Tom Insko became the 12th president of Eastern Oregon University in 2015. Insko announced on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, he has been named president and chief executive officer at Collins, a wood products company based in Wilsonville. He will leave EOU at the end of September.

LA GRANDE — Eastern Oregon University President Tom Insko announced Monday, Aug. 1, that he is leaving his post at the end of September.

Insko has been named president and chief executive officer at Collins, a wood products company based in Wilsonville.

“This was a difficult decision because serving as president, with this outstanding community of educators, students and professionals, has been among the most challenging but fulfilling experiences of my career,” Insko said in a release announcing his departure. “I am so proud of what we have accomplished together over the last seven years, and while I will be serving Oregon in a different way, my goal is to continue to support and advance opportunities for the people in Eastern Oregon — and that includes the students and community at EOU.”

Insko was appointed Eastern’s 12th president in 2015 after more than 20 years as an executive at Boise Cascade. An EOU graduate and lifelong resident of La Grande, Insko brought his business experience along with a passion for expanding opportunities through education to his role as president.

Under Insko’s leadership EOU increased student access to higher education and protected affordability by keeping tuition flat during the pandemic in 2021-22. EOU has had some of the smallest increases in costs of all public universities in Oregon during his tenure while increasing its diversity and growing student retention rates.

Programs developed during Insko’s tenure include the expansion of academic programs like agriculture entrepreneurship, reorganization of EOU’s academic colleges and the addition of two new deans, securing funding for the new fieldhouse, the addition of men’s and women’s wrestling, lacrosse, and baseball, renovations and upgrades to buildings across campus, the Rural Engagement and Vitality Center, a reorganization of the school’s diversity, equity inclusion and belonging programs, and the just-launched Moon Shot for Equity project to eliminate achievement gaps.

“Tom was a nontraditional president with a background in operations and financial management, but it proved to be exactly the kind of leadership we needed,” said EOU Board Chair Richard Chaves. “Tom’s passion for Oregon coupled with a strategic education and fiscal plan brought together everyone under one vision, which has led us to the strong position we are in today. He set a high bar for our next president, but we are confident we will attract a high caliber leader who can continue to advance the path forward putting the people and students of Eastern Oregon first.”

Eastern Oregon University’s board of trustees will begin transition planning for the university at its upcoming annual retreat, already planned for Aug. 8-9 in Boardman.