Eastern Oregon University is a small public university located on a rural campus in La Grande, Oregon. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,540, and admissions are selective, with an acceptance rate of 98%. The university offers 32 bachelor’s degrees, has an average graduation rate of 38%, and a student-faculty ratio of 15:1. Tuition and fees for in-state students are $7,830, while tuition and fees for out-of-state students are $20,520.
Eastern Oregon University (EOU) is one of seven state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the State of Oregon. Located in La Grande, Oregon, the school offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Most students obtain a B.S. degree, which requires one quarter of science, whereas a B.A. degree requires two years of a foreign language.
Over two hundred men and women enrolled in the school’s first two-year certificate program in teacher education. Student clubs, organizations, and student government were established during EON’s first year. Male students competed in intercollegiate athletics that included football, basketball, baseball, and track; and women competed in club sports, including basketball, volleyball, and hiking.
Harvey E. Inlow, the first president of EON (1929–1937), helped establish the school’s academic standards, guidelines, traditions, and student-centered philosophy. Early faculty included Bob Quinn, who taught physical education, health, and geography and coached all athletic teams. Amanda Zabel taught English and drama, and Ralph Badgley taught math and science. All have buildings on the EOU campus named for them.
In 1932, EON was fully accredited as a teacher training institution by the U.S. Office of Education. The academic program was supported by the 1935–1936 addition of the J. H. Ackerman facility, a joint project of the State of Oregon, the La Grande School District, and the WPA.
The building included a two-story elementary school, a library, a lunchroom, and an adjoining state-of-the-art gymnasium, which at the time was the largest such building in eastern Oregon. Also with WPA funding, construction began on Dorion Hall, a women’s residence, in August 1938. The hall, which was opened to students in 1939, had living spaces for sixty-four women and a live-in nurse.
While the college had suffered budget cuts, deferred maintenance, construction delays, tuition increases and salary cuts during the Depression, it had performed better than national trends with support from the La Grande community and the Oregon State Higher Education Department. Students who graduated with elementary teaching credentials during this time had nearly 100 percent job placement. By the early 1940s, the college had 200 students.
In 1939, the institution was renamed Eastern Oregon College of Education. Roben Maaske, who was named EOCE president that year, guided the institution through the war years. EOCE’s proximity to the U.S. Army airfield in Pendleton made it a good location for an Army Air Force College Training Detachment. In 1943, students in the U.S. Cadet Nursing Corps and the Army Air Force Training Detachment took classes on the EOCE campus. Enrollment jumped by 28 percent at the end of the war, largely because of veterans returning to school on the GI Bill. EOCE was one of only four Oregon colleges with a veterans guidance center and is now designated as a gold-level Military Friendly institution.
In 1947, the student union, Hoke Hall, opened in a building that had been relocated from Pendleton (a new Hoke Hall was built in 1973), and the University Library opened in 1951. But in the late 1940s and early 1950s, EOCE experienced a persistent decline in enrollment and began an effort to recruit students from regional high schools. By 1959, EOCE had seven buildings and 800 students.
The school offered bachelor’s degrees in general studies and a Master of Science in education. The school’s name was changed to Eastern Oregon College in 1956 and to Eastern Oregon State College in 1973. In 1997, the name was changed once again to Eastern Oregon University, reflecting the growth in its curriculum and advanced degree programs in education, business administration, and creative writing.