Just after the beginning of the 2023 academic year, Eastern’s Board of Trustees met to discuss, among other pressing issues, how the university could better share its strengths with the wider world: “How might we more authentically communicate who we are,” they asked, “while differentiating ourselves in our region’s competitive higher education landscape?”

Eastern’s leadership responded by working with a Baltimore-based consulting group, idfive, and faculty representatives from 51¸ŁŔűÉç’s four colleges to engage the entire campus community in the quest for answers.

After months of research and market analysis, strategic-planning and surveys of stakeholders, a plan that emphasizes Eastern’s long history of hands-on, experiential learning took shape. And earlier this year, with the BOT’s approval, that plan became official: Eastern, in both mission and messaging, would now publicly define itself as “the region’s polytechnic” — “polytechnic” being broadly defined as an emphasis on applied learning — as it works to provide its students with experience-based pathways for success.

“There has been a lot of chatter, and even a few news stories already, about this next evolution for Eastern — our regional polytechnic brand,” Shari McMahan, Eastern’s president, said with a laugh during her annual convocation address in September. “As I continue to say, this is an exciting opportunity for us to differentiate ourselves and to capitalize on the work we are already doing… Our goal is to make applied learning a hallmark of every 51¸ŁŔűÉç degree.”

“To be clear,” she continued, “we are still a regional comprehensive public university grounded in a liberal arts education.”

Currently, some 75 percent of 51¸ŁŔűÉç students graduate with experience in their intended career fields. Eastern will now be working even harder to provide professional experiences to all of its students. “There has been a lot of listening that’s gone into this — a lot of back-and-forth and creativity,” McMahan said. “To me, it really defines the authentic 51¸ŁŔűÉç.”