Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a regional, comprehensive public university located in Cheney, Washington, with programs offered at campuses in Cheney, EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and at multiple campus locations throughout the state.
Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided into four colleges: Arts, Letters & Education; Business & Public Administration; Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics; and Social Science & Behavioral Sciences and Social Work. A fifth college, Health Science & Public Health, is set to open in the fall of 2014 and will be based at EWU Spokane on the Riverpoint Campus.
As of fall 2014, Eastern Washington University enrolled over 13,000 graduate and undergraduate students at both its Cheney and Spokane campuses.
History
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Eastern Washington University was established in 1882 by a $10,000 grant from expressman Benjamin Pierce Cheney, and was originally known as Benjamin P. Cheney Academy to honor its founder. In 1889 the school was renamed State Normal School at Cheney and in 1937 to Eastern Washington College of Education. The campus was almost totally destroyed twice by fire in 1891 and 1912, but was rebuilt each time, and grew quickly in size following World War II. The school became Eastern Washington State College. During this era, Eastern added various graduate and undergraduate degree programs. In 1977, the school's name was changed for the final time to Eastern Washington University by the Washington State Legislature.
In 1992, the core of the campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Washington State Normal School at Cheney Historic District.
Campus locations
The main campus of Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney. A branch campus, known as the Riverpoint Campus is located in nearby Spokane and is shared with Washington State University.
EWU also offers degree programs in Bellevue, Everett, Seattle, Shoreline, Tacoma and Vancouver (Washington)
Academics
Overview
EWU offers more than 100 fields of study, 10 master's degrees, seven graduate certificates, 55 graduate programs of study and an applied doctoral program of physical therapy. A master's in social work is offered in Everett and Vancouver, and a master's in education is available in Kent. A creative writing Master of Fine Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies, Child & Family Outreach Program, Communication Studies, Social Work Program (part-time Master's), Journalism, Alcohol & Drug Studies, and Counseling Education & Developmental Psychology programs are offered in Spokane.
Admissions
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classifies the university as Inclusive, since the university admitted eighty-two percent of those who applied to be freshmen in 2010. The average incoming freshman had a combined SAT score of 970 and a high-school weighted grade-point average (GPA) of 3.17 in 2010. 86% of freshmen in 2010 were from Washington.
Rankings
- Consumers Digest has ranked Eastern as a national Top 50 Best Value school. Eastern has also made three consecutive appearances in 201 Best Colleges For the Real World.
Research institutes & centers
Eastern Washington University is home to a number of unique research institutes and centers, not limited to but including the following:
- Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysisâ€"created in 2002 to "provide data and analysis about a variety of factors in the region that will be useful for businesses, communities and others as they plan for the future." Headed by Patrick Jones, Ph.D.
- Women's & Gender Studies Centerâ€"Women's Studies programs at EWU empower women to achieve dignity and justice through education, scholarship, and social change.
- Eisenhower Center/International Field Studyâ€"A program designed for students to travel abroad while earning college credit.
- English Language Instituteâ€"ELI is committed to enabling qualified international students who have chosen to come to this program to integrate into the mainstream of higher education.
- Center for Farm Health & Safetyâ€"Conducts research and demonstration programs involving Health and Safety of Farm-based population groups.
- Fisheries Research Centerâ€" Performs a great variety of salmonid restoration studies including but not limited to: diet studies, population modeling, telemetry, bone regressions, bioenergetic modeling, water quality assessment, ecosystem modeling, surgical implantation of radio, acoustic and ultrasonic tags, and tributary sampling. Many reports written by the FRC can be found on the Bonneville Power Administration Website for reports: http://www.cbfish.org/Report.mvc/SearchPublications/SearchByTextAndAuthorAndDate.
Student life
Pence Union Building (PUB)
The Pence Union Building, or PUB, has served as the community center for Eastern Washington University.
In the past: Its mission was to provide the student-centered facilities and services required by the University Community. The PUB consistsed of three floors that house among other things the campus bookstore, student government offices (Associated Students of Eastern Washington University, or ASEWU), Baldy's dining facility, office of student life, numerous conference rooms and the Multipurpose Room (MPR), which is used for large-scale presentations and campus events.
Now, the PUB is undergoing a $40M renovation. The renovation will use the footprint of the original building and will address areas of greatest need for students. As of March, 2017, it is in the process of being deconstructed to its skeleton to be built back up. Aspects of the PUB have moved to various other areas on campus; Eagle Express Market and elements of Baldy's have moved to Tawanka Hall, ASEWU is now located in Sutton Hall, Student Life is in Sutton Hall. The PUB Computer Lab was split into two areas of concentration in JFK Library and Patterson Hall.
University Recreation Center (URC)
The University Recreation Center, or URC, is a Three-Level 117,699-square-foot (10,934.6Â m2) Recreational Facility that was opened on campus in 2008. The state-of-the-art facility boasts a 19,455-square-foot (1,807.4Â m2) multi-purpose arena that can operate as an ice rink and general purpose sports floor, 30-foot (9.1Â m) Indoor Climbing Wall with 11 routes (1 simulated Ice Climbing) & 2 bouldering walls, Indoor Parking Garage (40 Metered Spaces), 17,000-square-foot (1,600Â m2) fitness Center & gymnasium, campus dining facility known as "The Roost" and a 2-Lane 200 Meter Running Track.
The cost to build the URC was $26.3 million, an amount which was jointly funded by the University and by students through a $65 per quarter activity fee. $28.6 million in revenue bonds were issued by the University in order to build the facility and pay the costs of issuance. The University funds the center's annual operating costs as part of its general operating budget.
The URC has been awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification for its environmentally friendly construction.
Campus housing
Eastern Washington University has eight residence halls, each with its own personality.
Brewster Hall, built in 2002, houses students 19 years of age and older. Brewster is located squarely in downtown Cheney offering students increased accessibility to community resources and businesses. Located on the main floor of Brewster Hall is Brickhouse Deli, a specialty sandwich shop run by the university.
Dressler Hall was built in 1966. It is conveniently located behind the Pence Union Building (PUB) and is the closest hall to the Phase and Athletic Center. The majority of residents are freshmen. Dressler's most popular residential program is an annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Dryden Hall was built in 1965 and is located one block from the Pence Union Building. This hall caters to a more mature population of residents 21 and over.
Louise Anderson Hall, also known as LA Hall is centrally located directly across from the Pence Union Building (PUB) along Elm Street. The building was recently remodeled in 1999 and features a plethora of amenities found no where else on campus.
Morrison Hall, Built in 1970, is located about one block from the center of campus.
The singular circular tower Pearce Hall was built in 1964, and is the largest residence hall on campus. Pearce Hall is a community which is composed primarily of first-year students.
snyamncut, EWU's newest residence hall, snyamncut (pronounced: sin-yam-en-suit), is the Salish word for place of gathering, with the connotation of it being a special place of emotional attachment-a place of the heart. It was a special meeting place for the Spokane Tribe, an area that was mainly used for rest, relaxation and decision-making.
Streeter Hall, opened in 1968, is located on the north side of campus, near three other residence halls and approximately one block from the Pence Union Building.
Eastern Washington University also has apartments for students with families, single graduate students, and single students older than 25. The three apartment complexes are Anna Maria, Holter House, and the Family Townhouses.
The Easterner
The Easterner is the student newspaper of Eastern Washington University. The Easterner provides the latest campus news, sports and opinions to students, faculty, alumni and the surrounding community. All content in The Easterner is either produced or chosen by students from the university. The Easterner is distributed in print form during the fall, winter and spring quarters on a weekly basis throughout the Cheney campus, Cheney business district, and the Riverpoint Campus. The Easterner maintains an independent website and Facebook page from the University. The first student newspaper, "The State Normal School Journal", was published on October 10, 1916. The weekly publication changed its name to "The Easterner" in 1951.
Willow Springs
Northwest Boulevard is the literary journal of Eastern Washington University. It was founded on September 22, 1993.
Student organizations & Greek life
The Office of Student Activities oversees more than 100 student clubs and organizations on campus that cater to a wide variety of interests and activities.
- EWU Eagle Pride.
- Scary Feminists / VOX (Voices for Planned Parenthood).
- Active Minds.
- MEChA
- La Hermandad de OeMeTe
EWU is the only regional university in Washington that has an active Greek system on campus. As of the 2015â€"2016 school year, there are five IFC Fraternities, four NPC Sororities, five NPHC Chapters and eight NALFO Chapters that are currently active.
The five IFC Fraternities are Beta Theta Pi, Pi Lambda Phi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Kappa Sigma and Phi Delta Theta. The four NPC Sororities are Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Alpha Xi Delta, and Gamma Phi Beta.
The eight NALFO Organizations are Lambda Theta Alpha, Kappa Delta Chi, Gamma Alpha Omega, Sigma Lambda Gamma, Alpha Pi Sigma, Sigma Lambda Beta, Lambda Theta Phi, and Omega Delta Phi.
The five NPHC Organizations are Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Phi Alpha, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, and Iota Phi Theta
Athletics
Eastern Washington University offers club, intramural, and varsity sports. Its twelve varsity men's and women's sports teams compete in the Big Sky Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as the Eastern Washington Eagles. The most-prominent athletics facilities on campus are Roos Field, Reese Court and the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse. EWU has three national championships, including football (2011 â€" NCAA Div. I FCS), wrestling (1977 â€" NAIA) and men's cross country (1982 â€" NCAA Div. II).
The Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League held the majority of their summer training camps at EWU, from 1976 to 1985 and again from 1997 to 2006, from late July to mid August.
Notable alumni
- Tom Ackerman, former NFL center
- Ernie Afaganis, Canadian sportscaster, particularly for CBC Television
- Lamont Brightful, former NFL cornerback
- Demitrius Bronson, NFL running back for the Seattle Seahawks
- Jesse Chatman, running back for the New York Jets of the National Football League.
- Dave Christensen, offensive coordinator at the University of Utah.
- Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Native American activist and writer.
- Colin Cowherd, host of The Herd with Colin Cowherd on FS1 and I Heart radio
- Chris Crutcher, author of young adult novels
- Dan Curley, former NFL tight end and fullback
- Terry Davis, author
- Thomas Hampson, Grammy-nominated opera singer
- Taiwan Jones, NFL running back for the Oakland Raiders
- Brandon Kaufman, NFL wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills
- Edward Kienholz, American installation artist
- Cooper Kupp, NFL wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams
- Bashir Levingston, former CFL All-Star
- Jim McElwain, former head football coach at the University of Florida
- Todd McFarlane, creator of the Spawn comic book series and co-owner of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers.
- Launi Meili, gold medalist in women's three-position smallbore rifle shooting at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
- Erik Meyer, quarterback for (Spokane Shock)
- Aaron Olson, Australian NBL player for the New Zealand Breakers
- Jeff Ogden, former NFL wide receiver
- Ryan Phillips, CFL All-Star
- Kenneth Privratsky, Major General U.S. Army, Author
- Margaret Rayburn, educator, member of the Washington House of Representatives
- Michael Roos, former NFL offensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans.
- Kevin Sargent, former NFL offensive tackle
- Kurt Schulz, NFL player
- Ed Simmons, NFL offensive lineman for 11 yrs Washington Redskins.
- Tom Sneva, former race car driver, Indianapolis 500 winner in 1983.
- Rodney Stuckey, NBA player for the Indiana Pacers
- Isaiah Trufant, NFL cornerback for the New York Jets, younger brother of former Seattle Seahawks cornerback, Marcus Trufant.
- Raul Vijil, AFL player for the Spokane Shock
- Gary Volesky, Lieutenant General U.S. Army, Corps Commander
- Jess Walter, #1 New York Times best-selling author
- Lee Watkinson, professional poker player
References
External links
- Official website
- Eastern Washington University Athletics website
