Eastern Magazine | Spring/Summer 2022 by Eastern Washington University

Inside Art Ingeniously rendered in glass, steel and brick, the exterior of Eastern’s new Interdisciplinary Science Center is a showstopper. Not to be outdone, installation of a new “mosaic mural” this spring has significantly upped the interior’s game. Expanding and Collapsing, a monumentally scaled diptych by Texas artist Dixie Friend Gay, is a triumph of interest and engagement. Its 16-by-12 foot lower work, constructed with an estimated 28,800 hand-glazed ceramic and glass-cut tiles, was inspired by the artist’s vision of “the inside of a geode.” The slightly smaller upper piece, says Friend Gay, playfully reflects and inverts the light and colors of its downstairs sibling. To learn more about Eastern’s newest contribution to public art, check out our story on Page 9.

Photo by Chris Thompson

TAKING FLIGHT

Celebration Season As in-person graduation returns, Eastern’s alumni director greets our newest Eagles for life.

t hasn't always been easy, but I’m pleased to report that my first 10 months as director of alumni relations have continued to be the “absolute dream” that I hoped it would be. I’ve witnessed amazing things, and met even more amazing people. Now, after everything we’ve endured, I believe there is one more important thing to do: CELEBRATE! Eastern recently held its first inperson commencement since 2019, as 160 semester-program graduates, cheered on by more than 900 family and friends, walked across the stage at the Spokane Convention Center. This was my first graduation on that side of the podium, and there was a different kind of energy than what I experienced as an undergraduate. There was more laughter, more hugging and more smiles. There was also, not surprisingly, the palpable sense of relief that comes to those who have at last crossed the finish line of their gradschool marathon. These new Eagle graduates now join the ranks of Eastern’s 112,000 alumni, a group who are always worth celebrating. At this year’s EWU Alumni Awards — which you can read about beginning on Page 16 — we honored seven outstanding Eags who really raise the bar on what it means to be an Eagle for Life. And while we only honor a few each year, the truth

EASTERN MAGAZINE

What do recent grads and older alumni have in common? They all have a desire and passion to serve. They are helpers. They want to make a difference and make the world a better place. These are the sort of caring, committed people who make us all proud to be Eags.

Kelsey Hatch-Brecek, EWU's director of alumni relations, (center) with 2022 Alumni Awards winners Jeanette Day ’76 (left) and Nikki Griffen Olive ’90.

is that every single day Eagles around the world are being recognized for their achievements and service. One of my favorite things that I do in this role is coordinating the EWU Alumni Association Board of Directors, a group comprised of both alumni and industry leaders who are as passionate as I am about giving back to their alma mater. We meet several times a year to plan programs and discuss ways we can further cultivate participation in the life and growth of the university. In addition, we sponsor professional and educational events, receptions and social gatherings for informal socializing and networking. Perhaps most importantly, we serve as mentors to students who are seeking to become more actively involved in benefitting the university

community. I hope you’ll take a moment to learn more about our members, and the incredible work they do, by visiting our website: ewu.edu/alumniboard. What do these recent grads and older alumni have in common? They all have a desire and passion to serve. They are helpers. They want to make a difference and make the world a better place. These are the sort of caring, committed people who make us all proud to be Eagles; the generations of graduates who have made, and continue to make, Eastern such a special place. And my own service to this special place? It continues to be a dream. Every. Single. Day. Go Eags! Kelsey Hatch-Brecek ’21

EASTERN MAGAZINE SPRING/SUMMER 2022 EDITOR Charles E. Reineke ART DIRECTOR Ryan Gaard ’02 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dave Meany Melodie Little ’91

Taking Flight

Eastern Etc.

Features

Alumni to Admire

This spring saw a return to an in-person Alumni Awards Gala, an occasion to celebrate the inspired service of seven special Eagles.

Class Notes In Memoriam

VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT Barb Richey ’92, ’99 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS Kelsey Hatch-Brecek ’21 MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD Joseph Haeger ’10 Nick Lawhead ’07 Lisa Leinberger ’98 Brian Lynn ’98 Kelly Naumann ’10 Robin Pickering ’97, ’03

Back Story LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

A Half-Century of Smiles

EMAIL easternmagazine@ewu.edu

For 50 years, EWU’s Department of Dental Hygiene has helped students pursue a passion for dental health.

WRITE Eastern Magazine 102 Hargreaves Hall Cheney, WA 99004-2413

A Higher Stage

Eric Barriere, Eastern’s greatest-of-all-time quarterback, is ready to quiet the next-level doubters.

PHOTOGRAPHY Eric Galey ’84 Chris Thompson ’19

On the Cover: Eric Barriere relaxes with the Walter Payton Award. Photo by Trevor Bowens.

Eastern magazine is published twice each year by University Advancement and is mailed free to alumni of record in the United States. View this and previous issues of Eastern online at ewu.edu/magazine.

EASTERN ETC.

EASTERN MAGAZINE

Comfy Commute A premium bus plaza promises to keep riders warm and (mostly) wind-free.

t Eastern, one’s EagleCard identification doubles as a bus pass for rides on any Spokane Transit Authority route. It’s a benefit meant to encourage individual Eagles, particularly those living up the road in Spokane, from fouling the air, congesting the highways and clogging campus surface lots with single-occupancy vehicles. For those taking advantage, the pluses are obvious: gas money is saved, maintenance is deferred, parking is not an issue and any traffic headaches accrue to a driver who isn’t you. The downside? Bus stops, particularly those exposed to Cheney’s sometimes bitter winter winds, can make even a short wait for the No. 66 a bonechilling bummer. Mercifully, that is changing. Thanks to a recently completed bus plaza, one that includes outdoor heaters, wind barriers and real-time scheduling screens, leaving the driving to them just got even more desirable. The 1,500-square-foot, $1.3 million Eagle Station, funded by the Washington State Legislature through its Regional Mobility Grant Program, opened in February. According to transit authority officials, its goal is to make commuting by bus more attractive to potential riders, especially those commuters who make the daily trek back and forth from city to campus. “It’s exciting, really,” said one of those commuters, Alisyn Waite, a graduate student in creative writing. “I would love not having to stress about what time my bus is coming. And the heaters are so cool. I used to freeze while waiting for the bus!”

SPRING/SUMMER 2022

EASTERN ETC.

First Among Eagles In June, Shari McMahan will take the helm as Eastern’s 27th president.

fter a nationwide search involving more than 60 applicants, the EWU Board of Trustees in March announced that Shari McMahan, currently provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, San Bernardino, would become Eastern’s 27th president. McMahan will succeed David May, who has served as EWU’s interim president for just under two years. She will begin her tenure on June 23. “I am beyond excited to serve as EWU’s next president,” says McMahan. “I look forward to working with the Board, leadership team, faculty, staff, students, alumni and all of our community partners to elevate the importance of EWU in transforming the lives of those in and around the region. I am optimistic and grateful for this opportunity.” A first-generation college student herself, McMahan has a bachelor’s degree and doctorate

in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine, along with a master’s degree in health science from California State University, Northridge. She has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, given dozens of scientific and community presentations and served on numerous professional task forces. While at CSUSB, she has led efforts to increase faculty diversity, developed policies to increase graduation rates, assisted with an initiative to help students experiencing food insecurity and worked on strategies to increase campus morale. Her unique combination of experience and expertise make McMahan a perfect fit for Eastern, says Kim Pearman-Gillman, chair of the Board of Trustees: “We are really thrilled as a board to be able to bring in someone with Dr. McMahan’s capabilities, desire and interest in being an Eagle.”

“

I am beyond excited to serve as EWU’s next president. I look forward to working with the board, leadership team, faculty, staff, students, alumni and all of our community partners to elevate the importance of EWU in transforming the lives of those in and around the region.

” 8

EASTERN MAGAZINE

Art and Science A glass-tiled “mosaic mural” adds a colorful focal point to Eastern’s Interdisciplinary Science Center.

Texas-based artist Dixie Friend Gay.

Visualizing Speech An Eastern professor is using ultrasound imaging to help kids speak more clearly.

left palate, a condition which occurs when a baby’s lip or mouth doesn’t form properly during pregnancy, each year affects an estimated 7,000 newborns in the United States. For most children, surgery can repair the palate. But speech challenges often linger. According to Hedieh Hashemi Hosseinabad, an assistant professor in EWU’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, up to two percent of adults have speech disorders that affect their ability to pronounce certain sounds. Starting speech therapy early — especially for kids with repaired palates — is crucial to reducing that number. Now, thanks in part to a recently awarded grant from the Health Sciences and Services Authority of Spokane County, Hosseinabad will be

ven as students and faculty members continue settling into Eastern’s new Interdisciplinary Science Center, the work of adorning the building’s lightfilled interior continues apace. Among the most striking of these decorative touches is a colorful, two-panel “mosaic mural” of glazed glass by Texas-based artist Dixie Friend Gay. Friend Gay, whose public art inhabits spaces across the nation, says the twin mosaics, titled “Expanding and Collapsing,” are abstract designs “inspired by the inside of a geode, the strata of folding earth, mapping and cells. The smaller, upper mural echoes the lower one, giving an impression of reflection, inverting the colors, playing with the light quality.” The murals were selected by a faculty committee and funded by the state of Washington through its Art in Public Places program. They were mounted earlier this year in the open atrium area of the ISC, where the works were spaced to bisect two floors. Members of the public can visit them during the ISC’s regular hours. “Having this art here brings so much life to the language of this building,” says selection committee member David Bowman, dean of EWU’s College of STEM. “Everyone will see themselves reflected in it somewhere.”

able to deploy an innovative ultrasound biofeedback treatment to improve children’s pronunciations of problematic sounds. The ultrasound biofeedback technique involves positioning an ultrasound transducer under the patient’s chin, thus allowing both kids and their speech therapists to observe tongue movements in real time as the child works through problematic sounds. Conventional speech therapy involves using a mirror to teach young patients the sounds of letters produced by the lips, like “P” and “B.” Because this method often fails to help with more tongue-twisty consonants — the “R” sound is particularly problematic — therapists like Hosseinabad are increasingly turning to alternatives such as visual feedback therapy, a treatment technique involving ultrasound. “For more challenging sounds like ‘R’ or ‘S’ that children cannot see inside their mouth, we use real-time biofeedback that enables them to visualize inside their mouth,” says Hosseinabad. The technique could be a game changer, she adds, and the funding support will allow her to explore its efficacy in several long-term projects that are already underway.

SPRING/SUMMER 2022

EASTERN ETC.

Joy Given and Received Inclement weather aside, Giving Joy Day delivers again for students.

n a wet and windy Monday in April — the day after the university marked its 140th birthday — EWU celebrated Giving Joy Day, the seventh annual iteration of its flagship service and philanthropy event. By the time the final totals were in, members of the Eagle community had overcome the elements to spread much joy and raise more than $345,000. The funds, Giving Joy Day organizers say, will support student scholarships and programs that provide assistance with books, tuition and other e d u c a t i o n e x p e n s e s. T h e donations will also help fill financial gaps for Eagles who are struggling to afford increases in the cost of food, transportation and housing. As in previous years, a team of Eastern staff and alumni volunteers spent the days prior to the event bringing the joy of balloons, chocolate and Eagle swag to alumni-owned businesses. The day itself kicked off with David May, Eastern’s interim president, and a team of EWU faculty and staff visiting the Spokane Regional Health District to thank the health professionals for their work during the pandemic. The SRHD staff includes close to 60 Eastern alumni. Dozens of Eastern students, meanwhile, stepped up to emphasize the importance of the April 4 event, providing heartfelt stories about the life-changing

EASTERN MAGAZINE

$345,000 “With all that has happened in the last two years — and all that is happening in the world today — acts of kindness and joy, big or small, remind us to celebrate that we are all a community of Eagles.”

effects of the scholarships they'd received. These were posted on the Giving Joy Day website and social media channels, as well as a special day-long broadcast on KEWU. In addition, a revolving group of students managed a booth where students could write thank-you notes to scholarship supporters. A steady flow of students dropped by to pen those special messages. Later, interim President May weighed in with a campus message highlighting the contributions made by Eastern’s faculty, staff and students. He also invited the Eagle community to come together to make a positive impact. “As a part of our Eagle family, I hope that you will join me on Giving Joy Day in spreading joy and making a difference in the lives of our students,” he said. “With all that has happened in the last two years — and all that is happening in the world today — acts of kindness and joy, big or small, remind us to celebrate that we are all a community of Eagles.” Gifts that support scholarships and the Student Emergency Fund have the most direct impact, providing opportunities for students and helping them succeed, May said, adding that the Eagle community could also make a difference by connecting students with internship oppor tunities, volunteering for a good cause and even “buying coffee for the person behind you in line.”

Contemporary research spaces must “move air” on an industrial

IDEA

FA C T

R Y

An Upgrade for Investigators Work begins to refit a ‘Sputnik-era’ Science Building.

scale, as this massive air handler suggests.

ust weeks after EWU’s glittering new Interdisciplinary Science Center opened its doors, construction began on the $45 million first phase of a Science Building renovation — a companion project that promises to usher in a new era of research and discovery at Eastern. The Science Building, dubbed the “Hall of Sciences” upon its completion in 1962, is long overdue for an update, says David Bowman, dean of Eastern’s College of STEM. “It’s a Sputnik-era building designed for Sputnik-era science,” Bowman told Eastern magazine earlier this year. “It’s just not designed for modern stuff; it’s really, really challenging to do contemporary science in that building.” These Cold War capabilities will end up in the dustbin of Eastern history when the

New Thinking Across a variety of media platforms, Eastern outreach gets a fresh look.

or the whole of its 140 years, EWU has advanced and encouraged fresh ideas and forward thinking. Now it’s got a branding campaign to match, one that aims to share Eastern’s legacy of innovation with a new generation of up-and-coming college students. “The New Think,” which debuted in January, features a variety of edgy, technology-forward student recruitment spots for television, streaming platforms, radio, print and social media, each highlighting student participation in university research and scholarship. It’s a concept born of a collaboration between EWU’s University Relations group and the Chapter & Verse creative agency in Spokane. Sam Buzby ’07, EWU’s director of marketing, was instrumental in bringing The New Think concept to life. He says the ad campaign, delayed for more than a year due to the pandemic, will help Eastern more effectively position itself as a university for the future. “We’re excited to remind everyone that Eastern is here to meet the needs of our evolving world through innovation and

“

We’re excited to remind everyone that Eastern is here to meet the needs of our evolving world through innovation and excellence.

”

renovated building is completed in four years. Plans call for Leone & Keeble, the Spokane construction firm at work on the project, to implement a flexible, carefully engineered space that will assist Eastern’s scientists and scholars in pursuing today’s increasingly complex, interdisciplinary investigations. Though most science instruction for students will take place next door in the ISC, the steel and glass skyways connecting the two buildings are more than symbolic. The links emphasize, according to Bowman, Eastern’s stress on including students — undergraduates included — on even the most advanced investigations. “For the College of STEM, engaging students in faculty research is key,” he says.

excellence,” Buzby says. The more immediate goal of The New Think has been to reestablish and finetune Eastern’s “brand” by emphasizing the university’s role in discovering new ways to solve old problems. Consider it, Buzby adds, “a reinvestment in, and modernization of, the university’s image.” Drawing inspiration from the “eXp” movement — an initiative that aims to use experiential learning to connect students to future careers — the spots also showcase Eastern’s strength as a multidisciplinary, collaborative university. “We’re highlighting the great work our faculty and students are doing throughout the university, and turning it into authentic stories that will excite our community,” says Lance Kissler ’04, ’10, associate vice president of university relations at EWU. “This campaign provides us with a platform to continue more storytelling from a variety of our academic programs for years to come.”

SPRING/SUMMER 2022

EASTERN ETC.

Unsheltered in Spokane An EWU researcher and his students aim to quantify the scope of homelessness.

or individuals and families who lack a permanent place to call home — and those trying to help them — the journey to stable housing is often long and arduous. Even understanding the scale and scope of the problem is a challenge. Spokane’s annual Point-in-Time Count, a county-wide census of persons without housing, aims to bring the issue into better focus. The annual count, a federally mandated and funded effort, brings volunteer datacollectors into the city’s streets and shelters to pose questions central to the homelessness issue: How many are lacking housing, and why? Who are those in most need? What barriers are they facing, and how might the city and county more successfully assist them? This year’s event, held in February, was organized by the city’s Community, Housing and Human Services Department. It included a significant boost from Eastern faculty and student volunteers, among them EWU’s Matthew Anderson, an associate professor of

A small encampment along Spokane’s Division Street.

EASTERN MAGAZINE

urban and regional planning who was recently awarded EWU’s prestigious Jeffers W. Chertok Memorial Endowed Professorship. Anderson, whose research background includes work in environmental justice, sustainability and city-planning theory, says the Chertok Professorship allowed him to fund three Eastern graduate students to help with the effort. In addition to tabulating numbers, these and other Eastern student volunteers also collected broader survey data — information they hope may help dispel common misconceptions about the local homeless population. Among these fallacies, says Anderson, is the widely held belief that most of the city’s unhoused are from elsewhere. In fact, he says, a solid majority are local. And while it’s true some are homeless chiefly because of drug and alcohol dependencies, he adds, “there’s just as many who aren’t addicted to drugs.” In reality, Anderson continues, poor decision making is seldom the sole cause of homelessness. Instead it usually boils down to a lack of affordable housing, robust tenants’ rights laws and reduced government funding. “All it takes to become homeless is an eviction or losing your job. Any number of things can happen — medical problems, [lack of] healthcare coverage, a bill you couldn’t pay. All it takes is getting evicted,” he says. For their part, city and county officials were effusive in their p ra i s e o f E a s t e r n’s contribution, and for all of the volunteers. “The partnership with EWU is a shining example of how teamwork makes the dream work,” says EWU alumna Amira Djulovic ’06, Spokane’s Point-inTime Count coordinator. “A b o u t 1 4 0 [ t o t a l ] volunteers signed up for this year’s count, which is phenomenal considering the pandemic. It shows the heart of our community.”

Open to All? Public libraries are overwhelmed by patrons in crisis. Eagle students are stepping up to help.

ccording to the American Library Association, people experiencing poverty or homelessness now account for “a significant portion of users” in public libraries across the nation. “As the number of poor children, adults, and families in America rise,” the association says, “so does the urgent need for libraries to effectively respond to their needs.” This is certainly the case in much of the Inland Northwest, where administrators find themselves struggling to ensure that librarybased information resources, services and technologies remain open to everyone. In Spokane at least, help is on the way; thanks, in part, to a group of Eastern social work students. When the Spokane Public Library’s central location reopens after an ongoing renovation, the Eastern students will join a newly hired professional social worker to help current librarians better address the needs of disadvantaged patrons. “We’ve seen an increasing need for additional support for some of our customers that is outside the expertise of traditional library staff,” said Andrew Chanse, the library’s executive director, in a news release. By adding a social worker and interns, he continued, the library will be able to better serve the needs of those experiencing life challenges. The plan, Chanse adds, is to create a “welcome team” that will assist at-risk patrons without creating additional burdens for frontline staff. Modeled after the CARES team at the Spokane Fire Department, the team will use the expertise of Eastern’s interns to help guide the homeless and others toward available services. “By making this staffing change, we can synergize with EWU and make a real difference,” says Paul Chapin, the library’s customerexperience manager, who organized the welcome team’s formation.

Eastern biology students fill “plugs” for planting as part of the university’s Prairie Restoration Project. They are sharing lessons learned with local tribal leaders at work on their own restoration projects.

Restoration, Sound and Sustainable Restoring prairie can heal the land, and the people it once sustained. Melodi Wynne

After listening intently, a Spokane Tribal Elder spoke out: “She told us that our people will not be fully healed until the land is fully healed. That really awakened us to the long-term importance of the projects we’re engaging in.”

hese days, modern cash crops have almost completely displaced the prairie flowers, grasses and roots that once sustained countless generations of Native peoples in the Inland Northwest. Nor do massive salmon runs fill the region’s rivers and streams. For the past three years, Eastern students, staff and faculty members have been working with local experts to bring a portion of this “landscape lost” back to life. (See our feature on the Prairie Restoration Project in our Fall/Winter 2019 edition.) Among those participating is EWU alumna Melodi Wynne, ’07, a citizen of the Spokane Tribe who has become a leader in the movement to restore “food sovereignty” to the Native peoples of the Upper Columbia Plateau. Food sovereignty is typically defined as “the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods.” For the tribes, this means, in part, reestablishing the lost flora of their ancestral lands. The expertise of Eastern’s restoration team has been useful in this effort, while EWU’s work has benefited from tribal input. “Our objectives are definitely aligned,” says Wynne. At a recent EWU-sponsored gathering of scientists,

scholars and advocates for sustainable living, the subjects of tribal heritage, food sovereignty and prairie restoration were front and center. Wynne spoke as part of a panel with two members of Eastern’s restoration team, Becky Brown, professor and chair of biology, and Robin O’Quinn, an EWU professor of biology who specializes in environmental science. Each described how formerly life-sustaining landscapes and waterways had been transformed by industrial-scale cultivation and resource extraction, and the challenges involved in reclaiming even a small portion of the “wild and untrammeled” Palouse prairie of old. Wynne, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Eastern and a doctorate in community and cultural psychology from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, summed up the stakes by recalling a particularly poignant insight from a member of her community. It was during a meeting to discuss the ongoing legacy of the historical traumas inflicted on their people, Wynne recalled. After listening intently, a Spokane Tribal Elder spoke out: “She told us that our people will not be fully healed until the land is fully healed.” “That really awakened us to the long-term importance of the projects we’re engaging in,” Wynne says. “It got us thinking also about how overwhelming that is. But we just decided, well, this is a good year to start.” Want to make your own start toward assisting with food sovereignty and prairie restoration? Visit our new, immersive website: ewu.edu/wynne.

SPRING/SUMMER 2022

EASTERN ETC.

Red Dynasty Faculty and staff runners from Eastern’s team ‘Red ’ continue to dominate Bloomsday’s Corporate Cup.

n May 1, after a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Bloomsday road race made its triumphant return to the streets of Spokane. Much to the chagrin of their competition, EWU’s Red team, a running force that has dominated the race’s “Corporate Cup” competition for 23 straight years, were also back. By race’s end, to the surprise of pretty much no one, team Red had once again finished with the title, racking up a perfect 3,000-point score. “We’re the most successful athletic team that Eastern has ever produced,” quipped team member Grant Smith, a professor emeritus of English at EWU who, at age 84, has for four-

EASTERN MAGAZINE

decades been the team’s leader and lead recruiter. Eagle football, of course, has won a national title. But EWU Red’s now 24-year-long streak gives that moment of glory a run (so-to-speak) for its money. Bloomsday’s Corporate Cup is sort of a race within a race, with runners representing a business or organization competing for top places and times within 13 different age groups for men and women. The first-place finisher in each group contributes 1,000 points to the team total, with subsequent finishers receiving points based on their proximity to the winner’s time. Teams are limited to five runners. Three of

these earn scores, while the remaining two stand in for tie-breaking purposes. “It is cool when we hit 3,000, and it’s cool when we are all perfect across the board,” said team Red’s David Millet, director of EWU’s Veterans Resource Center. “It doesn’t happen very often.” But often enough, apparently. This year’s total of 3,000, in fact, marks the seventh-straight year Red has recorded a perfect score, and the 10th time overall. “What would you equate it to?” said Millet of the streak (before this year’s win). “It’s like the Triple Crown that Cooper Kupp won. It’s that one year where everything

Maximize tax savings and help EWU students create a bright future for themselves. Rather than cash, consider the potential tax benefits of making your charitable donations to the EWU Foundation by: • Transferring stock through your broker • Donating all or a portion of your IRA distributions directly from your plan

lines up and falls into place.” In the run up to this year’s race, Curt Kinghorn of Runners Soul, a running-gear retailer in Spokane, wryly commented on his own previous teams’ track record of futility against Eastern’s Bloomsday runners. Try as they might, he said, his group could never match the scores of Red’s older guys, who excelled within their age groups. “They refuse to lose,” says Kinghorn. “It seemed they kept getting faster the older they got.” — By Dave Cook. An earlier version of this story, Seeing ‘Red,’ appeared under Cook’s byline in The Spokesman-Review.

• Funding a Charitable Gift Annuity and receiving set income payouts for life The type of gift you make could generate a greater impact for you — as well as a bright future for our students. Please contact our office to learn more.

EWU Foundation Office of Gift Planning Courtney Susemiehl 509.359.6703 csusemie@ewu.edu ewulegacy.org

Alumni to Admire

In 2022, EWU’s Alumni Awards Gala returned in all its in-person glory. As always, the stories of our inspiring honorees made it an occasion to remember.

EASTERN MAGAZINE

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Karen and Jon Heimbigner

his year’s Lifetime Achievement award went to a pair of amazing Eagles, Karen ’69 and Jon Heimbigner ’70, two very special alumni who, over the course of their 50-year marriage, have tirelessly served both Eastern and the greater Spokane community. During her 27 years as a classroom teacher, Karen contributed to the academic and personal success of countless young people. More specifically, her work with a state curriculum development team helped to create a program designed to provide hands-on experience for high school students who envisioned becoming teachers themselves. Even now she continues to give back as a beloved substitute teacher and faculty mentor at her old professional home, North Central High School. Jon, meanwhile, used his EWU degree in finance and economics to enter the banking industry, where, over the course of a 21-year career he established himself as an expert in helping financial institutions improve customer service. After retiring from banking, Jon, who is hardly the retiring type, immediately formed a successful telecommunications start-up with two partners. Throughout their busy professional lives and now, in actual retirement, Karen and Jon (along with and the whole Heimbigner family) have been tireless champions of volunteerism. Their leadership and mentoring through their church, the Young Life program, regional athletics associations and EWU Athletics, have made a difference in the lives of countless people. Jon’s work as a leader of the Inland Northwest’s athletics community, for example, is far too extensive to detail here. Suffice it to say that his organizing and advocacy for competitive sport is every bit as energetic and successful as his own style of play.

ALUM OF SERVICE, MILITARY

Nikki Griffin Olive

ou might say it was preordained that Gen. Nikki Griffin Olive ’90, our Alum of Service, Military honoree, would one day serve among our nation’s most senior military leaders. Always at the top of her class with Eastern’s ROTC battalion, after her graduation in 1990 she was commissioned into the Army’s Signal Core as a Distinguished Military Graduate. It’s an honor that goes to less than 10 percent of the nation’s ROTC graduates. The Army’s Signal Core is responsible for the information and communication systems that are essential to the command and control of our armed forces – a role that became increasingly important, and complex, as our military advanced into the digital age. At every stage of her career, from her start as a tactical communications platoon leader with the 559th Field Artillery, to her final assignment as the Deputy Commanding General for the 335th Signal Command, Gen. Griffin Olive has succeeded in advancing the capabilities of our armed forces. It wasn’t always easy. Her 28 years of service coincided with momentous technological changes, communications transformations that brought to the forefront both the promise and peril of defending our nation in a hyper-connected world. Through it all, Gen. Griffin Olive brought to the table a keen intelligence, an openness to change and a particular knack for getting the best out of those under her command. Such qualities served her particularly well during our nation’s long deployments in the Middle East, where Gen. Griffin Olive played a significant role in successfully coordinating one of the largest and most complex military-operations networks in American history. SPRING/SUMMER 2022

ALUM OF SERVICE, ORGANIZATIONAL

Current EWUAA board member, Leah Horton ’12, left, with Jeanette Day.

or Jeanette Day ’76 the call to service came early. And it has never ended. As an undergraduate at Eastern, she signed on as a volunteer with VISTA — a federal program that was often described as a “domestic Peace Corps” — and promptly developed a program providing after-school services for “latchkey” kids whose working parents weren’t around to supervise them after school. After graduation, she moved back home to Southern California. There, Day’s collegiate support for children evolved into a lifetime calling of service — first as a social worker, then, after earning a law degree, as a legal advocate for “the rights and well-being of young people who haven’t had the benefit of a caring family.” One particular area of need in Day’s San Diego-area community involved at-risk young people who, when moved out of California’s foster-care system at age 18, often had nowhere to go but the street. As in her days at Eastern, Day stepped up to offer solutions. Her “Just in Time for Foster Youth” program, founded in 2003, provides a host of life-skill tools, including intensive career counseling, aimed at helping these young people, especially young women, develop the skill sets and self-confidence they’ll need to succeed. For this and other contributions, Day has been recognized by the San Diego Board of Supervisors for her exemplary efforts to develop public/private partnerships that benefit the citizens of San Diego. She was featured twice in San Diego Magazine’s “50 People to Watch,” has received Kappa Alpha Psi’s Leadership Award, and a 2016 Spirit of Community Award from Junior League of San Diego.

EASTERN MAGAZINE EASTERN MAGAZINE

ALUM OF SERVICE, EDUCATION

Tamra Jackson, with her husband, Jeffrey ’89 and ’92.

udy Blum, one of the nation’s greatest writers for children and young adults, once said that “our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch.” Perhaps no profession leaves its imprint on more young lives than teaching, particularly when those young lives are lived out in the face of challenges such as food and housing insecurity, lack of stable access to healthcare, and generally low expectations for academic achievement. Tamra Jackson ’86, ’90, our Alum of Service, Education honoree, has spent her career working to ensure that such barriers don’t get in the way of her students’ path to success. Since 1986, Jackson has served as a teacher and administrator at Bridgeport High School, a school in rural Douglas County that serves a mostly agricultural community. Many students at Bridgeport are from households headed up by parents who, given their own struggles, don’t always see higher education as part of their children’s future. In both the classroom and as Bridgeport’s principal, Jackson has worked to overcome such low expectations, helping both young people and their parents see that, through hard work and persistence, earning a high school diploma and going on to college are achievable goals. Thanks to Jackson’s encouragement, countless students — many first-generation college attendees — have found academic homes in university classrooms across our region. Her efforts have been recognized both regionally and nationally. In 2009, she was named a Teacher Ambassador Fellow by the U.S. Department of Education, and has been recognized as a White House Champion of Change in Education.

INSPIRING YOUNG ALUM

Evan Hilberg with Felix, his son.

van Hilberg ’13 received his master’s degree from Eastern less than 10 years ago, but this inspiring young alum has already made his mark with a dizzying array of accomplishments. His achievements check all the boxes, and then some. Academic: Since his days in Cheney, Hilberg has earned an additional master’s degree in biostatistics and a doctoral degree in exercise science, both from Oregon State University. Professional: He now works as researcher and policy analyst with a Portland, Oregon-based firm working to make our health-care system more person-focused and economically sustainable. Community Service: While working on his doctorate, Hilberg investigated how children’s physical activity, or lack thereof, might affect health outcomes. He later followed up with work as a statistical consultant to Holt International’s Child Nutrition Program, where he helped advance several important projects related to that organization’s effort to end malnutrition among some of the world’s most vulnerable children. As if all this weren’t enough, during and since his days at EWU, Hilberg has volunteered his time with a wide range of projects and initiatives that include Americore, the American Public Health Association, the Western Society for Kinesiology and Wellness, and a program mentoring up-and-coming public health and health-sciences students at OSU. In his nominating letter, Hilberg’s friend Benton Canaga, himself a science educator, summed up Hilberg’s contributions. His service is an example, the letter said, “of what a young alumnus can do with a drive and passion for serving others and making your community and world a better place.”

EAGLE4LIFE SPIRIT

Raynee Miller and her husband, Kyle ’91, at an Eagles football game.

t Raynee Miller’s office in the Benton Franklin Juvenile Justice Center in Kennewick, a wall is prominently adorned with an EWU spirit flag, her screen saver displays the iconic image of Swoop atop the university’s water tower, and the counselor herself is more often than not decked out in Eagle red. For the young people who spend time in that office with Miller ’92, our Eagle4Life Spirit honoree, these tokens of devoted Eagledom represent more than just an ardent alumna signaling devotion. The swag and memorabilia serve as symbols of the healthier path these often vulnerable, high-risk youth might pursue; a reminder that — with hard work and dedication — a university degree, and a better life, are possible. At Eastern, Miller was a standout member of the cheer team, where, in between encouraging the roar of the Eagle faithful, she connected with fellow squad member Kyle Miller ’91, who became her husband. In the years since, both Raynee and Kyle — especially Raynee — have embodied the Eagle4Life lifestyle. Athletic events, alumni gatherings, mentoring students and potential students, supporting scholarships and other student-centered initiatives: All these and other forms of enthusiastic engagement bring the Millers from the Tri-Cities to Cheney so often that U.S. Route 395 should probably be named for them. In short, one might say the cheering has never stopped. Eastern Eagles! Go! Fight! Win!

2022 EWU ALUMNI

AWARDS GALA Videos ewu.edu/aa22

SPRING/SUMMER 2022 19

Kaytlyn RhinehartEASTERN ’22 with a patient at EWU’s Dental Hygiene Clinic earlier this spring. Photo by Chris Thompson. MAGAZINE

A HalfCentury of Smiles YEARS O F D E N TA L H YG I E N E

Over its 50 years of service, Eastern’s dental hygiene program has helped students pursue a passion for dental health. BY MELODIE LITTLE

leven years after fleeing cartel violence in his Mexican hometown, 22-year-old Carlos Valdovinos, a newly minted graduate of EWU’s dental hygiene program, is ready to start making a difference. Valdovinos is the first among his 10 siblings to earn a university degree. As he walked across the stage at Eastern’s semester commencement ceremony in May — his proud mom in the audience after making the trip from central Mexico — he reflected on how it all began. “As soon as I saw what a dental hygienist does, of how big of an impact I could bring to a diverse patient population, I just fell in love with hygiene,” he says. For 50 years, EWU’s Department of Dental Hygiene has helped more than 1,600 graduates like Valdovinos pursue their passion for improving the oral health of thousands of patients. The work starts while they are still in school, as advanced students hone their patient-care skills by providing free and reduced-price dental services at the EWU Dental Hygiene Clinic. The 46-chair clinic is located in the Health Sciences Building on the University District campus. Most of its patients have either state-subsidized health plans or lack dental insurance. Through the SPRING/SUMMER 2022

“

years the clinic has developed expertise in serving high-risk groups, including those with diabetes and pregnant women. In addition, the clinic treats children and adults who are medically fragile and need accommodation, such as those with autism. “We are a safety net for low-income and aging populations,” says Lisa Bilich ’89, professor of dental hygiene and department chair, who joined EWU’s faculty in 2002. “I know Eastern is making a positive impact.” It’s a role that shouldn’t be underestimated, says Francisco R. Velázquez, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District. By providing access to oral care for disadvantaged members of the community, he says, the dental clinic significantly impacts the health of the people it serves. “The importance of good oral health is often overlooked; the health of your teeth and gums has a major impact on your overall health and quality of life. Poor oral health can impact how we see ourselves, and how we are seen by others,” Velázquez says. Understanding the role of dentistry in human wellbeing has long been a central tenet of Eastern’s dental hygiene program, though much has changed since the program was first accredited in 1972. At the time, EWU’s tuition was $360 per quarter, streakers sprinted through campus and dental hygienists mainly took X-rays, filled cavities and polished teeth. Notably absent was an established link between dental decay and illness, such as endocarditis, cardiovascular disease and pregnancy complications. The cause-and-effect, once discovered, would dramatically change the role of dental hygienists, Bilich says, opening the door for program graduates to become respected members of

We are a safety net for low-income and aging populations; I know Eastern is making a positive impact. health-care teams inside hospitals, medical clinics, therapy centers and in the field of public health. Take the link between diabetes and periodontitis, Bilich says. Not only is diabetes a risk factor for periodontitis, if oral health disease is left untreated it can have a negative effect on glycemic control. So, she says, treating periodontitis boosts patients’ ability to manage diabetes. EWU’s dental hygiene program’s job-placement rate is well over 90 percent, program statistics show. Typically, only those students who take time “to explore their options” are not hired right after graduation. Notable EWU alumni include Jessica Scruggs ’13, who earned a master’s degree at EWU and served on its faculty before working as special assistant to former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy; Katie Glueckert ’17, who serves with the Montana Hospital Association as its South Central Montana Area Health Education Center director; and Camille Luke ’07, ’10, the current president of the Washington Dental Health Association. Diane McHenry, who helped to establish the dental hygiene program and taught students for 28 years before retiring in 1999, says she is amazed by

An instructor and student at Eastern's dental hygiene program clinic, circa 1979.

EASTERN MAGAZINE

YEARS O F D E N TA L H YG I E N E

$45.9 BILLION

in overall productivity losses in the United States associated with untreated oral disease, with the United States ranking HIGHEST among 195 COUNTRIES. In 2018, approx. 66.7 MILLION Americans had no dental coverage with a dentally uninsured rate 2.5 TIMES HIGHER than the medically uninsured rate. In 2014, there were

2.43 MILLION

emergency department visits for nontraumatic dental conditions, representing more than

$1.6 BILLION

in charges; the average charge per visit was $994 for adults and $971 for children. During the past 20 years, dental care costs per person in the United States have INCREASED 30%, placing access to dental care out of reach for many. Source: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research

the advances in technology, techniques and dental materials, as well as the expanded capabilities of the universityoperated clinic. McHenr y fondly recalls the program’s humble origins, when administrators at what was then Eastern Washington State College sought to address a severe shortage of hygienists in Eastern Washington. At the time, McHenry was working in a Cheney dental practice. She was tapped to serve on an advisory board, then asked to join Eastern’s faculty and help launch the degree program. Things didn’t go smoothly. In order to admit its first students, the program needed to transform the band room in the (now-demolished) Rowles Hall into a teaching clinic with offices. A construction delay created a scramble for temporary space. The local dental society was nudging the university to start classes right away, and the faculty was scrambling to find the space: “We had seven students but we didn’t have any facility,” McHenry says. “So, we were able to find a room in the Science Building that was an old lab. It was dingy and dark, and there was an aquarium in there with some kind of a big fish in it that we fed once a week.” Two quarters later, the renovation was finally completed and a 17-chair clinic opened at Rowles Hall. Although everyone was “very happy to move in,” McHenry says, program faculty members began to realize that, because the clinic served mostly healthy young students, their hygienists in training were missing out on key learning opportunities. Thus began the program’s push to provide its students with a more comprehensive patient-care experience while serving the greater community — an effort that culminated in EWU opening a 15-chair clinic on the second floor of the Paulsen Medical and Dental

Building in Spokane in 1977. “The downtown clinic was great because we could offer services to different kinds of organizations where the need was great for underserved people who had dental problems,” McHenry says. In 2002, the program moved from the Paulsen Building into a state-ofthe-art clinic in the Health Sciences Building, a half-mile away. Today, that clinic is staffed by nearly 80 juniors and seniors who work with supervising faculty members and two local dentists, Rachel Deininger and Amy Clement. Of the nearly 8,400 patients served through the clinic, some 6 percent are children and 24 percent are over age 60. Anna Warrington is among the seniors receiving care through the EWU Dental Hygiene Clinic. The 84-yearold Spokane resident has been coming to the clinic for three decades now: “When I first started coming, it was in the Paulsen Building,” Warrington says, “I met my very first dentist in Spokane through the clinic: Robert Parker.” Warrington says she comes twice a year for checkups, and receives three to four cleanings annually. She credits the clinic, which has provided her with periodontal treatment, fillings and other restoration work, with helping her keep her original teeth in good shape. “I just love this clinic. I love all of the people who work here, and the students, too. I would recommend them to everyone,” Warrington says. E W U ’s b u d d i n g h y g i e n i s t s increasingly represent the diversity of the community they serve. Dental hygiene was among the first departments at EWU to move to “holistic admissions.” The holistic process involves looking beyond traditional markers for acceptance — such as grade point average and standardized testing — to also consider harder-to-measure factors that point to success in the classroom and clinic. SPRING/SUMMER 2022 23

YEARS O F D E N TA L H YG I E N E

“

I decided to pursue an education to hopefully change the future for other generations. I feel like I am a positive role model for my family and friends. My biggest hope is that more will decide to find their true passion …

The Valdovinos Cruz family at Carlos Valdovinos’ graduation. From left: sister, Jovita; Monserrat Mendoza, Carlos’ girlfriend; Carlos; Fidelia, his mom; sister, Juana; nephew, Aldo (age 2); sister, Angeles, and her husband Tony Guillins. Valdovinos’ mom and sister, Juana, traveled from Mexico to attend.

“That means our students are more than a grade,” Bilich explains. “They bring their backgrounds and that helps them interact with our patients, and that really is very important to the community and to our lowincome and ESL students. It’s just a win-win situation for everyone.” For Valdovinos, holistic admissions recognized his fluency in English and Spanish, as well as his outstanding work ethic. “He works probably twice as hard as other students because English is his second language,” says Bilich. Valdovinos brings other qualities to the table as well. He is both humble and overwhelmingly supportive of his peers. Perhaps most important, his work with patients of all backgrounds is exemplary. “He understands they are not just a grade, and they are not just a number. He treats them with kindness and respect — every patient he has,” Bilich says. “He just exemplifies why we want to continue with holistic admissions.” Valdovinos has overcome tremendous obstacles. He was just 11 years old when his parents sent him to live with

an older sister, Jovita, in Yakima, Washington. It was a tough decision, but one made necessary given the risk of staying put. Coalcomán de Vázquez Pallares, the Valdovinos’ picturesque hometown in Mexico’s Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range, was increasingly under threat from cartel violence. Shakedowns, kidnappings and murders were routine. “It was pretty common for us as kids to see big trucks coming down the road loaded with guns and men, or multiple funerals all over for unknown reasons,” he says, adding, “there was just violence all around us.” Throughout his four years at Eastern, news from home was filled with accounts of disappearances and deaths. At times, the sadness was so overwhelming that he felt like giving up. “The faculty here have helped me calm myself. [They] reminded me why I am here, of the friendships I’ve made and all the important things that have happened along my journey which led me here,” Valdovinos says. The dental hygiene team also helped Valdovinos

“

I’ve worked hard and succeeded. Now it’s time to give back to a profession that I love.

“

A dental health pioneer gives back to “make a difference for future dental hygienists.”

E find his way academically. Though a gifted student who had excelled back home in Mexico, and in math classes taken throughout his schooling in Yakima, reading and test taking in English sometimes posed challenges. Bilich and her team connected him with a mentor and a study group. Valdovinos embraced the intervention, working hard alongside classmates. Along the way his leadership skills emerged, and he became president of EWU’s Student American Dental Hygiene Association. In addition to academic challenges, Valdovinos and his classmates also faced pandemic-related obstacles. In the spring of 2020, for example, as the pandemic maxed out hospital beds and forced the temporary closure of dental practices and clinics, graduation for that year’s seniors was threatened. Eastern’s dental hygiene team stepped up to help, working with their accrediting agency to find a solution. “I’m so proud of our faculty for pulling together and writing an accreditation report. And, we graduated the class of 2020 on time,” says Bilich with a smile. “That was the biggest accomplishment we had during the pandemic.” For his part, Valdovinos makes a point of crediting the generosity of scholarship donors who, from his start at Eastern, helped him to connect with his passion and ultimately earn a degree: “I would have never been able to get my education if it had not been for the donors who helped me financially.” “I decided to pursue an education to hopefully change the future for other generations,” he says. “I feel like I am a positive role model for my family and friends. My biggest hope is that more will decide to find their true passion and change the course of their lives for the better.”

WU’s Dental Hygiene Department now has five separate scholarship funds to help talented students like Carlos Valdovinos realize their potential. One of these, the newly endowed Diane E. McHenry Dental Hygiene Scholarship, will award funds for the first time during the 2022-23 academic year, with two rising seniors selected as inaugural recipients. McHenry is a professor emerita at EWU who helped establish the department. Over the course of her nearly 30 years of service, McHenry saw first-hand the struggles single parents often faced in balancing the cost of raising children with that of tuition, dental tools, testing fees and other program expenses. To help address these needs, in retirement McHenry stepped up with a $50,000 gift to create the Diane E. McHenry Dental Hygiene Scholarship Endowment. The endowment emphasizes support for single parents, as well as first-generation students and others experiencing hardships. “I’ve worked hard and succeeded. Now it’s time to give back to a profession that I love — and to make a difference for future dental hygienists,” McHenry says. McHenry’s fund will help students with a broad range of expenses in the pursuit of dental hygiene licensure, explains Lisa Bilich ’89, professor and chair of the EWU Dental Hygiene Department: “Sometimes a student actually has to put off taking the exams because they can’t afford to get licensed. This is going to help so many students.” Bilich was delighted but not at all surprised that McHenry, her former professor, stepped up to help students, recalling, “She was so kind and supportive and was always one of my favorite instructors.” SPRING/SUMMER 2022 25

Despite the odds, Eastern’s greatest-ever quarterback is ready to quiet the next-level doubters. By Dave Cook Photos by Trevor Bowens

urning heads is what Eric Barriere ’21 did best on the football field at EWU. It began during Eastern’s recruiting process, as Eagle recruiters watched him win championships as a high schooler in California. Then, upon arrival in Cheney in the fall of 2016, it was his astonishing arm strength that was on display — coaches still talk about the day his throws outdistanced the kicks of Eastern’s senior punter during an after-practice showdown. As a sophomore in 2018, Barriere turned heads across the FCS as he took over for Eastern’s injured All-America starter

Gage Gubrud at mid-season and proceeded to lead the Eagles to the NCAA Division I Championship Game in Frisco, Texas. Along the way he continued to pile up highlightreel plays, astonishing yardage totals and, of course, the honors that go along with such things. Barriere finished fifth in the voting for the Walter Payton Award in 2019, was runner-up for the prize in 2020 and in the fall of 2021, he won it, securing his place as the single best offensive player in the FCS. Now the process starts all over again as Barriere, his college eligibility exhausted, looks to turn heads — plenty of which are looking askance — and secure a place in professional football. It won’t be easy. But it’s never been easy for Barriere. As a kid growing up in Southern California, he persisted through injury, illness and a tough

ERIC’S OFF DAY IS SOMEBODY ELSE’S GREATEST DAY, WHICH IS CRAZY. BUT THAT’S THE STANDARD HE SET FOR HIMSELF, THIS TEAM AND THIS UNIVERSITY. Above: Head Coach Aaron Best hugs Eric Barriere at the FCS national awards banquet in Frisco, Texas.

neighborhood to excel at pretty much anything he put his mind to. He says he’s more than confident he’ll do the same, in spite of the doubters, as a professional athlete. “It’s something I’m used to already,” Barriere said during a phone conversation in April. For now, he is back in California, where he’s been working out since his senior season concluded in December. “I’m always trying to prove myself and out-work other people. I have to show them that I deserve a chance to play with the best. It’s another opportunity to showcase myself now at a higher stage, and show them what I can do.” During his preparations, he talked with and received advice from former Eagles-turned-pro Nsimba Webster and Vernon Adams, Jr. He also traded texts with Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, and has sought counsel from two other Eagle standouts now in the NFL: San Francisco’s Samson Ebukam (also a 2022 Super Bowl veteran) and New England Patriots star Kendrick Bourne. Their common message? Keep being you. “They just told me to work hard, and that I just need one opportunity for a team to believe in me,” Barriere said in advance of the NFL Draft in late April. “I just want an opportunity, that’s all,” he says. “When I get it, I have to make the most of it. It’s all on me. I just have to put in the work, and I know I’ll be up for any of the challenges that come my way.” easurables is one word for what professional football analysts use in the sometimes maddeningly opaque process of projecting the value of prospects. Aaron Best, Eastern’s head coach for four SPRING/SUMMER 2022

of the five seasons Barriere played in the EWU program, knows getting drafted is something of a crapshoot. “So much of it is about measurables, and I don’t know if it’s the right way to go,” Best admits. “Teams determine what their evaluation process is. The numbers are great to have, but it comes down to if you can play football.” “He has a ton to offer,” says Best of Barriere’s NFL appeal. “His stats alone are great and some of the best the FCS has ever had. On top of that, he was a great teammate, and he continually got better from the time he took over as our starting quarterback.” “Eric’s off day is somebody else’s greatest day, which is crazy. But that’s the standard he set for himself, this team and this university,” Best continues. “Unfortunately, it’s out of everybody’s hands once [his] eligibility is done. It’s up to others to determine if he’s a good fit for their [professional] organization, no matter what the position is.” In Barriere’s case, the numbers were never going to be a problem: They were, in short, “ridiculous.” He finished ranked third in FCS history with 15,394 yards of total offense, 13,809 passing yards and 121 passing touchdown — all EWU and Big Sky Conference records. He’s also the school record-holder in completions, pass attempts, rushing yards by a quarterback, touchdowns and points generated. In short, he’s the Eagle quarterback G.O.A.T., a distinction he will likely not soon surrender. Other than stats and film assessment, most of the measurables come from “Pro Days” hosted by schools. These events usually consist of physical testing to see exactly how players compare to others at their respective positions. Barriere was fortunate to not only take part in EWU’s Pro Day, but also one held at USC in California. Players also participate in on-field drills. Barriere certainly turned heads at EWU’s Pro Day, where he threw the football 70 yards flat-footed. Only a handful of NFL scouts were on hand, but what they learn about a player is shared widely. Barriere registered a head-turning 38-inch effort in the vertical jump at EWU’s Pro Day. By comparison, the best mark among quarterbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine — an event Barriere was not invited to attend — was 36 inches. His time of 4.77 seconds in the 40-yard dash wasn’t as impressive, and his measured height (5-feet, 11-inches tall) invited skepticism from scouts. Barriere was not concerned. “I feel good about everything,” Barriere says. “I know quarterback is different than every position, so it’s going to come down to the mental aspects. I have to practice like a pro and prepare like an NFL quarterback. Those will be the key factors.”

28 EASTERN MAGAZINE

mong the records Barriere broke at Eastern was the Big Sky career yardage record held by EWU’s Matt Nichols, who played two preseason games with the Dallas Cowboys in 2010 before playing nine seasons in the CFL from 2011-21. Nichols says he has heard it all before — the “prototype quarterback” that NFL teams are looking for: “6-feet, 4-inches tall, laser-rocket arm and from a bigger school,” he says. Without all of those assets, he adds, “You aren’t going to be drafted in the first three rounds.” “If you don’t have those measurables, you have to have a scout or player personnel director stick their neck out for you,” Nichols says. “Because if they’re wrong, it could be their job. I think you hope there is that one guy out there who believes in you. Hopefully there is, and it’s up to you to prove it.” Best is hopeful that Eastern’s ability to produce players for the NFL could help Barriere along the way. “I don’t think it hurts. I think a lot of people (in professional football) understand who we are, what we are about and the players we have. But at the end of the day it’s not who came before you, it’s what you do in the moment. He’s played with professionals like Coop [Cooper Kupp], so he can take his notes and apply them moving forward.” But Best stops short of saying success for FCS players, such as the extraordinary path to greatness by Kupp, gives them equal footing with FBS opponents. That same old adage, “played at a lower level of competition,” as CBS Sports said of Barriere, is rearing its head again. And it makes it hard to turn heads if you don’t get the opportunity. “To me, there is no downside at all,” Best says of Barriere’s FCS experience. “Can you play, and can you play at a high level? The logos on the sides of the helmet are sometimes taken into too much consideration.” In advance of the NFL draft in April, assessments of Barriere’s chances — from draft watchers in the media at least — were mixed.

Most of the independent quarterback rankings had Barriere as an “outside looking in” guy, although he was listed as No. 8 by SI.com and No. 10 by profootballnetwork.com. On the positive side, some draft observers described him as a “dual-threat, elite-level athlete,” and used terms such as “creativity, mobility, vision” and “stands tall in the pocket” to describe his game. CBS Sports in particular had positive things to say: “Good top end speed. Quick release made possible with a flick of the wrist. Gets the ball out quickly. Generates a lot of strength off platform. Good deep ball accuracy. Can drive the ball.” Still, there were doubters. Words like “unorthodox,” and phrases like “lesser-known profile,” “decision-making” and “durability,” were used to express concerns about Barriere’s NFL worthiness. Again, CBS had these things to say: “Undersized in terms of height and weight. Does not follow through in his throwing motion. Does not sell fakes well. Late to feel pressure, poor pocket presence. Balance is an issue. Played at a lower level of competition.” In all, it added up to Barriere l i ke l y b e i n g c o n s i d e re d a “developmental prospect,” a player whose chances at signing a free-agent contract with a NFL team were greater than were his chances for being selected. And that’s pretty much the way things played out over the three-day draft. Names came and went, but Barriere’s phone didn’t ring. A little later, however, he did get a call. The Denver Broncos, the former AFC powerhouse whose recent quarterbacking woes led to their poaching Russell Wilson from Seattle, invited Barriere to rookie minicamp in May. Even if the NFL doesn’t pan out, the two-time Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year would almost certainly get an opportunity in the Canadian Football League, where a larger playing field and fewer downs would be advantageous for Barriere’s strong arm and accuracy.

I JUST WANT AN OPPORTUNITY, THAT'S ALL. WHEN I GET IT, I HAVE TO MAKE THE MOST OF IT. IT'S ALL ON ME.

As of now, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers own his rights, and Barriere could continue the successful pipeline of former EWU quarterbacks into the CFL, starting with Rick Worman in the 1980s and continuing with recent stars Bo Levi Mitchell, Vernon Adams Jr. and Nichols. “Hopefully he gets the opportunity to get on an NFL roster and play in some preseason games,” says Nichols, who has played in the CFL for Edmonton, Winnipeg and Ottawa. “Obviously, I think the CFL is incredible and is a great brand of football,” he continued. “He should set his sights on the NFL for as long as he can, but I think there is a big future for him in the CFL — especially with the equity EWU has in the league. I think he could go up there and be great.” arriere appreciates the backup plan. But he wonders, alongside his coach and so many Eastern supporters, why EWU quarterbacks have so often been bypassed by the NFL: “I don’t get it,” he says. “I don’t know why they end up in the CFL.” Barriere’s springtime training sojourn took place under the direction of his player representative agency, ELITE Athlete Management. “Throughout the process,” Barriere says, “I’ve had to learn how to work out different parts of my body, and treat it a little bit better than I was doing in college. They are making sure I can be 100 percent and make sure I don’t overdo anything.” For his part, Coach Best remains confident that what Barriere showed the world while at EWU, he’ll show again at the next level. “Eric checks every single box and then some,” Best says. “Throw it all aside, your eyes aren’t going to fool you. He’s done what he can do plus a lot more in his time here. There are so many things outside of the statistics that he’s improved and has shown his capabilities. He just needs a legitimate opportunity.” [Editor’s note: As Eastern magazine went to press, Barriere announced he had signed a contract with the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League. The move does not preclude a future deal with either an NFL or CFL team.] “Somebody is going to be happy with him, more importantly as a person,” Best adds. “He’s a heckuva player, but he’s a heckuva person. You match those two things together and somebody is going to be very fortunate.” SPRING/SUMMER 2022 29

CLASS NOTES 1960s ’63 Gordon Budke, BA accounting, was honored as an “Icon 2022” in the May 5 issue of the Journal of Business. A former managing partner for the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand, the Journal cited Budke’s key role in supporting “many familiar names” in Spokane, among them Momentum ’87, Leadership Spokane, the Spokane Area Economic Development Council, the Downtown Spokane Partnership and many others. At Eastern, Budke has contributed more than two decades of service in a variety of capacities, including as a member and chairperson of the university’s Board of Trustees. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the EWU Alumni Association in 2012. ’69 Ed Clark, BA sociology, was honored as an “Icon 2022” in the May 5 issue of the Journal of Business. After a successful post-graduation internship in public relations, Clark traveled west to pursue advertising jobs in Seattle and Portland. He returned to his hometown of Spokane in 1980, where he formed the eponymous agency that eventually came to dominate the city’s advertising landscape.

1970s ’75 Edmond Bruneau, BA journalism, lived and worked in Spokane as a creative director for 48 years before retiring to Walla Walla in 2019. Bruneau, a former editor of The Easterner student newspaper, recently celebrated his new home with a book of poems, Walla Walla Sweet, published by the Boston Publishing Company.

Coordinators Association Hall of Fame. Marriott, a veteran of EWU Cheer, embarked on her teaching career in 1985. For the past 16 years, she has served at Meadowdale High School in Lynnwood, Washington. She became the school’s athletic director in 2013 and plans to retire this summer. ’89 Tim Shelby, BA education, will retire in July after 33 years as a teacher and administrator with public schools in California. His service included 23 years with the Mojave Unified School District. Though still residing in the Golden State, Shelby says that, in retirement, he is “looking forward to making it back to the campus again to see great friends and cheer on the Eagle football team!”

1990s ’94 Bruce Todd, BA education, was named superintendent of the Mansfield School District in Douglas County, Washington. He joined the Mansfield schools after serving, since 2017, as athletic director for the Odessa (Washington) School District. ’96 Chris Buttice, BA criminal justice, in May was named chief of police in Walla Walla, Washington. Buttice, who was named to the top job after a nationwide search, has served on the Walla Walla force since 1999, and had previously obtained the rank of captain.

’76 William Pederson, BA social work, retired in May after serving as a principal lecturer and program director at Northern Arizona University. While at NAU, Pederson is credited with creating the nation’s first social work program focused on issues related to immigration at the U.S.–Mexico border.

’98 Frank Scalise, BA history, and Colin Conway ’95, BA history, released a new novel, The Ride-Along, earlier this spring. The book, published by High Speed Creative, is the fifth in the authors’ Charlie 316 series of crime novels. Scalise, who writes under the name Frank Zafiro, says the new work, set in Spokane, involves a “confrontation of beliefs and biases” as a thirdgeneration cop and a police-reform advocate spend 10 hours together in a patrol car.

1980s

2000s

’85 Elizabeth Marriott, BA education, was inducted into the Washington Activities

’00 Christy Rasmussen, BA education, in December was appointed to fill the

EASTERN MAGAZINE

vacant District 2 seat on the Port of Benton Commission. The commission, a publicly elected board serving the communities of North Richland, Benton City and Prosser, Washington, was established in 1957 to advance economic development projects and initiatives in the area. ’01 Peter Broschet, BA human resources management, was appointed by the Idaho State Board of Education to fill one of three vacant seats on the North Idaho College Board of Trustees. The trustees serve as the governing board of North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. ’02 Benjamin Ferney, MEd curriculum and instruction, in April was named district superintendent for the Cheney Public Schools. Earlier in his career, Ferney had served the district as assistant principal for Cheney Middle School. He is currently working for the Valley School District near Chewelah, Washington. His new job begins July 1. ’08 George Swanson, BS community health, in May was named the head women’s basketball coach at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. ’09 Taylor Adams, BA film and digital media, is a best-selling author. His latest novel, No Exit, was recently made into a major motion picture by 20th Century Studios and producer Scott Frank. It debuted on Hulu in February.

2010s ’13 Nicole Germain, BA marketing, is the marketing website manager for Confluence Health. In April, Germain was honored as one of her community’s “30 Under 35” young leaders by the Wenatchee World newspaper. ’13 Adam Stewart, BA management, this spring was hired to serve as the communications and travel trade manager for Yakima Valley Tourism. In his new role, Stewart, who grew up in Yakima, will promote the virtues of visiting Yakima and the Yakima Valley to national media and travel industry professionals.

CLASS NOTES

Cellar Stars

or most aspiring winemakers, the path to producing award-winning wines begins with internships, apprenticeships or maybe a degree in oenology. For Mark ’00, ’02, ’08 and Sarah Lathrop ’08, the husband and wife owners of Liberty Lake Cellars, it began in the business program at Eastern, where they became a couple while pursuing master’s degrees. Even while still in school, the two often spent date nights at wine tastings. One of their favorite venues was Liberty Lake, where Eastern alumnus Doug Smith ’75 made big red wines from Washington’s Red Mountain AVA. When Smith and his wife, Shelly, failed to produce a 2015 vintage, the Lathrops asked why. The Smiths said they were calling it quits. Good business people that they are, the Lathrops sensed an opportunity. When Doug Smith said he’d stay on for a year to help, Sarah and Mark became owners and winemakers, even while keeping their day jobs in finance. Sarah admits to some naivete about what was involved. “We went into it thinking: ‘I don’t know, we like wine! How can we fail?’” she says with a laugh. How indeed. Mark, who handles most of the winemaking duties, says his training was all informal, though he did have

We went into it thinking: ‘I don’t know, we like wine! How can we fail?’

the benefit of some of Smith’s old class materials from the winemaking program at Washington State. Turns out he didn’t need much more. Among the very first wines he and Sarah produced was a Syrah that scored 92 points in Wine Spectator magazine. More success followed. Still working with fruit from Red Mountain, the Lathrop’s 2018 vintage was a particular triumph. At the invitation-only Great Northwest Wine Platinum Awards this year, all seven of their entries earned platinum status — a first for the 23-year-old event. Liberty Lake Cellars was also named 2022’s “Washington Winery to Watch,” another first for a Spokane-based producer. The Lathrops, gratified as they are by the recognition, are quick to share credit with what they describe as the region’s “incredibly welcoming” winemakers. “The winemaking community is just so open and helpful to each other,” says Mark. “It’s been a pretty great community to join.”

SPRING/SUMMER 2022

Join fellow alumni and Eagle fans for an away-from-home tailgate that is sure to get your pre-game kicked off right! Mark your calendar and stay tuned to our website for upcoming Red Turf Nation on the Road details.

EWU @ OREGON | SEPT. 10

EWU @ FLORIDA | OCT. 1

EWU @ IDAHO | NOV. 5

EWU @ MONTANA | NOV. 12

ewu.edu/RedTurfOnTheRoad

IN MEMORIAM

A Fervent Friend and Booster Vic Wallace, Eastern’s first Black police chief, was a passionate advocate for Eagle athletes.

ic Wallace was more than a familiar face around EWU. He was a biggerthan-life, ever-present spirit; a beloved campus cop whose enthusiasm, warmth and love of all things Eastern uplifted everyone he met. Wallace retired from the United States Air Force in February 1974 and became a police officer at EWU that October. He served for 21 years, rising through the ranks to become chief of police — the first Black officer to lead the force. When the love of his life, his wife, Carilon, passed away in 1999, Wallace decided to get more involved with the EWU Athletic Department. He soon gained a reputation as one of the university’s most dedicated supporters. Coaches and players, media and fans could all count on seeing Wallace, wearing Eagle red, at pretty much any and all Eastern sporting

2010s

events. He was also a fixture at football practices, keeping a watchful “Eagle” eye over his beloved team as he personally greeted players in his distinctive, friendly voice. Aaron Best, the Eagles’ head coach who has been a part of Eastern football for 25 years, said at Wallace’s memorial service: “I think Vic knew our players better than we did, and we know them pretty well.” For Wallace, it was never about wins and losses. It was about supporting students, which is why he never failed to do his part to advance fundraising for scholarships and other worthy causes. In 2018, he told The Spokesman-Review why he was so involved: “When I was part of the staff, I wanted to help students to get their education. By supporting the students, [we let] them know we care for them and their effort to

get their education.” In 2013, Wallace received Eastern Athletics’ Hall of Fame Service and Contribution Award, an honor that recognized his lifelong passion for supporting Eastern’s student athletes, both on the field and off. Victor Emanuel Wallace Sr. died on Jan. 28, 2022. He was 87 years old.

’82 Betty Dietrich, age 70, died Jan. 12, 2022.

’73 Doug Houston, age 73, died Dec. 31, 2021.

’63 Albert Johnson, age 81, died March 18, 2022.

1990s

’89 Susan Woods, age 75, died May 21, 2020.

’74 Kevin Fitzgerald, age 70, died Dec. 30, 2021.

’64 Marie Brown, age 83, died

’90, ’92 Gloria J. Heintz, age 71, died Feb. 6, 2022.

1970s

’75 Max Milton, age 72, died March 10, 2022.

’67 Stan Bischoff, age 78, died

’10 Joleen Uhlenkott, age 55, died Nov. 17, 2021.

’94 John S. Harris, age 67, died Jan. 25, 2022. ’98 Timothy Hamm, age 75, died March 13, 2022.

1980s ’81 Gary Jorgenson, age 77, died Dec. 12, 2021. ’81 Deborah Worthington, age 68, died Feb. 10, 2022.

’70 Robert VanSchoorl, age 74, died Dec. 9, 2021. ’71 John Donnelly, age 74, died April 5, 2022. ’72, ’97 Kathy Conlin, age 72, died March 11, 2022.

’78 Peter Tenney, age 66, died March 8, 2022.

Dec. 13, 2021.

Dec. 15, 2021.

’67 Jeanie Simon, age 78, died April 25, 2022.

’79 Thomas Powers, age 67, died Nov. 29, 2021.

’69, ’76 Lester Johnson, age 76, died April 13, 2022.

1960s

1950s

’73 Lydia Angle, age 85, died Jan. 25, 2022.

’61 Patricia Lane, age 83, died Jan. 3, 2022.

’51 Richard Quigley, age 92, died

’73 John Begg, age 71, died Sept. 28, 2020.

’62 Bruce Peters, age 82, died Feb. 15, 2022.

’53 George Grossman, age 91,

Dec. 19, 2021.

died February 2022.

SPRING/SUMMER 2022 33

IN MEMORIAM

Faculty and Staff Lawrence Patrick (Pat) Crowley, died on Jan. 4, 2022. A talented carpenter, Crowley served the university in building maintenance. He retired in August 2016 after 19 years at EWU. Roger Dean Jack (Weel K^Wen Eet Cha), died on Feb. 15, 2022. An elder of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Jack served with EWU’s American Indian Studies Program. He also earned two degrees from the university, a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1977 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1988. Jodi Patterson, died on Dec. 15, 2021. Patterson, a professor of art education, joined Eastern’s faculty in 2013. In addition to her work with students, she published widely in academic journals and exhibited her art in museums and galleries across the United States and Europe. James (Jim) Mowatt, died on Jan. 31, 2022. Mowatt joined Eastern’s staff in 1964 and became custodial manager in 1973. He retired in September 1993 after 29 years of service. William (Bill) Shaw, died on Dec. 11, 2022. A veteran of the Korean War, Shaw joined Eastern’s Physical Plant team in 1970. He retired after 20 years of service. Patricia (Pat) Terrell, died on May 6, 2022. Terrell served in the university’s Office of Records and Registration. She retired in 2018 after 18 years at EWU. Vic Wallace, died on Jan. 28, 2022. Wallace served the University Police at EWU for 21 years before retiring in 1995 as the department’s chief. He continued to support Eastern in retirement as a passionate Eagle Athletic Association member, rarely missing a game or event (see story, Page 33). Jim Wassem Sr., died on April 2, 2022. As head baseball coach at EWU from 1982-90, Wassem led an Eagles team that competed as a member of the Pacific 10 Conference Northern Division.

EASTERN MAGAZINE

THERE’S A BETTER WAY TO LEAVE YOUR MARK AT EWU. MAKE IT PERMANENT WITH A BRICK IN SHOWALTER’S HISTORIC WALKWAY TO SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIPS. EWU.EDU/BRICK

BACK STORY

A Hall for Science The Soviet Union’s successful launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957 didn’t just shock and embarrass the American political establishment, it led to a frantic game of superpower one-upmanship. Among the positive outcomes of the ensuing “space race” was a renewed national interest in — and greatly increased funding for — university-based science and engineering. At Eastern, the post-Sputnik boom helped make long-considered plans for a new Hall of Sciences a reality. Begun in the fall of 1960 and completed in 1962, the building ensured that “every department, including chemistry, biology, geology, physics and natural sciences has the most up-to-date equipment,” as one contemporary account put it. Sixty years later, the Hall of Sciences, now the Science Building, is getting a long-overdue, state-funded makeover. It’s a timely remodel that will ensure this “Sputnik-era building” (see Page 11) will remain relevant, if not for another 60 years, then at least for a long stretch of what promises to be our own exciting era of discovery.

SUMMER EVENTS WITH THE EWU COMEDY NIGHT

July 21, 2022 | Nate’s Super Funny Comedy Club, Tacoma Join EWU for a 21+ evening full of laughs at the largest of six Black-owned comedy clubs in the nation, hosted by its proprietor, the one and only alumnus and celebrity comedian, Nate Jackson ’06.

EWU DAY AT THE SEATTLE MARINERS July 24, 2022 | T-Mobile Park, Seattle

Join fellow Eagles and friends for a day of family-friendly fun as the Seattle Mariners take on the Houston Astros. Tickets include a limited-edition, co-branded EWU/Mariners T-shirt and access to a pregame reception.

EWU DAY AT SILVERWOOD

Aug. 12, 2022 | Silverwood Theme Park, Idaho Enjoy big rides, big slides and big discounts for EWU Day at the largest theme park in the Northwest — Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach Waterpark.

EAGLE FAMILY HOMECOMING October 10-16, 2022

EAST

S H I N GTO N U N I V E R E R N WA SITY

Come back to campus for one of Eastern’s most honored traditions. Homecoming is your opportunity to reconnect with classmates, visit old hangouts, attend special events and cheer on our Eagle student athletes.

Get your tickets today! ewu.edu/alumnievents

Eastern Magazine | Spring/Summer 2022

Articles inside

In Memoriam

Eastern Etc.