Editing Eastern Michigan University (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Eastern Michigan University}}

[[File:Detroit_Publishing_Company_-_MSNC_Old_Main_Building.jpg|thumb|left|The Old Main Building was completed in 1852, a year before the normal school open its door. It was destroyed in a fire in 1859 and rebuilt in 1860.]]

Influenced by similar academies in Europe, the [[Michigan Legislature]] founded the '''Michigan State Normal School''' in 1849 with its campus in Ypsilanti. There was a significant contest among municipalities across Michigan to become the home of the state's first normal school. These other contending villages and towns included [[Niles, Michigan|Niles]], [[Jackson, Michigan|Jackson]], and [[Marshall, Michigan|Marshall]]. The school officially opened its doors for classes on March 29, 1853, with 122 enrolled students.<ref name="emich3">{{cite web |url=http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/hist.htm |title=EMU : Historic Tour |publisher=Emich.edu |access-date=June 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080104155406/http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/hist.htm |archive-date=January 4, 2008 }}</ref> American normal schools were intended to be institutions to improve the quality of the burgeoning [[common school]] system by producing qualified teachers.

[[Adonijah Welch]], a [[University of Michigan]] graduate, served as the Normal School's first principal. He later became the first president of [[Iowa State Agricultural College]], now [[Iowa State University]]. The university's [[Georgian Revival]]-style Welch Hall bears his name. Constructed in 1895, Welch Hall is the second-oldest surviving building on the university's campus and an [[Eastern Michigan University Historic District]] [[contributing property]].

[[File:Detroit_Publishing_Company_-_MSNC_Old_Gymnasium(02).jpg|thumb|left|The Old Gymnasium on the Michigan State Normal School campus, it was constructed in 1894 and demolished in 1965.]]

In 1899, the school became the '''Michigan State Normal College''' when it developed the first four-year curriculum for a normal school in the nation. The Normal College began the twentieth-century as Michigan's premier teacher-preparatory school. The school continued through World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II, and continued to expand further.<ref name="emich3"/> In 1956, under President Eugene Elliott, the school officially became '''Eastern Michigan College'''. This was mostly due to the expansion of the school's programs and increased enrollment following the Second World War.<ref>{{cite web|title=Enrollment Data|url=http://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1216&context=theses}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=the1853 student enrollment|url=http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/timeline.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108072148/http://www.emich.edu/walkingtour/timeline.htm|archive-date=November 8, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=the 1991 Enrollment History |url=http://www.emich.edu/focus_emu/022007/lindke.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730201210/http://www.emich.edu/focus_emu/022007/lindke.html |archive-date=July 30, 2012 }}</ref>

[[File:Pease_construction_2.jpg|thumb|Frederic Henry Pease Auditorium under renovation]]

In 1959 the school became a university, gaining the title '''Eastern Michigan University''' after establishing the Graduate School (graduate classes had been offered for two decades, since 1939).<ref name="emich3"/> Between 1959 and 1980 the College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, College of Business, College of Health and Human Services, and College of Technology (now GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology) were formally organized and established. In the early 1970s, international student exchange schemes were organized, including one with [[Coventry College of Education]] (later part of the [[University of Warwick]]) in Britain.<ref>"Guest Commentary: A Britisher takes a look at us..." [[The Eastern Echo]], Friday, February 19, 1971</ref><ref>"Canley Students on the U.S. Campus," [[Coventry Evening Telegraph]], August 16, 1971, p.8</ref> In 2005, the Honors Program officially became the Eastern Michigan University Honors College.

More recently, extended programs were added, such as Continuing Education (which includes EMU Online), the Centers for Corporate Training, the World College, and numerous community-focused institutes. Most programs are undergraduate or master's level, although the university has doctoral programs in Educational Leadership, Technology, and Psychology.

Prior to Michigan's [[Constitution of Michigan|1963 State Constitution]], Eastern Michigan University was governed by Michigan's elected [[Michigan Department of Education|State Board of Education]]. Since the ratification of the 1963 constitution, EMU has been governed by an eight-member Board of Regents. These regents are appointed by the [[Governor of Michigan]] with the advice and consent of the [[Michigan Senate]], and serve eight-year terms. The regents, in turn, elect the president of the university.<ref name=emuregents>{{citation |url=http://www.emich.edu/regents/ |title=Board of Regents |publisher=Eastern Michigan University |access-date=February 10, 2011}}</ref>