Eastern Kentucky University
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Eastern Kentucky University |
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| Motto | Where Students and Learning Come First |
| Established | 1874 |
| Type | Public |
| Endowment | $43 million |
| President | Joanne Glasser |
| Undergraduates | 16,000 |
| Postgraduates | 2,346 |
| Location | Richmond, KY, USA |
| Campus | semi-urban |
| Athletics | 15 varsity teams, called "Colonels" and "Lady Colonels" |
| Colors | Maroon █ and White █ |
| Affiliations | Ohio Valley Conference |
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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.
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[edit] History
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]
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
They won the Ohio Valley Conference in 2007. They defeated Austin Peay 63-62 on a last second layup with less than 2 seconds remaining,[1] but lost to the University of North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
[edit] Greek Life
Sororities
National Panhellenic Conference:
- Alpha Gamma Delta (est. 1968)
- Kappa Delta (est. 1968)
- Chi Omega (est. 1969)
- Alpha Delta Pi (est. 1969)
- Kappa Alpha Theta (est. 1972)
- Pi Beta Phi (est. 1976)
- Delta Zeta (est. 1982)
- Alpha Omicron Pi (est. 1987)
- Phi Mu (est. 1973, currently closed)
- Alpha Chi Omega (est. 1990, currently closed)
National Pan-Hellenic Council:
Fraternities
North-American Interfraternity Conference:
- Beta Theta Pi
- Kappa Alpha Order
- Kappa Alpha Psi
- Lambda Chi Alpha
- Phi Beta Sigma
- Phi Delta Theta
- Phi Kappa Tau
- Pi Kappa Alpha
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon
- Sigma Chi
- Sigma Nu
- Sigma Pi
- Tau Kappa Epsilon
- Theta Chi
National Pan-Hellenic Council:
[edit] 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
[edit] Notable alumni
- Eula Bingham - noted occupational health scientist
- Rodger Bingham - "Kentucky Joe" from Survivor: The Australian Outback
- Sam Champion - Weather Editor/Anchor for "Good Morning America" and ABC News; former weather forecaster for WABC-TV
- Tom Colbert - first African-American Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice (M.Ed.)
- Denver Dill - Internationally acclaimed trumpet soloist
- Carl Hurley - Noted humorist and motivational speaker; former EKU professor.
- James Lambert - Chief Justice, Kentucky Supreme Court
- Lee Majors - (attended as Harvey Yeary) Six Million Dollar Man (1962, History/Physical Education)
- Dustan McCoy - Chief Executive Officer of Brunswick Corporation
- Steve Pence - Current Lieutenant Governor and Justice Secretary of Kentucky
- Thaksin Shinawatra - Deposed Prime Minister of Thailand (1975, M.S. in Criminal Justice)
- Homer Ledford - Bluegrass musician and member of the Cabin Creek Band
Notable Athletic Alumni
- Josh Anderson - (Baseball) Top prospect in the Houston Astros farm system
- Yeremiah Bell - (Football) Starting Safety, Miami Dolphins
- Chad Bratzke - (Football) Defensive End, New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts
- Wally Chambers - (Football) Defensive Tackle, Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Winner of the 1973 Defensive NFL Rookie of the Year Award
- Earle Combs - (Baseball) Former New York Yankee teammate of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
- George Floyd - (Football) Defensive Back, New York Jets Member of the College Football Hall of Fame
- Myron Guyton - (Football) Defensive Back, New York Giants and New England Patriots. Starter on Giants Super Bowl XXV champions
- Jackie Humphrey - (Track and Field) Member of the 1988 U.S Olympic Team
- Roy Kidd - (Football/Baseball) Eighth winninest coach in college football history, two time NCAA National Champion (1979 and 1981). Member of the College Football Hall of Fame
- Chris Isaac - (Football) CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in 1982
[edit] External links
- EKU website
- Official EKU athletics site
- The Eastern Progress website
- The WEKU website
- The Sigma Chi Fraternity @ EKU website
- Theta Chi Fraternity @ EKU website
- Sigma Nu Fraternity at EKU website
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