EOU Spring Symposium showcases 140 students, 109 presentations on campus

Eastern Oregon University turned its Spring Symposium into a broad display of student work, with about 140 students presenting 109 projects across disciplines that ranged from biology and chemistry to education, computer science, psychology and rhetoric.

The free event was open to the community and ran Wednesday, May 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the La Grande campus. EOU designed the symposium to give undergraduate and graduate students a chance to present creative activities and accomplished studies in a setting that approximates a professional conference, with posters, panels, talks, performances and open studios spread across campus.

That mix mattered well beyond campus walls. Thirty-four high school students from the Oregon Teacher Pathway also presented, extending the symposium into the K-12 pipeline that feeds future classrooms in rural Oregon. The pathway begins with high school juniors and seniors taking dual-credit courses in introduction to education and culturally responsive practices, plus weekly field experience tutoring elementary students.

The keynote came from Ellie Justice, whose talk linked humanities to natural resources and agricultural studies by using agriculture and natural-resource sciences as a lens for examining literature. Student work was also on display in Loso Lobby, where poster sessions drew visitors, while 45th Parallel performed in McKenzie Theatre and Art Open Studios opened on the east side of the Gilbert Center.

EOU’s music department describes 45th Parallel as a multi-genre ensemble, and another university music page says it is EOU’s jazz and world music ensemble made up of 12 students. The symposium also featured EOU Chamber Choir student conductors leading the choir, adding another layer of performance to an event that blended research, art and applied learning in one place.

Symposium organizer and Associate Professor of Mathematics Steve Tanner said the day had an active buzz, with “well over 100 EOU students” presenting, 34 OTP high school students participating and a “wide array of academic disciplines” represented. Tanner also pointed to one computer science project in particular: a Rubik’s cube-solving robot built with 3D printing technology.

The event has been part of EOU’s calendar for years, with archive materials dating back to at least 2016. EOU said the 2023 symposium involved at least 132 students and also included Oregon Teacher Pathway poster sessions, showing the program has become a recurring campus showcase rather than a one-time display.

For Union County, the symposium offered a close look at how Eastern Oregon University connects classroom work to local workforce needs, teacher recruitment and public-facing scholarship. Founded in 1929 as Eastern Oregon Normal School, the university says it still remains committed to educating teachers, and the presence of its 16-member Board of Trustees underscored that the institution’s academic direction remains tied to public oversight and regional expectations.