History of Eastern Michigan University
[1] With the additions of departments and the large educational enrollment after World War II, the school became Eastern Michigan College in 1956.
When it opened, Normal could admit students with high school diplomas or pass the entrance exam.
Normal was able to grant high school diplomas and teaching certificates to qualified graduates.
The English Course aimed to educate future teachers a broad range of academic subjects that would be need to be taught in primary schools.
After over two decades of debate, the current principal Richard Gause Boone chose the direction of a broader education.
On October 22, 1896, Theodore Roosevelt visited the Michigan State Normal School campus.
Around this time Alpha Sigma Tau, a national Panhellenic sorority was founded at EMU on November 4, 1899.
With the additions of departments and the large educational enrollment after World War II, the school became Eastern Michigan College in 1956.
On the night of October 13, 1960 Senator John F. Kennedy visited Eastern Michigan University.
A few hours later in the early morning of October 14, he gave a speech at the University of Michigan, challenging students to serve their country abroad in the name of peace.
More recently, extended programs were added such as Continuing Education (which includes EMU Online), the Centers for Corporate Training, the World College, and numerous community-focused institutes.
Between 1964 and 1999, academic, athletic, and administrative expansions included Warner Gymnasium (1964), Sill Hall (1965), Porter College of Ed.
(1982), Geddes Town Hall School (1986), Coatings Research Institute (1987), Corporate Education Center (1989) Gary Owen College of Business (1991), Pond/Lake House (1993), Terrestrial and Aquatic Research Facility (1998), the Convocation Center (1998), and the Bruce T. Halle Library (1998).
The report indicated that the use of Native American names, logos, and mascots for athletic teams promoted racial stereotypes.
[15] On Oct. 30, 1996, President Bill Clinton visited EMU to present a speech on women in the business community, which was hosted in Bowen Field House.
In May 2000, President Bill Clinton delivered the commencement address at Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center.
Six years later, the university gained national attention when student Laura Dickinson was sexually assault and murdered on campus in her residence hall room.
[16][17][18] A subsequent investigation by Detroit law firm Butzel Long found that EMU had violated the Clery Act by not notifying students and named Jim Vick, Vice President of Student Affairs, as the main source of the cover-up.
[20][21] In July 2007, the U.S. Department of Education fined EMU then-record $350,000 for violating the Clery Act by not reporting the crimes to students.
Recent changes include the McKenny Hall renovation (2007), expansion of the Science Complex in 2011 (formerly known as "Mark Jefferson Science Building"), the indoor practice facility (2010), and the renovation of Pray-Harrold classroom building (2011).
Established in 1984, the Eastern Michigan University Historic District is an L-shaped parcel[25] of land on the south side of campus across Cross Street from the Ypsilanti Water Tower.
