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Eastern Kentucky University

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Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University Seal
MottoWhere Students and Learning Come First
TypePublic
Established1874
Endowment$43 million
PresidentJoanne Glasser
Undergraduates16,000
Postgraduates2,346
Location
Richmond
,
KY
,
USA
Campussemi-urban
Athletics15 varsity teams, called "Colonels" and "Lady Colonels"
ColorsMaroon █ and White █
AffiliationsOhio Valley Conference
Eastern Kentucky University"The Colonel"
File:Main1874.jpg
University Building

Eastern Kentucky University, commonly referred to as Eastern or by the acronym EKU by local residents, is an undergraduate and graduate teaching and research institution located in Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.A.. EKU is known for nationally prominent programs in criminal justice, education, environmental health, forensic science, the geosciences and homeland security . In addition, EKU offers doctoral programs in the fields of education, geology, and rehabilitation sciences, jointly with University of Kentucky. Currently, Joanne K. Glasser Esq. presides as university president. EKU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) with extension campus locations in Corbin, Danville, and Manchester.

History

File:EKUunivbuilding.jpg
University Building

Eastern was founded in 1874 as Central University. In 1906, the Kentucky State Legislature established the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School as a teacher's college. In 1922 it became a four-year institution and changed its name to the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College, awarding its first degrees under that name in 1925. Today the undergraduate division remains the largest unit within the university. The school received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1928; then, two years later, in 1930, it changed its name again to the Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College. Eastern added graduate studies in 1935, and thirteen years later, in 1948, the General Assembly removed the word Teachers from the school's name, and granted it the right to grant nonprofessional degrees. It was not until 1966 that the school was officially renamed Eastern Kentucky University.

In 1987 EKU received attention when it was ranked 30th in Playboy's list of "America's Top Party Schools." However, it was not included in the 2002 list, which was the last time the company published the list. [1]

Campus media

  • EKU's campus newspaper is known as the ''Eastern Progress'. The paper was founded in 1922, after two previous campus newspapers had quit publication. The Progress is published on essentially a weekly schedule during the school year, excluding major holiday breaks, for a total of about thirty issues per academic year.
  • EKU's radio station, WEKU broadcasts classical music and NPR news to much of central and southeastern Kentucky.
File:EKUarial.jpg
Aerial View of Central Campus

Athletics

Referred to as the "Maroons" until the mid-1960s, Eastern's sports teams are known as the "Colonels." They compete in the NCAA's Division I in the Ohio Valley Conference. In football, they are classified as Division I-AA.

The school has traditionally had much success on the football field, having won 16 OVC conference titles and two Division I-AA National Championships in 1979 and 1982. Much of the success came during the long tenure of head coach Roy Kidd from 1964 to 2002. In 1989, Eastern honored Kidd by naming the school's football stadium Roy Kidd Stadium.

In 2005, Eastern's men's and women's basketball teams won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championships, earning the men their first bid to the NCAA basketball tournament since 1979. The basketball teams play their home games in McBrayer Arena within Alumni Coliseum, an arena with a vaulted roof and wooden ceiling that uses the Catalan vault as its structural system. The arena was inaugurated in 1962 by then-Vice-President of the United States and future President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

File:EKUNCAA.jpg
OVC Championship, 2005

They again won the Ohio Valley Conference in 2007. They defeated Austin Peay 63-62 in a thrilling last second layup with less than 2 seconds remaining.[1]

Greek Life

Sororities

National Panhellenic Conference:

National Pan-Hellenic Council:

Fraternities

North-American Interfraternity Conference:

National Pan-Hellenic Council:

Presidents of Eastern Kentucky University

  • Ruric Nevel Roark 1906-1909
  • Mary C. Roark 1909-1910
  • John Grant Crabbe 1910-1916
  • Thomas Jackson Coates 1916-1928
  • Dr. Herman Lee Donovan 1928-1941
  • Dr. William Francis O'Donnell 1941-1960
  • Dr. Rober R. Martin 1960-1976
  • Dr. J.C. Powell 1976-1984
  • Dr. Hanly Funderburk 1984-1998
  • Dr. Robert W. Kustra 1998-2001
  • Joanne K. Glasser 2001-Present

Notable alumni


Notable Athletic Alumni

  1. ^ [2] - Playboy's Party Schools. Accessed August 11, 2006.
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