After Hours

During the October After Hours event, guests played virtual trivia with WOU Alumni President, Victoria Scholerman. The guest who got the most questions right received a WOU themed gift basket! After Hour events are the second Tuesday of each month and all are welcome to attend. They are currently happening virtually through Zoom but we hope to gather at local bars and restaurants again in the near future. Starting in November, the format for these networking events is changing to lecture style where we will have a guest speaker each month to share expertise and opinions on activities, safety, education, and more. Join us for networking, great conversation and special guest speakers.

Happy Hour with Interim Athletic Director Randi Lydum ’90

On Friday, October 16 a group of about 30 alumni, donors, and friends gathered via Zoom to hear from WOU’s new Interim Athletic Director Randi Lydum. Randi has been part of the WOU family for many years. Randi is a former track and field star who is also in the WOU Hall of Fame, and has been on staff in WOU Athletics for many years as the Compliance Officer and other roles. She was promoted to the Interim position after former Athletics Director, Curtis Campbell took a job in Alabama after being at WOU for several years. During the event on the 16th Randi talked about the future of WOU Athletics, how donors can support the program and asked each coach to talk about their current recruitment efforts and more. It was a fun event, and we look forward to the next event featuring Randi.

Hello readers, happy fall! Do you have trees in your yards and neighborhoods that are vibrant in color right now? The first few weeks of fall is my most favorite time of the year. It’s beautiful outside, both weather wise and visually with the changing trees and foliage. 

On campus, things are picking up with the return of classes and students. Although 95% of instruction is online this term, more than 500 students moved into the residence halls and it’s estimated that 1,500 or more students are living in Monmouth and Independence. It’s been great seeing happy masked faces walking around campus and the towns. 

September was an eventful month. Our hearts go out to those affected by the wildfires that raged through western Oregon and we thank the first responders, fire fighters, and emergency teams! WOU was closed for 6 days due to hazardous air quality from thick smoke and ash and resumed normal operations on September 18. During the month, we held two virtual events, the Hamersly Library 20th Anniversary Celebration and the After Hours with President Fuller. Get recaps of both events below. 

Hamersly Library 20th Anniversary Celebration 

The original plan was to gather at the library and honor Wayne and Lynn Hamersly and their legacy to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of the library. As so much has over the last seven months, those plans had to be modified to a virtual experience which turned into a wonderful afternoon. The event was held on Sunday, September 20, 20 years to the date of the opening of the library. Dean Chelle Batchelor interviewed Wayne and Scott Hamersly and former Dean Gary Jensen via Zoom livestream. Wayne and Scott shared the inspiration behind the Hamersly family donation to the library and how his mom and dad’s giving history has helped and inspired Scott.  Following the livestream, guests attended a Zoom social hour where we chatted, laughed, shared stories and enjoyed one another’s company. You can see the recorded livestream through the link in the e-newsletter. Thank you to all who attended and who have helped the library be what it is today. 

After Hours with President Fuller

This event was originally scheduled for Tuesday, September 9 but was rescheduled to Tuesday, September 29 due to the WOU closures from the fires. President Fuller addressed 20+ alumni, staff members and friends via Zoom and shared how we are opening safely, what we are doing for our students on campus, what our enrollment numbers are and answered questions from the audience. This event was moderated by WOU Alumni President Victoria Scholerman ’04 and was a great, lively one hour. Thank you to President Fuller for spending time with us and thank you the attendees, we hope you enjoyed your time with us and received good information. 

The next After Hours is scheduled for Tuesday Oct. 13 at 5:30 and will be trivia! No registration is required, get more information on the event page at wou.edu/alumni.