Summary
Eureka College is a liberal arts college in Eureka, Illinois related by covenant to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).[1] It has a strong focus on the mutual development of intellect and character.[1] Stated core values are learning, service and leadership.[1] Eureka offers a classical liberal arts education with an array of requirements that are designed to create well-rounded, critical thinking leaders. Popular majors include education, business, history, political science, communication, and the fine and performing arts. Enrollment in 2010-2011 was about 785 students. Since 2005, the president of Eureka College has been Dr. J. David Arnold.
Eureka College was the third college in the United States to admit men and women on an equal basis.[2] Future U.S. president Abraham Lincoln spoke on campus in 1856. Future U.S. president Ronald Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 with a degree in economics and sociology, and the college has continued to be closely associated with his legacy. In 2010, Eureka College was designated as a national historic district by the National Park Service.[3]
History
The college was founded in 1848 by a group of abolitionists who had left Kentucky because of their opposition to slavery and was originally named the Walnut Grove Academy.[2][4][5] It was chartered in 1855.[6] When the school was founded, it was the first school in Illinois (and only the third in the United States) to educate women on an equal basis with men.
Overview
The school's main library, Melick Library, was named in honor of Wesley M. Melick and Clinton F. Melick. The building was dedicated on September 28, 1967, by California governor and Eureka College alumnus Ronald Reagan '32,[7] who was later elected President of the United States.
Eureka College failed the United States Department of Education's financial-responsibility test in the years 2007-09, but has made strong improvements in financial stability based on record enrollments for five straight years leading up through the 2011-2012 academic year.[8]
On October 26, 2010, the College announced that it will build a new residence hall and renovate several existing residence halls, in what college officials are calling the most comprehensive and costly facilities project in college history. The Eureka College Board of Trustees voted October 8 to construct a $6 million residence hall on Reagan Drive and make $5 million in updates to existing living quarters.[9]
On Friday, February 11, 2011, the Peoria Journal Star online edition stated that, "Eureka College has received a major gift from Mark R. Shenkman to create a Reagan research center in Melick Library on campus. The gift ranks among the most important in the history of the college's relationship with the life and legacy of Ronald Reagan. The Mark R. Shenkman Reagan Research Center will attempt to acquire and house every book written about Reagan. The center will be open to the Eureka College community and scholars from around the world; it will be, when completed, the second largest center of Reagan memorabilia in the world after the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California. Planning for construction has begun, with a goal to complete the center by the end of 2011, the year marking the 100th anniversary of Reagan's birth. Shenkman is a member of the Ronald Reagan Society at Eureka College and founder and president of Shenkman Capital Management Inc., an investment advisory firm in New York."[10]
According to a Saturday, May 11, 2013 news story in the Bloomington Pantagraph online edition, Richard Sanders, Professor Emeritus of History at Eureka, gave the College its largest one-time gift- $3 million- to expand the almost 100-year-old Vennum-Binkley Hall, which houses organic and inorganic science classrooms and labs. Ground will be broken in May of 2014 and construction completed by May of 2015.[11]
Athletics
Eureka College athletic teams, known as the Red Devils, participate at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III level.[12] There are teams for men's and women's soccer, basketball, tennis, swimming, golf and track, as well as football, volleyball, baseball and softball. Starting in fall 2006, teams will compete as part of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Eureka College was a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 1910-1942. Eureka was also a member of the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference until the spring of 2006. On September 1, 2012 Eureka College quarterback Sam Durley set an NCAA record with 736 passing yards in Eureka's 62-55 victory over Knox College. That beat the old record of 731 yards set by a Menlo College quarterback in 2000.[13]
Academics
The academic program at Eureka College seeks to maintain a balance between requirements which all students must meet and freedom for each student to select those courses which will best match and further one's own interests, skills, and life plan. The structure of the curriculum has been designed to reflect this balance.
The College requires each student to acquire and display skills in composition and mathematics. The College also requires each student to devote a portion of time to the study of humanities, fine and performing arts, natural sciences, and social sciences. These distribution requirements insure that each student will have the opportunity to explore what is considered common cultural heritage.
Eureka College and Ronald Reagan
Eureka College alumni include forty-two college and university presidents, seven Governors and members of U.S. Congress, and the 40th President of the United States of America, Ronald Wilson Reagan, class of 1932.[17] Among more than 4,200 American institutions of higher learning today, only 22 can claim to have given a future U.S. President an undergraduate diploma.
Since the rise of the actor turned politician Ronald Reagan, the college has increasingly been committed to its role as a symbol of his Midwestern upbringing, his education, and for his development as leader. Ronald Reagan is the only president born, raised and educated in the state of Illinois.[7] Reagan's relationship with his alma mater began in 1928 when he entered as a freshman from Dixon, Illinois at age 17. Following his graduation on June 10, 1932 with a joint major in economics and sociology,[18] Ronald Reagan returned for visits on twelve recorded occasions. He served on the board of trustees for three terms, stayed connected to his fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon, communicated with his football coach and mentor Mac McKinzie, and helped support fund-raising drives making his own financial commitments to the college. Reagan gave three commencement addresses at Eureka College, in 1957, 1982 and 1992.[19] He dedicated the Melick Library building in 1967 and the Reagan Physical Education Center in 1970. When he died in 2004, Eureka College was one of three officially designated recipients of memorial gifts by his family.
Ronald Reagan made a similar statement in many different forms, but in 1982 he was quoted telling a Eureka College audience, "Everything that has been good in my life began here."[20]
Since Reagan's rise to the presidency, the college continues to build on its stewardship responsibility for the legacy of the relationship he had with Eureka College.
Eureka College has created the following programs related to Ronald Reagan, with a goal of enhancing the educational experience for its students:
Ronald Reagan Museum at Eureka College
The Ronald W. Reagan Museum, located within the Donald B. Cerf Center, contains a collection of objects and memorabilia largely donated by Reagan. The items are from his times as a student, actor, athlete, Governor of California and President of the United States. Admission is free.[29]
Rankings
In the U.S. News and World Report 2010, Eureka was ranked as a Tier 1 "regional college" in the Midwest.[30] "Regional college" refers to smaller institutions that draw most students from the surrounding area and focus on undergraduate education, but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines.[31][32]
Demographics
55.4% of the students at Eureka are women, while 44.6% are men. 1% of the students are Native American, 1% are Asian, 8% are African-American, and 89% are white. 1% of the students are international, but 92% of the students are from the state of Illinois. 68% of students live on campus.[33]
Eureka also offers four-year, full-tuition scholarships to two students interested in pursuing ministry in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Ministry Fellows receive two on-site mentorships exploring ministry, are expected to live on campus, maintain a 3.0 GPA, fully participate in ECMF activities, and display exceptional leadership, spiritual growth and maturity.[34]
Greek life
As of 2009, 33% of male students are in social fraternities, while 42% of female students are in social sororities.
Notable Alumni
Many former students at Eureka College have gone into politics and made important contributions to science.
Notable Faculty
Past
Present