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Eastern Kentucky University, with its emphasis on teaching
and learning, has been a college of opportunity for generations
of Kentuckians. More than 70,000 degrees have been awarded
on the Richmond campus, and EKU graduates have distinguished
themselves in virtually every profession. Thousands of other
Kentuckians have been influenced by Eastern, either through
participation in extended campus programs or public service
and research activities conducted by the University's faculty.
The
roots of present-day Eastern go back to the founding in 1874
of Central University. The Central University campus, which
had served from 1901 to 1906 as the grounds for Walters Collegiate
Institute, became the physical plant for the Normal School,
with the establishment of Eastern Kentucky State Normal School
No. 1 in 1906 on the old Central University campus. |
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In 1922, Eastern became a four-year institution and was named
Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College.
The words "Normal School" were dropped in 1930,
and in 1935 Eastern offered its first graduate-level degrees.
The first nonprofessional degrees were offered in 1948, when
the General Assembly removed "Teachers" from Eastern's
name. When a state law renamed the institution Eastern Kentucky
University in 1966, the university was also approved to offer
graduate degrees in fields other than education.
Today,
Eastern is a comprehensive university serving more than 15,000
students through 150 degree programs and program options,
both on the 500-acre Richmond campus and throughout Kentucky.
EKU also is one of Kentucky's largest residential campuses
with more than 4,000 students living in 15 residence halls.
With
its expanded role, Eastern seeks to fulfill higher education's
threefold purpose--teaching, public service and research--and
emphasizes the three in that order. Teacher education and
a liberal arts curriculum have remained high priorities. The
University also offers outstanding programs in areas unknown
in 1906, but critical to meeting specific local, regional,
and national needs in a complex and industrialized future.
Web Link of the University:
http://www.eku.edu
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