{"id":58,"date":"2018-07-23T16:32:06","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T16:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/?page_id=58"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:13:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:13:30","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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About<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Leadership<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Mission<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Research<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Workers<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our History<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Eastern Oregon Normal School opened its doors in 1929 on what was then known as Courthouse Hill. The two-year teacher\u2019s college graduated its first class, boasting 88 seniors, the following year. From its start in Inlow Hall, campus grew next to include dormitories and Ackerman Elementary School. Teachers-in-training worked in the classrooms as a living laboratory to practice their skills as leaders and mentors to young students. Nearly a century later, EOU remains committed to its legacy of educating teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

School traditions arose throughout the 1940s and \u201950s. For almost 40 years, students celebrated Evensong each spring on the Grand Staircase, which is listed on the National Historic Register. The annual pageant of song centered around the Queen of Knowledge, who lit each a candle in each graduate\u2019s hand so they could take \u201cthe light of learning\u201d to the world. Other traditions live on today. Ars Poetica<\/a> began as a celebration of literature and poetry, and still brings writers to campus each year. The \u201cSock and Buskin\u201d theatre troop had its home at EOU, and modern performances follow in the footsteps of these early actors (although they no longer perform in Inlow Hall).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academic programs<\/a> grew as well, expanding to include secretarial sciences, business and philosophy. EOU has since embraced its role as a regional university, providing vital professional and liberal arts education online, on-site and on campus in La Grande.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EOU renewed its wrestling team in 2017 after an extended hiatus, and the Mountaineers boast 13 varsity teams competing in the blue and gold. Monty Mountaineer established his role as mascot, and has become a symbol of school and community pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buildings and meeting rooms across campus stand for respected faculty members (Loso, Badgley), advocates for education in rural Oregon (Hoke), and university leaders (Inlow, Daugherty, Lund). Since its founding in 1966, the EOU Foundation<\/a> has provided scholarships and funding for capital projects and programs that support the university\u2019s mission. Dedicated alumni, long-standing traditions and a deep commitment to serving rural places connect EOU to its past and propel it toward the future.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"The<\/figure>
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\u201cIn a day a new center of cultural thought and activity sprang into being where none had been before. Classes met; assemblies convened; library and laboratory yielded truth and beauty; social organization emerged responsive to community need; ports and recreation contributed to the happy and forceful living; a purpose was born which was to find expression in ideals of service and standards of achievement.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-H.E. Inlow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President of the Normal School<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Alma Mater<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHail, Eastern Oregon\u201d<\/strong>
\nWords and music by John McKinnon, 2001<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hail, Eastern Oregon
\nPride of the Blue and Gold
\nWe stand before your majesty
\nWith friends both new and old
\nYou shine upon the hillside
\nA beacon where\u2019ere we roam
\nForever in our hearts and minds
\nYour mountains call us home
\nHail Mountaineers, we sing to thee
\nOur voices rise in harmony
\nSend forth a cheer from East to West
\nOf loyal truths, and truths request
\nIn your unfading beauty
\nWe seek to keep you strong
\nWe praise these hall of learning
\nOur Eastern Oregon<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"1944<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Timeline of Events<\/h2>\n
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1929<\/h2>\n

Oregon legislature officially establishes Eastern Oregon Normal School<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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June 1929<\/h2>\n

First building, Inlow Hall complete, named after first president Harvey Inlow.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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June 1929<\/h2>\n

First day of class<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1936<\/h2>\n

Ackerman Laboratory School built.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1938<\/h2>\n

Dorian Hall built: female residency students.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1939<\/h2>\n

Name changed to Eastern Oregon College of Education<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1943<\/h2>\n

Pre-nursing program added to curriculum.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1947<\/h2>\n

Hunt Hall built: male residency students.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1947<\/h2>\n

Hoke Hall established from a former officer\u2019s club from the Pendleton Army Air Base.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1951<\/h2>\n

The EOU Library opens.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1958<\/h2>\n

Quinn Coliseum built<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1958<\/h2>\n

\u201cNew\u201d Dorion Hall built (once known as East Dorion).<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1961<\/h2>\n

Name changed to Eastern Oregon College<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1970<\/h2>\n

First PowWow hosted by Native American Club<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1972<\/h2>\n

KEOL goes live<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1973<\/h2>\n

Name changed to Eastern Oregon State College<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1973<\/h2>\n

Hoke College Center Built<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1974<\/h2>\n

Zabel Hall built<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1984<\/h2>\n

Community Stadium built<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1989<\/h2>\n

Loso Hall built<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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1997<\/h2>\n

Name changed to Eastern Oregon University<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2013<\/h2>\n

Oregon University System begins creating independent boards for public universities<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2015<\/h2>\n

Board of Trustees takes on governance of EOU<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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2018<\/h2>\n

Gov. Kate Brown signs House Bill 4153, designating EOU as Oregon\u2019s Rural University<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our History Eastern Oregon Normal School opened its doors in 1929 on what was then known as Courthouse Hill. The two-year teacher\u2019s college graduated its first class, boasting 88 seniors, the following year. From its start in Inlow Hall, campus grew next to include dormitories and Ackerman Elementary School. Teachers-in-training worked in the classrooms as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":7,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-58","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":102,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1040,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/58\/revisions\/1040"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}