East Central University

East Central University (ECU or East Central) is a public university in Ada, Oklahoma. It is part of Oklahoma's Regional University System. Beyond its flagship campus in Ada, the university has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, and Durant, as well as online courses. Founded as East Central State Normal School in 1909, its present name was adopted in 1985. Some of its more prominent alumni include former Microsoft COO B. Kevin Turner, Modernist painter Leon Polk Smith, former NFL player Mark Gastineau, past governors Robert S. Kerr and George Nigh, former U.S. Representative Lyle Boren, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Tom Colbert, and U.S. Army General James D. Thurman. ECU is approximately from Oklahoma City, from Tulsa and from Dallas. Today the campus consists of 37 buildings on ; the university typically enrolls more than 3,500 students per semester from more than 30 countries and 25 states. History The university was founded as East Central State Normal School in 1909, two years after Oklahoma was admitted as the 46th U.S. state. It was one of the six newly created state funded normal schools that were designed to provide four years of "preparatory" (or high school) study, followed by two years of college work towards teacher certification. The school's establishment was the product of the intense lobbying efforts of the 25,000 Club, a local booster group. The club raised funds for faculty salaries so classes could begin that fall in local churches and public school classrooms. Graduates of the normal school program received lifetime teaching certification statewide. The 1910 Oklahoma Legislature funded faculty salaries and the construction of a building on a site donated by a Chickasaw allottee. In 1919, the normal schools were authorized by the Oklahoma Legislature to offer four years of teacher education, to offer bachelor's degrees, and were designated teachers' colleges. From 1910 to 1960, East Central operated Horace Mann Training School, a teacher education program designed to equip prospective teachers with classroom skills. From its inception, the training school focused on elementary and junior high students. In 1925, Horace Mann added older students upon achieving a new four-year high school accreditation. In 1953, a new Horace Mann building was completed where the program was housed until Horace Mann Training School was discontinued in 1960.