Eureka College

The college was founded in 1848 by a group of abolitionists who had left Kentucky because of their opposition to slavery and was originally named the Walnut Grove Academy. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] It was chartered in 1855. [ 5 ] Eureka College campus in 1909 When the school was founded, it was the first school in Illinois (and only the third in the United States) to educate women on an equal basis with men. In 1856, Abraham Lincoln spoke on campus, making Eureka one of only three colleges where Lincoln spoke. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Abingdon College merged with Eureka in 1885. [ 8 ] In 2010, Eureka College was designated as a national historic district by the National Park Service . [ 9 ] On March 27, 2009, the former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev , visited the section of the Berlin Wall on display in the Reagan Peace Garden on campus. Eureka gave President Gorbachev an honorary degree during a convocation in which students asked the former Soviet leader questions. [ 10 ] The college granted Nancy Reagan an honorary degree in 2009 at a private ceremony in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California . [ 11 ] As part of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration in 2011, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich delivered the commencement address at Eureka. [ 12 ] The same year saw the opening of the Mark R. Shenkman Reagan Research Center and College Archives; the center is collecting and maintaining every book and doctoral dissertation written about Ronald Reagan. [ 13 ] James A. Baker III was named Honorary Reagan Fellow in 2012, [ 14 ] and this honor was bestowed on Justice Sandra Day O'Connor the next year. [ 15 ] George P. Shultz , former U.S. Secretary of State, received was made an Honorary Reagan Fellow at a ceremony in San Francisco in 2014. [ 16 ]

Quick facts Location, Coordinates ... Eureka College Administration and Chapel U.S. National Register of Historic Places Administration Building Location 300 College Ave. Eureka, Illinois Coordinates 40°42′50″N 89°16′09″W Area 2.8 acres (1.1 ha) Built 1858 Architectural style Italianate, Georgian, Federal NRHP reference number "}]]}">No. 80001426 [ 17 ] Added to NRHP May 31, 1980 Close The Eureka College campus is 112 acres (0.45 km 2 ) . [ 2 ] Burrus Dickinson Hall, the college's administration building, is on the National Register of Historic Places , as is the college chapel. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] The Ronald Reagan Museum and Peace Gardens , located within the Donald B. Cerf Center, contains a collection of objects and memorabilia largely donated by Reagan. The items are from his times as a student, actor, athlete, Governor of California and President of the United States . Admission is free. [ 20 ] The Reagan Athletic Complex was dedicated in 1970 by brothers and alumni Neil Reagan and Ronald Reagan, and named in their honor. At Eureka's commencement exercises in 1982, President Reagan announced the START treaty proposal in the Reagan Gym. [ 21 ] In 2015, The Bonati Fitness Center and Reagan Center Pool underwent renovation. [ 22 ]

As of fall 2023, the college enrolled 527 students split nearly evenly between men and women. Most - 68% - of the students were White, 12% were Black, 9% were Hispanic/Latino, and 1% were Asian; 3% of students reported two or more races and 5% did not report their race or ethnicity. The vast majority - 85% - were from the state of Illinois and about 1% were from outside the United States. About two-thirds - 63% - of full-time students who enrolled in the fall of 2022 returned for the fall of 2023. Of the full-time, first-time students who began their studies at Eureka in fall 2017, 41% graduated and 42% transferred to another institution. [ 23 ]

As of 2019, 23% of male students are in social fraternities, while 26% of female students are in social sororities. Overall 24% of the student body are involved in Greek life. In February 2020, the college's chapter of Delta Sigma Phi was disciplined due to unknown allegations. [ 24 ]