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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 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.

The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and its teacher education programs are accredited 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.

Lincoln Hall is an all female residence hall neighboring its partner building Powell-Norton Hall, formerly Dougals, as well as Stevenson Hall. It was completed in the year 1952 and was originally intended to be a men's living space until it turned into the female residence hall as it is seen today. The hall contains laundry facilities, a common dining room, a recreation room, as well as several kitchenettes to allow students to make their own food. Major reconstruction was undergone in the year 2010 to help make the bathrooms more private and more accessible. The project added more bathrooms and eliminated six rooms for residency.

The residence hall was named after the debates that Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas held in Charleston, Illinois in 1858. Lincoln hall took the name of Abraham Lincoln while its sister building took the name of Stephen Douglas. The hall was a part of the movement to change the name of the halls back in 2022 to something more commemorative but was able to keep its Lincoln name. Douglas Hall would turn into Powell-Norton Hall.

Powell-Norton Hall had begun its construction in the early months of the year 1951 with it being finished and opened on September 8, 1952. It was and continues to be a residence hall for men only. The building has dedicated areas for dining, recreation, as well as kitchenettes and areas to do laundry. For each of the floors, there is a common floor lounge where students could mingle and have gatherings. In the year 2009, the bathrooms, which had been built for a community using format, were replaced with a different style of bathroom including pods for some form of privacy among students.

The Powell-Norton Residence Hall was originally named Douglas Hall after former Senator Stephen Douglas who had partaken in the debates in Charleston Illinois with, as of 1858, soon to be president-elect Abraham Lincoln. The name was changed to Powell-Norton in April of the year 2022 to commemorate Zella Powell and Ona Norton. Zella Powell was a student at Eastern Illinois University and was one of the first black graduate students from the university in the year 1910. Ona Norton was known for her actions to take care of colored students who attended the university and gave them housing when they could not get it themselves.

Stevenson Hall was constructed in the year 1968 and was an all male residence hall until the year 1973 when it was adopted to have three floors of coed living. As years went on, the hall would entirely be coed. It offers a 10th floor study area for students, as well as a kitchenette area. Students wishing to live here need to meet the requirement of being the age of 21 or older or meet post high school credit hours of 30 hours.

The hall formerly known as Stevenson Memorial Tower is the tallest point in Cole's County and is dedicated to Adlai E. Stevenson II. He served as the ambassador to the United Nations during the years of 1961 through 1965. Stevenson is also the former governor of the state of Illinois from 1949 to 1953 and had run for the president of the United States of America twice. He did this in the years of 1952 and 1956. Stevenson would pass away in 1965.

Weller Hall was opened in 1960 to originally house underclassman students. Named after Annie Weller,
a former geography professor, Weller Hall could house up 150 students but now houses up to 65. Located at the center of campus, this hall is one of three halls that make up the Triad. Weller has four residential floors in two wings and is considered Co-Ed. As of the 2024–2025 academic year, Weller Hall has been put on “pause” by the university under Plan 2028.

McKinney Hall was originally opened in 1959 for temporary housing but later became a permanent residence hall that housed up to 150 upper-classman women. The Hall was named after Isabel McKinney
who not only taught English at the university but also wrote the Universities Alma Mater. McKinney Hall, located at the center of campus, is one of three halls that make up the Triad. It has four residential floors in two wings. Three floors in McKinney are Co-Ed with single-gender rooms. The fourth floor is home to the Gender Inclusive Housing - Doug DiBianco Living Learning Community. McKinney Hall was also renovated in 2009 to replace the community style bathrooms with pod-style bathrooms.

Ford Hall was also originally opened in 1959 as temporary housing but later became a permanent hall. Named after Ellen Ford,
who taught Latin and German, Ford Hall now houses up to 80 residents. Ford Hall is Co-Ed and has four residential floors in two wings. Located at the center of campus, Ford is one of three halls that make up the Triad. Ford was renovated in 2010 to replace the community style bathrooms with pod-style bathrooms.

Pemberton Hall was opened in 1908 being the first all female residence hall in Illinois and is now considered a historical landmark. The hall was named after Senator Stanton C. Pemberton
who helped get funding for the building approved. Pemberton has four residential floors and can hold up to 120 residents. The hall is still an all female hall and also is home to the Roosevelt Leadership Institute Living Learning Community. Pemberton was renovated in 2008 in celebration of its 100-year anniversary. Renovations included new flooring, paint, and woodwork.

Thomas Hall was opened to male students in 1963 with a capacity of 488 beds. This building had two residential wings, with four floors on both sides. In addition to offices, Thomas's main floor had a front desk, a communal lounge, and dining facilities. It cost $2.4 million to build Thomas Hall. As of the 2024–2025 academic year, Thomas's main dining hall is not in use. Of the four halls in the South Quad, Thomas Hall was the first to be constructed with money raised from the sale of revenue bonds.
Because of the physical construction, Thomas became a hot topic of discussion once it was completed. In addition to complaints for false fire alarms due to water seeping into the alarm system, there were several complaints regarding improperly constructed buildings, such as bulletin boards in residential rooms ungluing to the walls. Although it was back then, their now-coed residents have large lounges where they may watch TV and have conversations with one another.

Andrews Hall, opened in 1965, was the first high-rise building to be built on Eastern Illinois University for $2.5 million. This hall consists of nine floors, with the intent to house 485 women, and was the second phase of the bond revenue project. Andrews has eight residential floors that can hold about 60 women. The basement holds space for large gatherings for socializing and programming.

In 2000, the hall underwent remodeling with the idea of making larger rooms called “Deluxe Doubles”, these rooms were two rooms conjoined by a door. This was a short-lived offer, with it being restored to its former look-after popularity for the rooms lowered. The Deluxe Doubles ended up coming back in 2011, being made available to interested students in Thomas and Andrews Halls.

Lawson Hall was officially opened in 1967 as an additional all-female housing option. The housing hall was built with the intent of mirroring Andrew's hall period in 1988. It is the second high-rise built on campus and the final building to be built for the South Quad. Director of Housing Lou Hencken put into place a system that would promote security measures in Lawson, as well as Andrews and Carmen Hall on August 25. The Daily Eastern News revealed that residents would now have a key to use for the elevators with this being set in place this helped prevent unescorted persons from having access to the floors period this is still in place today as of 2025.

For three years in 2002, Lawson served as the home of the Fine Arts Department while the Doudna Fine Arts Center was being built. The living areas on the second and third floors were inhabited by the department. Today, the second floor has undergone renovations and is utilized for conference services in addition to providing room for visitors to stay.

Following the completion of the $3.2 million project, Taylor Hall was opened to male students in September 1966. This hall consists of five residential levels, two wings (North and South), a communal main lobby, and a front desk., Taylor is a coed residential area, with males and females living on alternating floors. Although Taylor was designed to mirror Thomas Hall, the top floor and a half-underground floor were added to make the buildings look even since Taylor would have appeared smaller than Thomas due to the decline in terrain.

There was much opposition to the male transfer from Lincoln and Powell-Norton (originally Douglass Hall) halls to Taylor Hall. It was challenging for them to come together during this shift since they had different backgrounds in their former buildings. Ultimately, a north and south council was established, offering residents various programs. Four graduate assistants and two full-time directors were in charge of Taylor Hall and acted as consultants to the various hall councils.

In 1972, Taylor Hall became one of the two halls to become co-educational, allowing females to live on alternating floors. Taylor would be the second resident hall after Thomas to vote in favor of a 24-hour visiting policy for both male and female floors, according to a September 2, 1976, article in the Daily Eastern News. It was postponed as a result of this change, which increased the number of visitors who were unescorted throughout the summer months.

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.

Notable alumni

References

External links

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EIU Athletics website

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State universities in Illinois
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Education in Coles County, Illinois
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