LA GRANDE — History sometimes works in intriguing ways.

Never more than on Tuesday, May 9, when the Eastern Oregon University Board of Trustees named Kelly Ryan, the interim chancellor of Indiana University Southeast, the next president of the school. Ryan will take Eastern’s reins on July 1, when she will become the first woman to serve as the university’s president without first serving in an interim role.

“I’m incredibly grateful to the board for their approval and I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who participated in this process,” Ryan said via a video teleconference after the announcement.

The board of trustees’s vote was unanimous and reflected historic irony. It was taken in Inlow Hall’s Dixie Lund Room, named in honor of Eastern’s first woman president. Lund served as interim president from 2003 to 2004 and 2007 to 2009 and is regarded as one of Eastern’s most successful leaders.

Still, the selection of Ryan had people talking not of the past but of a sense of possibility.

“She presented lots of great ideas and I’m excited about how the public responded to her. It seemed like people responded very warmly to her,” said EOU English and writing professor Nancy Knowles.

Accomplishments at Indiana University Southeast, which Ryan spoke of with pride during her visit to Eastern in April, include a 6% improvement of its retention rate between first and second semesters this year.

Ryan also touted her ability to build relationships that enhanced IU Southeast’s reputation and community impact. She also pointed to having developed partnerships with local mayors and government leaders to increase college-attendance rates through tuition agreements and enhanced campus accessibility.

Ryan succeeds Tom Insko, who stepped down in 2022 to take a position as president and chief executive officer of Collins, a wood products company based in Wilsonville. Insko had served as EOU’s president since July 2015.

Interim co-presidents Richard Chaves and Lara Moore have led the university since last September.

“I hope that she is amazingly successful and keeps moving Eastern forward,” Chaves said of Ryan.

Student body president Caitlyn Cevallos and Isaak Insko, also a member of EOU’s student government, both noted that the university had three very good finalists.

However, each student said they had a finalist in mind who would be the best fit.

Calvin Bennett, who was recently elected student body president for 2023-24, said he likes the outside perspective Ryan will bring.

“It will be a new era at Eastern,” Bennett said.

Ryan, at a public forum at EOU

in April, said she was impressed

with many things about Eastern,

including the exceptional success of

its Latino students, its support of students overall and its facilities.

Ryan said she wished the state of Indiana provided for the same building renovations for its public universities that Oregon does.

Ryan was among 80 applicants for the position and one of three finalists to visit campus in April.

The other two candidates were Thom Cheney, the former president of Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, and Rodney Hanley, who served as president of Lake Superior State University, located in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

“She is a very engaging person. That won a lot of people over,” said Cheryl Martin, chair of the EOU Board of Trustees, adding that Ryan appears genuinely enthusiastic about coming to Eastern Oregon.

Martin said that the process of selecting a new president was long and exhausting but also fulfilling.

“I can relax now,” she said. “I would not be able to if I did not think we had (chosen) an excellent person.”

Kelly Ryan currently serves as the interim chancellor at Indiana University Southeast. She holds a doctorate degree in history from the University of Maryland, College Park, a master of arts in history from Boston College, and a bachelor of arts in History from George Mason University.

Prior to her role as interim chancellor, Ryan served in several roles at IU Southeast, including executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, dean of the school of social sciences, coordinator for the department of history and professor of history.

Much of the history she has taught and studied deeply involved the time leading up to the American Revolution. She has written two books examining this era — “Everyday Crimes: Social Violence and Civil Rights in Early America,” published in 2019, and “Regulating Passion: Sexuality and Patriarchal Rule in Massachusetts,” which came out in 2014.

Kelly Ryan was introduced Tuesday, May 9, as the 13th president in Eastern Oregon University history. Here is what faculty had to say about the hire:

“I’m very excited that the search has come to a conclusion. With a new president on board we can look to the future and see what is in store for EOU.”

— Chad Mueller, visiting assistant professor of business who leads the Agriculture Entrepreneurship Program at EOU

“I am excited for her and everybody. She is personable and communicates well.”

— Amanda Villagomez, associate professor of education

“I think she will be a breath of fresh air and help keep moving EOU forward.”

— Jill Gibian, professor of Spanish and Latin American studies

“I’m looking forward to seeing what she can do at Eastern. It is an exciting time.”

— Steve Sheehy, assistant professor of computer science