Eastern Illinois University

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Eastern Illinois University is a state university located in Charleston, Illinois.

Eastern Illinois University was established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School. Originally a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, it gradually expanded its curriculum to include Baccalaureate and Master's degrees in most of the arts, sciences, and humanities. Eastern Illinois University has prominent Communication Disorders and Sciences and Biological Sciences programs, though the College of Education remains the largest department. There are approximately 10,000 undergraduates, 1,700 graduate students, and 2,000 faculty and staff.

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 the five "castles" built in the 1890s at the major Illinois state colleges. The others are at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University, and Southern Illinois University. Governor John Peter Altgeld was instrumental in funding the Illinois university system, and he was especially fond of the Gothic style. EIU and Illinois State are the only schools where the "castle" is not named after Altgeld. Another original Gothic Revival building, Blair Hall, is being restored after a disastrous fire in 2004.

Eastern Illinois University's colors are blue, grey and white; their nickname is the Panthers. Eastern Illinois sports teams, except for men's soccer and swimming teams, participate in NCAA Division I (I-AA for football) in the Ohio Valley Conference. The men's soccer program competes in the Missouri Valley Conference and the swim team competes in the Mid-Continent Conference.

Eastern Illinois University is home to one of only two NCAA Division I women's rugby teams in the United States.

Notable alumni

Joan Allen - actress
Tim Bogar - retired Major League Baseball infielder
Brad Childress - head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League
Calli Cox - adult film actress
Kevin Duckworth - former National Basketball Association all-star center
Jim Edgar - former Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999
Burl Ives - actor and folk singer
Joe Knollenberg - representative of the Ninth District of Michigan, United States House of Representatives since 1992
John Malkovich - actor
Sean Payton - head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League
Tony Romo - backup quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League
Mike Shanahan - head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League
Chris Szarka - fullback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League

External links

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