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Published on December 01, 2022
For the first time, Eastern is ranked among the top 20 public institutions in the North Region by U.S. News & World Report in its 2022-23 rankings. Considered the most competitive in the country, the North Region includes 11 states and Washington, D.C., stretching from Maryland to the Canadian border and west through Pennsylvania.
“I am pleased that for the first time ever, Eastern now ranks among the top 20 public institutions in the North, something we can be very proud of,” said President Elsa Núñez. “The North Region contains the highest concentration of colleges and universities in the country and is home to some of the nation’s top institutions. I am gratified that we rank so highly, indicative of our academic reputation, strong graduation and retention rates, and quality of our students.”
Among Eastern’s strongest measures include its first-year retention rate of 83%; more than 50% of classes having less than 20 students; a student-faculty ratio of 14:1; and more than 40% of first-year students graduating in the top 25% of their high school class.
Starting this fall, Eastern is offering two new academic concentrations and one new minor, including programs in exercise & sport science and sport management. Available to students majoring in health sciences, the concentration in exercise & sport science will prepare students for graduate programs and careers in clinical exercise physiology, athletic training and strength/conditioning.
Available as a separate minor or as a concentration for business administration majors, the new sport management program will prepare students for employment in the sports industry with courses in management, business, finance, leadership, marketing and sports psychology.
Eastern was the first stop of a traveling art exhibition titled “Women at War,” showcasing a selection of Ukrainian women artists whose work references the ongoing war with Russia. The exhibition was curated by Monika Fabijanska and presented by the Fridman Gallery in New York City in partnership with Voloshyn Gallery in Kyiv, Ukraine. The contemporary exhibition provided a context for the current war from the diverse and underrepresented perspectives of women. Several of the works were made following Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24; others were made following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
The club cheerleading team at Eastern Connecticut State University finished in the top 10 at the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) College Nationals this past spring in Daytona Beach, FL. With more than 400 teams competing, the College Nationals event is the largest collegiate cheerleading competition in the country.
The Eastern team competed in the Division III All-Girl Division and scored 87.3 out of 100 for difficulty, technique and skill. “The team also had one of the highest jump scores in the whole division,” noted Sophia Tsikitas, president of the club cheerleading team. “The best part of the trip was being able to represent Eastern again after not competing since 2019, and then finishing top 10 in the nation.”
Eastern recently entered into two scholarship-matching partnerships with the Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut and Waterbury Promise. Eastern is the first state university in Connecticut to partner with both organizations, which overwhelmingly support first- generation students from diverse backgrounds.
The partnership with the New London-based Hispanic Alliance matches scholarships up to $2,500 per recipient annually. With Waterbury Promise, Eastern will award $5,000 annually to Waterbury Promise students.
“These partnerships provide an opportunity for students of all different backgrounds to see themselves in a college classroom and gives them the confidence and resources needed to be successful in their future educational endeavors,” said Jennifer Brown, associate provost for the Office of Academic Affairs.
Following the success of its NCAA Division III national championship baseball team, the Warriors concluded the 2021-22 academic year by winning the Commissioner’s Cup and Presidents’ Cup — the Little East Conference’s (LEC) two top honors for overall athletic and academic performances.
With a 7.63-point average among 19 varsity programs, Eastern student athletes won the LEC Commissioner’s Cup for the fifth consecutive year for top athletic performance. Eastern claimed the top spot in the league in baseball, softball, men’s golf and men’s soccer, as well as second-place points in several other sports.
For the third consecutive year — and a league record seventh time overall — the Warriors won the Presidents’ Cup with a 3.34 average cumulative GPA among its 19 programs that compete in the LEC. Seventeen of Eastern’s teams earned an average cumulative GPA of at least 3.00. Women’s track & field posted a 3.61 average cumulative GPA; the top men’s team was cross country with a 3.47 average cumulative GPA.
One of the world’s most peculiar flowering plants bloomed at Eastern this October. Amorphophallus titanium — popularly known as “corpse flower” for its unmistakably putrid odor — completed its short-lived, semiannual bloom in the greenhouse of the David G. Carter Science Building.
Native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the corpse flower is the world’s largest unbranched inflorescence — a group of flowers arranged on a stem — reaching heights up to 12 feet tall. According to Biology Professor Bryan Connolly, the plant wreaks of feces and rotting fish to attract pollinators that normally feed and lay eggs on dead animals.
A corpse flower’s first bloom may take up to 10 years and last just three days. Under ideal conditions, subsequent blooms may occur ever second or third year. Corpse flowers are rare in their native jungle environment; therefore, the flowers’ powerful odor is necessary to facilitate cross pollination between plants that are miles apart.
Eastern hosted the first capstone celebration for the Social Work and Law Enforcement (SWLE) Project this past spring, commemorating the inaugural year of a statewide collaboration that is formalizing the emerging field of police social work. The event featured pre-recorded remarks from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
“I’m heartened by programs like the Social Work and Law Enforcement Project,” said Cardona, a Connecticut native who comes from a family of police officers and public servants. “This program can help prevent the punishment of people with mental health challenges by connecting them with a strong support network. … Through this program, people can get the long-term follow-up and care they need by connecting with a trained social worker.”
The first-of-its-kind project began in fall 2020, when two Eastern social work interns were embedded into the Willimantic Police Department to support officers on nonviolent calls that could benefit from the skills of a social worker. The pilot internship evolved into a statewide collaboration that is now training students from several universities to work with officers from police departments across Connecticut.
Jessi Johnson '13, Emilee (Blais) Martin '13 and Rob Kavaler '13 catch up at Blarney's at the Young Alumni Bash.
Members of the Class of '72 (left to right, front row): Carol (Seaton) DesSureault, Candace (Burns) Aleks, Jennifer Malone, Almyra (Tefft) Hornberger. Back row: Ronald Ornmiston, Mary Jane (Larson) Traska, Richard Kohls, Kathleen (Brown) Fabian, Nancy (Gratson) Souza.
Willie the Warrior and the Eastern Dance Team announce the arrival of the Alumni March.
More than 600 students, families and alumni joined the festivities.
Eastern commemorated the jubilee Class of 1972 with a reunion weekend like never before on Sept. 30-Oct. 1. For the first time, Eastern Celebrates teamed with Family Day for a lively weekend that brought together alumni, current students and families.
Friday night festivities included a 15th anniversary celebration of the Student Center and the Young Alumni Bash at Blarney’s. Saturday morning, President Elsa Núñez hosted the Alumni Reunion Reception, where she presented the Class of 1972 with their 50-year Golden Diplomas. Led by the Eastern Dance Team and Class of 1972, the Alumni March made its way through the Student Center — cheered on by students and Family Day guests — for a barbecue. Activities featuring Eastern faculty took place throughout the afternoon before ending with the Alumni Reunion Happy Hour back at Blarney’s.