Colleges of Distinction 2010 - 2011 Guide. Tyson Schritter
new Student Center (opened in 2007) features a bookstore; wireless Internet access lounge; fitness center featuring the latest aerobic equipment; state-of-the-art meeting and conference rooms; and a food court offering diverse food and beverage selections.
Broadening the cultural and social perspectives of Eastern students is an important element of the University’s liberal arts mission. The Arts and Lecture Series brings world-renown authors, artists, and film personalities to campus to enrich the cultural perspectives of students, faculty, staff, and local community alike. Previous guests have included basketball legend Bill Russell, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, noted author John Updike, CNN Anchor Soledad O’Brien, filmmaker Spike Lee, social activist Gloria Steinem, actor James Earl Jones, and PBS-TV news correspondent Ray Suarez.
SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES
Eastern graduates are prepared for a variety of professional careers, while also possessing the life skills needed to adapt to the constant change of today’s modern world. They are able to think for themselves, work collaboratively, and serve as active leaders in their local community and the community at large…
Prepared for Life and Career
Eastern’s 2010 placement rate (employment and graduate school) is 91 percent; we have alumni contributing to all sectors of society throughout the world.
Eastern graduates attend some of the finest graduate programs in the nation. Graduate programs accepting Eastern graduates include Harvard University, Yale University, Boston University, Wesleyan University, Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine, Georgetown School of Law, and Columbia University, to name a few.
The Office of Career Services offers comprehensive career counseling and job assistance to Eastern students and alumni. The office reviews resumes, provides career counseling, conducts mock interviews, and connects students with internships, co-ops, and full-time employment opportunities. They also offer a web-based job posting system, eRecruiting, career fairs, Interview Stream, a virtual interview tool that helps students practice interviewing skills, and FOCUS, a career guidance system for undecided students.
Distinguished Eastern alumni include Connecticut State Senator Edith Prague (’65); ophthalmologist and eye surgeon Francis Falck ’75, who owns several patents on cataract technology; nationally-recognized research neurobiologist Marc Freeman (’93) who recently received a five-year Howard Hughes Early Careers Award as one of the nation’s top young scientists; and Chimamanda Adichie ’01, internationally acclaimed novelist who won Britain’s Orange Prize in 2007 and received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2008.
Some distinguished employers who have hired Eastern graduates include Pfizer; Pratt and Whitney; United Technologies Corporation; Associated Press; Aetna; ESPN; U.S. Department of Homeland Security; IBM; Merrill Lynch; Morgan Stanley; Smith Barney; Wachovia Bank; the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); Bank of America; Cigna; Citifinancial; Electric Boat; Yale Peabody Museum; Price Waterhouse Coopers; Yale New Haven Hospital; and numerous law firms, schools, state, and federal agencies.
FAST FACTS
Eastern Connecticut State University is a public residential liberal arts university, founded in 1889.
Mission Eastern Connecticut State University is the state’s designated public liberal arts college. Within the Connecticut State University System, Eastern, a predominantly undergraduate institution, attracts and welcomes a diverse community of learners, supported by a teaching faculty, staff, administrators, and a residential campus, all of which promote intellectual curiosity, integrity, and social responsibility.
Eastern’s commitment to a liberal arts education is exemplified in its Liberal Arts Core Curriculum, a sequenced, interdisciplinary program that all students share, independent of their majors and career aspirations. As a result of this foundation, our students apply a broad range of theoretical approaches in a variety of active learning settings to cultivate the knowledge, skills, and perspectives necessary to prepare them for their personal, professional, and public roles.
In its role as a public university, Eastern develops students who can become productive, engaged community leaders. Eastern also serves as a social, cultural, and economic catalyst for the region and the state of Connecticut.
Eastern’s programs in the arts and sciences, teacher education and professional studies prepare students for careers or advanced study while providing them with the lifelong skills and confidence needed to succeed in a world of constant economic, social, and technological change.
Location Eastern’s 182-acre campus is located in Willimantic, CT, a historic community 30 minutes from Hartford, 45 minutes from Providence, RI, and midway between Boston and New York.
Student Profile Number of full-time undergraduate students: 4,416 Total number of students: 5,610 54 percent female, 46 percent male Students from 25 states and 48 countries Percentage of minority students: 18 percent Percentage of students employed or pursuing graduate school one year after graduation: 91 percent (2010 data)
Faculty Profile 97 percent of full-time faculty hold doctorates or the highest degree available in their field. 16:1 student/faculty ratio. Average class size is 22.
Residence Life Percentage of freshman students who live in college-owned, -operated, or –affiliated housing: 91 percent; full-time undergraduates: 60 percent. Rooms for one to two people; suites for up to four students; apartment-style units for four to six people. High-speed access to the University’s computer network and the Internet from residence halls. Residences have recreation and laundry facilities, lounges, and computer labs.
Athletics NCAA Division III, Little East Conference (LEC). Seventeen varsity sports: men’s basketball; cross-country; lacrosse; soccer; indoor and outdoor track and field; and baseball. Women’s basketball; cross-country; lacrosse; soccer; indoor and outdoor track and field; swimming; softball; field hockey; and volleyball. Numerous intramural and club teams.
Activity/Club/Organization Types More than 65 clubs and organizations: print and broadcast media (newspaper, yearbook, campus television and radio stations), cultural, spiritual, leadership and service, activism, professional associations, academic interest, honors, honor societies, community service, spiritual, performing arts, government and politics, special interest clubs.
Costs and Aid 2010-11: Tuition and Fees: $8,480 (full-time commuter and resident students, in-state); $18,885 (full-time resident students, out-of-state); Housing: $5,674 (in-state and out-of-state); Silver Meal Plan: $4,374 (in-state and out-of-state). 74 percent of full-time undergraduates received financial aid in 2009-2010. 81% of full-time undergraduates received financial aid in 2005-2006
Financial Info $15 million endowment
More Distinctions
One of top 100 Regional Universities in the North (28th top public institution) in U.S. News and World Report’s 2011 Rankings.
Named by the Chronicle of Higher Education as a “Great College to Work For” two years in a row.
Named for past two years to President Obama’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll of campuses with the highest level of student volunteerism.
Named as one of the Northeast’s Top Colleges by The Princeton Review
Named to “Guide to Service Learning Colleges and Universities”
Six Fulbright awardees in five years.
Named as one of