EWU’s Board of Trustees named Dr. Mary Cullinan, former Southern Oregon University president, as the first female president of Eastern .

During a meet and greet on June 26, Cullinan gave a short statement in the Walt and Myrtle Powers Reading Room. She said she was thrilled to see a large turnout. Instructors from math to philosophy, from the biology to English departments attended, waiting patiently to meet the 26th president of EWU.

Cullinan has worked in higher education for 34 years, according to an Eastern press release. This includes serving as provost and vice-president of academic affairs at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. She also served as the dean of arts, letters and sciences and was a professor of English at California State University Stanislaus in Turlock, California.

Not only was she a top candidate for Eastern’s presidential search, but she was also a top candidate in Youngstown State University’s search.

During her candidacy for Youngstown, out of those who cast ballots, 63 percent of SOU’s faculty at a March 6 senate meeting voted no confidence in Cullinan according to a local report from WKBN in Youngstown, Ohio.

The vote was decided upon at a Feb. 10 meeting after multiple members of the faculty, according to the Mail Tribune in Medford, thought the administration was mishandling the difficult financial situation at Southern Oregon.

The university adopted a retrenchment plan, cutting 12 full-time and 15 term-by-term positions, to make up the lack of state financial support according to KDRV-TV in Medford.

Two other members of Cullinan’s administration also received no-confidence votes. Teresa Ristow of the Mail Tribune reported that 76 percent voted no confidence for Vice President of Finance and Administration Craig Morris and 71 percent voted no confidence for Provost Jim Klein. SOU’s senate by-laws require recommending termination of their jobs due to the high percentages.

KDRV interviewed Cullinan, where she said the vote resulted in no confidence because of stress on campus due to budgeting challenges.

At the meet and greet, Cullinan said that she had strong and wonderful relationships with the staff at SOU, but during the 2013-2014 school year there was a “misalignment of the stars;” everything seemed to go wrong and the year itself was an oddity.

The board of trustees knew about the no-confidence vote, but Paul Tanaka, chair of the board, said they took into account her side of the story.

“We looked at the vote in context … she explained what happened,” Tanaka said.

He said her other skills and the fact she has a long history in higher education outweighed the no-confidence vote.

“What really impressed the board was her personality … [we] felt that’s what we needed,” said Tanaka.

Cullinan said in her application to Youngstown that private philanthropy is an integral part to receiving funds for higher education. Upon arriving to Southern Oregon University she immediately worked to strengthen fundraising.

Like Eastern Washington, Southern Oregon opened up a new residence hall on campus. Cullinan said she championed the project through fundraising with private and public ventures and more construction is on the way for the university.

She said she wants to do the same for EWU, pulling together funds, while using the skills she acquired working 8 years with legislature. While she said she was successful in Oregon, she knows Washington is different and has a lot to learn.

Ultimately, it comes down to the students.

As Dr. Rodolfo Arévalo exits into retirement, he said that students need to keep asking their president to be accessible to their needs and concerns. He said he appreciates the requirement that the president must live on campus because it allowed him time with the community. It gave him time to learn what students need.

Arévalo said he would try going to any of the events happening on campus or to the PUB for lunch, “so I can have at least a conversation with a student.”

He said he wants Cullinan to continue that kind of service.

Cullinan’s term starts on Aug. 1.