Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a
public university
A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...
in
Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its
satellite campus
A satellite campus, branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or country, ...
in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
with
Washington State University
Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
.
Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided into four colleges: the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences; the College of Health Science & Public Health; the College of Professional Programs; and the College of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics.
History
The city of Cheney, then known as Depot Springs, was surveyed in 1880 along the tracks of the
Northern Pacific Railroad
The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
;
[Alternative link, transcribed to HTML]
expressman
Benjamin Pierce Cheney was a member of that railroad's board of directors. Officials renamed the city for Cheney by October 1880,
[ prompting him to donate $10,000 to establish the Benjamin P. Cheney Academy in 1882 on an site at present-day Showalter Hall.][ At the time, the school was a private institution losing pupils to the competing ]public school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...
; after Washington was admitted to the union in 1889, the Enabling Act allowed the establishment of normal schools in the new state and in 1890 the school was renamed the State Normal School at Cheney to train future elementary school teachers.[ The first class of teachers began their studies on October 13, 1890, under the administration of W. W. Gillette (principal) and William J. Sutton (vice principal).]
The campus was almost totally destroyed twice by fire in 1891 and 1912
This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15.
In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...
, but was rebuilt each time. On August 27, 1891, while the original 1882 Cheney Academy building was being expanded, the first fire destroyed the building and unfinished addition,[ and classes were moved to the Pomeroy building in downtown Cheney temporarily. Sutton took over as principal in 1892 and spearheaded an appropriation of $60,000 in 1895 from the state for a new building, completed in 1896 at the site of the former Academy building.][ Sutton resigned in 1897, and shortly afterward, Governor John R. Rogers vetoed funding for the fledgling school, forcing it to cancel classes for the 1897–98 school year. Locals provided enough funding to operate the school in 1898, and state funding resumed in 1899.]
Noah D. Showalter was elected president of the Normal School in 1911, just before the second fire destroyed the 1896 building on April 24, 1912. Like Sutton before him, Showalter urged the state to pass an appropriation of $300,000 to pay for a new building; after Governor Ernest Lister vetoed the appropriation, the veto was overridden by the legislature under the leadership of Sutton, then serving as a State Senator.
Julius Zittel was selected to design the new administration building, which was dedicated on May 22, 1915, and later renamed to Showalter Hall in 1940. The Herculean Pillars, at the intersection of 5th and College, were also completed in 1915, using materials salvaged from the 1896 Normal School building, and served as the entrance to the school for those arriving from the downtown train station.
Cheney Normal School continued to grow, opening its first dormitories in 1916 (Monroe Hall), 1920 (Senior Hall), and 1923 (Sutton Hall); in 1929, it completed the President's House (now University House), to serve as the residence for the school's president. All were designed by Zittel.[ A new building to house the Training School for future teachers was opened in 1937 and named Martin Hall to honor Governor and local resident Clarence Martin.][ That same year, Cheney Normal School was renamed to Eastern Washington College of Education. On June 4, 1940, the new campus library was opened as Hargreaves Hall (designed by Rasque), and the former administration building was formally dedicated to Noah Showalter.]
The school grew quickly following World War II and became Eastern Washington State College in 1961. During this era, Eastern added various graduate and undergraduate degree programs. In 1977, the school's name was changed to Eastern Washington University by the Washington State Legislature
The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the State of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, w ...
.
In 1992, the core of the campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.[.]
In July 2024, amid a continuing drop in enrollment and inability to differentiate itself with the other regional universities in Washington (Western Washington University
Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...
and Central Washington University), university president Shari McMahan announced that EWU would rebrand to a polytechnic
A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...
university, emphasizing applied and experiential learning over theoretical discussions. The change drew criticism from students and faculty in the humanities, fearing that arts-related programs would be reduced or overlooked in the change. The university plans to expand internship opportunities and work with employers to offer more degrees for in-demand fields.
Campus locations
The main campus of Eastern Washington University is located in Cheney. A branch campus, known as the Riverpoint Campus is located nearby in Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...
and is shared with Washington State University
Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...
.
EWU also offers degree programs located in Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French.
Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Bellevue, Queensland
* Bellevue, Western Australia
* Bellevue Hill, New South Wales
Canada
* Bellevue, Alberta
* Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...
, Everett, Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Longview, and Vancouver (Washington).
Academics
EWU offers over 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
A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.)
is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...
, Interdisciplinary Studies
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...
, Child & Family Outreach Program, Communication Studies
Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...
, Social Work Program (part-time Master's), Journalism, Alcohol & Drug Studies, and Counseling Education & Developmental Psychology programs are offered in Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...
.
Admissions
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (CFAT) is a U.S.-based education policy and research center. It was founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of the United States Congress. Among its most not ...
classifies the university as ''Inclusive'', since the university admitted eighty-two percent of those who applied to be freshmen
A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-se ...
in 2010. The average incoming freshman had a combined SAT score of 970 and a high-school weighted grade-point average
Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...
(GPA) of 3.17 in 2010. 86% of freshmen in 2010 were from Washington.
Rankings
Research institutes & centers
Eastern Washington University is home to a number of research institutes and centers, including:
*Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis—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."
*Women's and Gender Education Center—The Women’s and Gender Education (WAGE) Center supports the Gender
Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
, Women’s & Sexuality Studies (GWSS) program’s efforts in offering students the skills to critically and actively engage with the world.
*Eisenhower Center/International Field Study—A program designed for students to travel abroad while earning college credit.
*English Language Institute—ELI.
*Center for Farm Health & Safety—Conducts research and demonstration programs involving Health and Safety of Farm-based population groups.
*Fisheries Research Center— 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.
Student life
Pence Union Building (PUB)
The Pence Union Building, or PUB, is the community center for Eastern Washington University.
University Recreation Center (URC)
The University Recreation Center (URC) is a three-level recreational facility that was opened on campus in 2008. The facility has a multi-purpose arena that can operate as an ice rink and general-purpose sports floor, indoor climbing wall with 11 routes (one simulating ice climbing) and two bouldering walls, an indoor parking garage, fitness center and gymnasium, campus dining facility known as "The Roost" and a two-Lane 200-meter running track.
''The Easterner''
''The Easterner'' is the student newspaper of Eastern Washington University. The paper is distributed in print form during the fall, winter, and spring quarters on a weekly basis. ''The Easterner'' maintains a website and Facebook page, both independent from the university. The first student newspaper, ''The State Normal School Journal'', was first in 1916. The weekly publication changed its name to ''The Easterner'' in 1951.
Student organizations and Greek life
The student body's government, the Associated Students of Eastern Washington University, dates to 1919–1920, and organizes the work of a wide range of student committees. 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 is the only regional university in Washington that has an active Greek system on campus.
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
The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...
of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
's Division I as the Eastern Washington Eagles
The Eastern Washington Eagles are the intercollegiate varsity athletic teams that represent Eastern Washington University, located in Cheney, southwest of Spokane. A member of the Big Sky Conference, EWU's athletic program comprises five men's ...
. The most-prominent athletics facilities on campus are Roos Field, Reese Court and the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse. EWU has three national championships, including football (2010 – NCAA Div. I FCS), wrestling (1977 – NAIA) and men's cross country (1982 – NCAA Div. II).
FIRST Robotics Competition
FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition operated by ''FIRST''®. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work to build robots capable of competing in that year's game. Robots c ...
events have been held there, including the Pacific Northwest District regional, since 2014. The venue has since been switched to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Portland, Oregon).
Notable alumni
References
Notes
External links
*
Eastern Washington University Athletics website
{{authority control
Public universities and colleges in Washington (state)
Universities and colleges accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Universities and colleges established in 1882
National Register of Historic Places in Spokane County, Washington
University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
1882 establishments in Washington Territory
Cheney, Washington