Introduction

Eastern Kentucky University is a regional, coeducational, public institution of higher education offering general and liberal arts programs, pre professional and professional training in education and various other fields at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Located in Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University has a distinguished record of more than nine decades of educational service to the Commonwealth.

Situated near the heart of the Bluegrass, Richmond is served by a network of major highways which makes Eastern Kentucky University easily accessible from all parts of Kentucky and surrounding states. Richmond is 26 miles southeast of Lexington, Kentucky. Interstate Highways I - 75 (north south) and I - 64 (east west) make the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, 112 miles to the north, and Louisville, 110 miles to the west, within convenient distance by automobile. Richmond is also served by U.S. Route 25 from south Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky Route 52 from the east and west. The Kentucky Turnpike and the Mountain, Hal Rogers, and Cumberland Parkways provide even greater accessibility by automobile since the city is located near the convergence of these arterial highways into the interstate system.

Richmond, the county seat of Madison County, is an expanding community of approximately 30,000 population.

In and around Richmond are many areas of historic and scenic interest. Boonesborough State Park, birthplace of Kentucky, is located 12 miles to the north. Many other historical places are within easy driving distance. Scenic and recreational areas surround this section of the state.

  History

The Kentucky General Assembly of 1906 enacted legislation establishing the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School. Governor J. C. Beckham signed the bill into law on March 21, 1906. On May 7 of that year, the Normal School Commission, meeting in Louisville, selected the campus of the old Central University, founded in 1874, in Richmond, Kentucky, as the site of the new school. On June 2, 1908, Ruric Nevel Roark was chosen President of the Normal School and the training of teachers was begun.

In 1922, Eastern Kentucky University became a four-year institution known as the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College. The first degrees were awarded by this institution in 1925. In 1928, the College was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In 1930, the General Assembly renamed the school the Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College.

In 1935, a graduate program was approved at Eastern, leading to the Master of Arts degree in Education. In 1948, the General Assembly removed the word "Teachers" from the name of the college and granted the college the right to award nonprofessional degrees.

The most significant day since its founding came for Eastern on February 26, 1966, when Governor Edward T. Breathitt signed into law a bill renaming the institution Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) and sanctioning the awarding of graduate degrees in academic fields other than education.

During this period of time, Eastern Kentucky University has increased rapidly in size and stature. Beginning with a few students engaged in short review and certificate courses, the

University today serves thousands of Kentuckians. The curriculum leads to associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, and an expanding graduate program that currently offers degrees at the master's level in many other fields as well as the already well-established Master of Arts degree in Education and the various fifth and sixth-year leadership programs in education. Specialist degree programs have been implemented in education and psychology. In addition to these programs, Eastern Kentucky University offers cooperative doctoral programs with cooperating institutions.

Ever-mindful of the purpose of its founding, Eastern continues to recognize its historic function of preparing quality teachers for the elementary and secondary schools of the Commonwealth. However, a strong liberal arts curriculum leading to appropriate degrees, together with pre-professional courses in several areas and graduate programs, enable Eastern to serve the Commonwealth as a regional comprehensive university.

  Mission Statement

For more than a decade, a mission statement approved by the Council on Postsecondary Education (formerly the Kentucky Council on Higher Education) has guided the University (see last section). During the planning process, this mission statement was refined to be more succinct and to better reflect our role for strategic planning purposes. We are not replacing the CPE mission statement, but rather, we developed a mission statement to appear in the context of the 2006 2010 University Strategic Plan, "Moving Forward Together." The revised mission statement is:

Eastern Kentucky University is a student-centered
comprehensive public university dedicated to high-quality
instruction, scholarship, and service.

  Core Values

Since its inception in 1874, Eastern Kentucky University (then known as Central University) has been driven by core values. Although its mission has evolved and expanded to meet the changing needs of citizens of the Commonwealth (and increasingly other places in the world), core values are still an integral part of the University community. Values are the code of organizational conduct. They guide decision-making in all parts of the University. They direct our actions and must inspire all of us in the EKU community to be true to them. The EKU community is committed to embodying these values in our policies and procedures in our day-to-day activities to accomplish our mission and achieve our vision. EKU has been and will continue to be guided by the following values when planning strategies and implementing decisions regarding the University community's teaching, scholarly, and service activities.

Civic Responsibility and Civility