Colleges of Distinction 2010 - 2011 Guide. Tyson Schritter

       Recent experiential learning opportunities have included building wind turbines for schools in Jamaica; internships at the Animal Planet channel in New York City and the Connecticut State Capitol; paid co-ops for United Technologies; and research projects everything from exploring fuel cell technology on a NASA fellowship to researching coral reefs off the coast of Tahiti.

       Students can design their own major through Eastern’s Individualized Major option. Students have designed majors such as Digital Multimedia, Psychology and Business Administration, Law and Society, Philosophical Methodology, Multimedia Writing/Production for the Deaf, Behavioral Biology, and French Women’s Studies.

       Students experience learning directly in our planetarium, black-box theatre, Julius Akus Gallery, radio station, all-digital television studio, and the outstanding labs found in the new, 174,000-square foot Science Building.

       Eastern offers more than 50 study abroad programs in places as nearby as Canada and Puerto Rico or as far away as Japan, Poland, Thailand, Australia, England, and Italy. We also encourage students to participate in one of Eastern’s active travel seminars. Each year since 1967, Biology students have traveled to the barrier reefs and rainforests of the Greater Caribbean. In 2008 and again in 2010, they journeyed to Costa Rica. In June 2010, Math and Sociology students traveled to Ghana to research the sanitation systems there. In addition, biology professor Joshua Idjadi and one of his students are conducting marine biology research on coral species in the French Polynesian islands.

       Eastern’s 2010 placement rate (employment and graduate school) is 91 percent; we have alumni contributing in all sectors of society all over the world. The Department of Career Services internship and co-op programs give students the opportunity to test career choices, apply theory to real-work situations, and experience a professional work environment prior to graduation. The following companies are just a few that have offered internships and co-op jobs to Eastern students: IBM, ESPN, Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Open Solutions, Inc., Price Waterhouse Coopers, Pfizer, Aetna, Lego Systems, Inc., Little Brown & Company, MTV, VH-1, and Fox News.

       Eastern places an emphasis on community engagement and service learning as part of its public liberal arts mission. In 2009–10, Eastern students volunteered more than 12,000 hours to the local community — more than $300,000 in donated time — to tutor schoolchildren, volunteer at the local soup kitchen, and otherwise support more than 40 nonprofits and social agencies.

       Eastern’s professors are experts in their fields – they publish poetry, produce award-winning documentaries; write books; engage in challenging field studies; travel and teach throughout the world; and are top-notch research experts. Six Eastern professors have won Fulbright Scholar and Fulbright-Hays awards in the past five years. In addition, an Eastern art professor designed the Connecticut quarter as part of the U.S. Mint series.

       The liberal arts core curriculum uses innovative, interdisciplinary courses to expose students to a broad range of academic disciplines while developing valuable skills in critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and independent research.

       Eastern’s Honor Program promotes undergraduate scholarship and complements the University’s liberal arts mission, by providing academically talented students with opportunities to participate in specially designed courses that prepare them to conduct independent research and/or scholarly activity under the oversight of a faculty mentor. Examples of courses include Popular Music in a Global Context; Family in Film, Theatre, and TV; Native American and Ancient Cosmologies in Literature and Culture; and Mass Mediated Political Rhetoric.

       The First-Year Program is designed to give first-time, full-time students a rich and comprehensive introduction to academics and campus life at Eastern. It introduces the students to some of the University’s best teachers, involves them in specifically-designed innovative courses, and helps them to develop bonds with faculty members and peers from the day they arrive on campus.

       Eastern offers more than 65 clubs and organizations including print and broadcast media (newspaper, yearbook, campus television and radio stations), cultural, spiritual, leadership and service, activism, professional associations, academic interest, honors, community service, spiritual, performing arts, government and politics, and special interest clubs. Eastern also has numerous intramural sports such as basketball; volleyball; soccer; softball; flag football; and club sports such as rugby; cheerleading; dance team; and tae kwon do.

       The Eastern Warriors are in the Little East Conference and are affiliated with the NCAA Division III. The Warriors have won nine national championships: four in baseball and five in softball. The University provides a well-rounded, broad-based athletic and recreational program, including club sports, recreational activities, intramurals, and intercollegiate competition. It sponsors 17 varsity sports – men’s basketball; cross-country; lacrosse; soccer; indoor and outdoor track and field; baseball; and women’s basketball; cross-country; lacrosse; soccer; indoor and outdoor track and field; softball; swimming; field hockey; and volleyball.

       An active Campus Activity Board sponsors numerous out-of-town trips, including shopping and theatre excursions to New York City and Boston, and hiking and river rafting trips, to name a few.