Eastern Washington University
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| Motto | It's a great day to be an Eagle |
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| Established | 1882 |
| Type | Public |
| President | Dr. Rodolfo Arévalo |
| Undergraduates | 8,309 |
| Postgraduates | 923 |
| Location | Cheney, Washington, USA |
| Campus | 300+ acres (1,355,696 m²) |
| Athletics | 11 varsity teams |
| Colors | Red and White |
| Website | http://www.ewu.edu/ |
Eastern Washington University is a comprehensive state university located in Cheney and Spokane, Washington. As of fall quarter 2006, it had an enrollment of 10,005.
It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of arts in business, bachelor of arts in education, bachelor of fine arts, bachelor of music, bachelor of science, bachelor of arts of urban and regional planning, master of arts, master of business administration, bachelor of education, master of fine arts, master of nursing, doctor of physical therapy, master of public administration, master of science, master of social work, and master of urban and regional planning.
Newsweek magazine has named Eastern as a “Best Value for the Tuition Dollar” school. In addition, Eastern ranks among the top ten public masters degree granting universities in the Western United States. 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.[1]
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[edit] History
EWU was established in 1882 by a $10,000 grant from industrialist Benjamin Pierce Cheney, and originally known as Benjamin P. Cheney Academy to honor its founder. In 1889 the school was renamed to State Normal School and once again in 1937 to Eastern Washington College of Education. The campus grew quickly in size following World War II and in 1961, the school went through another name change, this time becoming Eastern Washington State College. Around that time period, 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 state Legislature. In 2004 the university added the Doctor of Physical Therapy as the highest degree offered by EWU. Eastern Washington University is host to a highly respected ROTC program as well and is one of the few colleges in the country to offer Military Science (the academic term for ROTC) as a major.
[edit] Athletics
Eastern's sports mascot is the Eagle, named "Swoop," and its colors are red and white. The former mascot of the school was the "Savages", which was dropped in 1973 when the student body voted to change to the Eagles. EWU athletic teams participate in the Big Sky Conference at the NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) level. The club hockey team participates in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, Division II, Western Region. The club baseball team is in its 14th year of participation in the National Collegiate Baseball Association, Western Mountain Conference West. The Division I baseball program was dropped in 1992.
The EWU football team plays at Woodward Field, recently expanded and renovated in 2005 to seat 8,600 with a grass turf. The field was named after one of the university's first head coaches. The Eagles basketball and volleyball teams also compete on nearby Reese Court in the Special Events Pavilion, with a compacity of 6,000. The university's most prominent sports have traditionally been its football and men's basketball teams with the women's volleyball team having some good years, finishing the season in the Division 1 top 25 in 2003 (oddly, because they lost the Big Sky Championship game, they were the only top 25 team excuded from the tournament). Originally an NAIA school until joining the Big Sky Conference, the Eagles gained major prominence in the NAIA and Division II winning National and Regional championships, including a National championship in Wrestling (the sport was dropped in the 80's).
The Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League have held the majority of their summer training camps at EWU, 1976-1985 and since 1997, from late July to mid August.
[edit] National championships
- 1977-Wrestling (NAIA)
- 1982-Men's Cross Country (NCAA Division II)
[edit] Famous faculty & alumni
- Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Native American activist and writer.
- Todd McFarlane, creator of the Spawn comic book series and current co-owner of the NHL's Edmonton Oilers.
- Thomas Hampson, Grammy-nominated opera singer.
- Launi Meili, gold medalist in women’s three-position smallbore rifle shooting at the 1992 Olympic Games.
- Michael Roos, starting offensive tackle for the NFL's Tennessee Titans.
[edit] Common nicknames
- EWU
- E-Woo
- Eastern
- E-Dub
- Eags
- Eagles
[edit] External links
| Big Sky Conference |
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| Eastern Washington • Idaho State • Montana • Montana State • Northern Arizona • Northern Colorado • Portland State • Sacramento State • Weber State |
