Today is the 137th anniversary of the opening of Eastern Washington University all the way back in 1882. Back then a donation of $10,000 by Benjamin P. Cheney allowed the school to open its doors to 200 students. At its opening the university was called the Benjamin P. Cheney Academy. A few years later in 1889, the academy changed its name to the State Normal School at Cheney. 1889 was the same year that Washington received its statehood. The college would go through a few more name changes over the years until 1977 when the state legislature officially named the campus Eastern Washington University.
Historical photo of the original Cheney campus.
Modern day Eastern Washington University Campus.
At its founding the university focused on education degrees for its initial 200 students. Since then EWU has expanded to approximately 12,000 students with multiple colleges with over 100 fields of study. One of the fields of study that students can pursue is Military Science. The EWU Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program has been teaching students military science and commissioning officers into the Army for 67 of the university’s 132 years. The future of the Fighting Eagles Battalion shines as bright as ever and will continue to be an important part of EWU history and developing leaders of character for service to our great Nation.
