# Eastern Illinois University

Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a comprehensive university with a broad curriculum, including bachelor's and master's degrees in education, business, arts, sciences, and humanities.

## History

Eastern Illinois Normal School was established by the Illinois State Legislature in 1895 "to train teachers for the schools of East Central Illinois." A 40-acre campus was acquired in Charleston and the first building was commissioned. When the school began classes in 1899, there were 125 students and an 18-member faculty.
The first building was finished in 1899 and is called Old Main, though it is formally named the Livingston C. Lord Administration Building in honor of EIU's first president, who served from 1899 to 1933. Built of Indiana limestone in a heavy Gothic revival style with turrets, towers, and battlements, its distinctive outline is the official symbol of the school. Old Main is one of "Altgeld's castles", five buildings built in the 1890s at the major Illinois state colleges. Governor John Peter Altgeld was instrumental in funding the Illinois university system, and he was especially fond of the Gothic style. Eastern's "Old Main" and Illinois State University's Cook Hall are the only schools where the "castle" is not named after Altgeld. Other original Gothic Revival buildings include Booth Library and Blair Hall. Blair Hall was restored after a disastrous fire in 2004. In fall 2008, the university opened the newly constructed Doudna Fine Arts Center, designed by international architect Antoine Predock. The 138,000-square-foot (12,800 m$^2$) complex houses the music, theatre, and visual arts departments.
Through the twentieth century, the school changed its name several times in order to reflect its transition from a teachers college into a multi-purpose institution that could be of wider service to Illinois. Thus, Eastern Illinois State Normal School became Eastern Illinois State Teachers College in 1921, which then became Eastern Illinois State College in 1947. In 1957, the Illinois General Assembly changed the name of the institution to Eastern Illinois University.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the university celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2020.

### Presidents

* Samuel M. Inglis (appointed in 1898 but died before officially assuming office)
* Livingston C. Lord (1899 to 1933)
* Robert G. Buzzard (1933 to 1956)
* Quincy Doudna (1956 to 1971)
* Gilbert C. Fite (1971 to 1976)
* Daniel E. Marvin (1977 to 1983)
* Stanley G. Rives (1983 to 1992)
* David L. Jorns (1992 to 1999)
* Carol D. Surles (1999 to 2001)
* Louis V. Hencken (2001 to 2007)
* William L. Perry (2007 to 2015)
* David M. Glassman (2017 to 2023)
* Jay Gatrell (2023 to present)

## Academics

Eastern Illinois University has roughly 8,500 students. As of 2024, tuition is approximately $10,150 for all domestic undergraduates, while it is $12,688 for international undergraduates. Additional fees amount to $3,506.68. The university estimates its average cost-of-attendance to be approximately $24,640 per academic year. The university has an endowment of approximately $108 million. The president of the university since 2023 is Jay Gatrell.
Eastern Illinois University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation. Eastern Illinois also offers 51 undergraduate degree programs; 32 graduate degree programs; and 10 post-baccalaureate certificate programs.
Eastern is divided into four colleges:
* College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
* Lumpkin College of Business & Technology
* College of Education
* College of Health & Human Services
Other academic divisions include the Graduate School, Sandra & Jack Pine Honors College, and the School of Extended Learning. The Graduate School was founded in 1951 and has an enrollment of approximately 1,800 full and part-time students with more than 300 faculty holding graduate faculty status. The university also includes the Center for Academic Support and Achievement, the Office of Inclusion and Academic Engagement, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, and the Office of Study Abroad. The university's Booth Library hosts yearly exhibits, the Ballenger Teachers Center, and numerous digital collections. The main university art museum, the Tarble Arts Center, maintains a 1,000-piece permanent collection, including a 500-piece collection of late 20th-century Illinois folk arts and related archival information. A majority of the holdings are concentrated on art from the state of Illinois and the Midwest region.

### Reputation and rankings

In the 2025 U.S. News & World Report college rankings, Eastern Illinois University was ranked 54th out of 165 regional universities in the Midwest.

## Student life

Eastern Illinois University offers over 170 student organizations, ranging from religious, multicultural, service, academic, Greek, honorary, governing, social, athletic and political organizations.

### Alma mater

The "EIU Alma Mater" song was composed by Friederich Koch during his tenure as a music teacher at Eastern. The lyrics were composed as a poem titled "For Us Arose Thy Walls and Towers" by Isabel McKinney, a professor of English at Eastern from 1911 to 1945. These lyrics were originally set to the German folk tune Die Wacht am Rhein (The Watch on the Rhine), but were changed around the time of World War I due to anti-German sentiments at the time.

### Media

The student newspaper is The Daily Eastern News, founded in 1915; EIU is said to be one of the smallest universities in the country to have a daily newspaper.
The university's student-run radio station is Hit-Mix 88.9 WEIU.
WEIU-TV is a PBS station on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. The student-run news program is News Watch.

### Residential life

There are eleven on-campus residence halls.
Ruth Carman Hall was a former residence. It was named after Ruth Carman, an EIU alumna.
Carman Hall opened on September 4, 1970, but wasn't officially completed until November 14, 1971. Initially, the housing office was unable to fill the upper two floors of the building, but by 1977 the entire building was in use. From August 2011, only eight floors were occupied due to reduced enrollment. Carman Hall was closed after May 30, 2013, to allow for an assessment of the condition of the building and for future renovation. In 2014, the university stated that it would remain closed as a cost-saving measure due to low enrollment.
Since closure, the building has been used for training purposes by EIU's Reserve Officers' Training Corps as well as high-rise rescue training by various area fire departments.
Eastern Illinois University features two residence hall dining centers (Taylor and Stevenson), the University Food Court with six fast food locations, Java Beanery & Bakery (Java B & B), Chick-fil-A, Charleston Market, Panther Grille, Ace Sushi, Qdoba, and two Marketplace Convenience Centers. They also operate a restaurant-style option (Reservation-Only Dining) on Thursdays and Fridays .

## Athletics

Eastern Illinois University's colors are blue and grey; the sports teams' mascot is the Panther. The teams participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA FCS for football) in the Ohio Valley Conference. Eastern Illinois University was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1912 to 1970.
The football team is coached by Chris Wilkerson and competes at home in O’Brien Field.
Current National Football League head coach, Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos, is an alumnus of Eastern Illinois. Brad Childress, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2006 to 2010, is also a graduate, preceding Sean Payton at Eastern Illinois. Additionally, Tony Romo, the former starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, and Jimmy Garoppolo, starting quarterback of the Las Vegas Raiders, are alumni of the university.
Eastern Illinois is also the host of the IHSA Boys and Girls State Track and Field Finals, which have been held at O'Brien Field since the 1970s. They also host the IHSA Girls State Badminton Finals and previously hosted the State Journalism Finals.