Eastern Oregon University dean's list includes many Baker County students

Baker City students made up a large share of Eastern Oregon University’s winter 2026 dean’s list, with Megan Hurley, Eowyn Smith, Gretchen Morgan, Te’yg’an Coley, Jillian Wilson, Kincaid Rudi, Wyatt Widman, Paul Hobson, Kelby Liebman, Antonio Washington, Allison Hughes, Tristen Tritt and Jordan Smith among the Baker County names earning recognition.

The county’s reach on the honor roll extended well beyond Baker City. Diego Jones-Bedolla of Haines, Wyatt Hawkins and Chase Butner of Halfway, Bailey Nelson, Maggie Stanbro and Tiffany Stevens of Sumpter, Jacey Anderson of North Powder, Ambrosia Aldrich of Oxbow and Rylee Whitney also made the list, showing that the academic pipeline runs through multiple small communities, not just the county seat.

EOU named 617 students to its winter 2026 dean’s list. To qualify, students had to post a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale while completing at least 12 hours of graded coursework, a standard that points to sustained performance across the term rather than a single strong stretch. The university, based in La Grande, says it connects Oregon’s rural regions to a wider world and emphasizes personal attention at its small campus.

That matters in Baker County, where the 2020 Census counted 16,668 residents. A county of that size producing a long list of university honorees suggests more than isolated success stories; it reflects families, schools and students building a repeated path into higher education.

The pattern also is not new. EOU’s winter 2025 dean’s list included more than a dozen Baker County and North Powder students, signaling that this is becoming a consistent local presence on the university’s honor roll. For a rural county, that kind of repetition points to a deeper talent pipeline, with students from Baker County continuing to meet university standards and bring those achievements home.