Eastern University (United States)

Eastern University is a co-educational, comprehensive Christian university located in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia on the Pennsylvania Main Line. The school is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA and has undergraduate and graduate programs and an interdenominational Christian student body, faculty and administration. Eastern University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

History
Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Theological Seminary) was founded to provide a theologically conservative seminary within the American Baptist Churches. Beginning in 1925 as a department in the seminary, in 1952 Eastern University became a separate institution and moved to its present St. Davids location, taking the name "Eastern Baptist College". In 1972, it was renamed "Eastern College". In 2001, the Pennsylvania Department of Education granted the institution "university status" and it was renamed Eastern University. In 2004, the institution's Board voted to acquire its previous parent institution, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and EBTS changed its name to Palmer Theological Seminary in honor of a previous president in 2005.

Colleges and campuses
Eastern University consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Leadership, the College of Health and Social Sciences, Templeton Honors College, Palmer Theological Seminary, and Esperanza College (Eastern's junior college.)

The main campus is 114 acres just west of Philadelphia, in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. The main campus was originally a private estate, named Walmarthon, which was owned by the Walton family. The size of the campus has expanded through purchase of surrounding buildings.

Warner Memorial Library is housed in the Harold Howard Center. The Mazie Hall African American History Room contains books and memorabilia from a local educator. The Edison Room houses several drawings and artifacts which belonged to Thomas Edison.

In addition to the main campus in St. Davids, Eastern has additional sites in Center City, Philadelphia; East Falls, Philadelphia; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Ripley, West Virginia. Eastern also offers a variety of online programs.

Athletics
Eastern University is a Division III member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Eastern University joined the Middle Atlantic Conferences (commonly referred to as the MAC) in 2008.

Sports include men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's lacrosse, men's baseball, women's field hockey, women's softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, and cross country.

In 2002, senior Andrea Collesidis broke an NCAA scoring record for women's lacrosse.

Notable persons

 * Morgan Hikaru Aiken – alumnus and professional basketball player in Japan.
 * Tony Campolo – alumnus, professor emeritus, and international Christian speaker
 * Phillip Cary – philosophy professor, philosopher, noted Augustine scholar, and author
 * Shane Claiborne – alumnus, author, prominent figure in New Monasticism movement, founder of The Simple Way and on its board of directors
 * Peter Enns – history of religions professor, scholar, author
 * Wilson Goode – professor emeritus and former mayor of Philadelphia
 * Christopher Hall – emeritus professor, Episcopalian theologian
 * Carolivia Herron – alumna and scholar of African-American Judaica
 * C. Everett Koop – trustee 1970-c. 1980 (first non-Baptist board member)
 * Andrew Marin – founder of The Marin Foundation in Chicago, Illinois
 * Jamie Moffett – alumnus and independent motion picture director, producer, and social activist
 * Richard Muenz – alumnus and noted American actor and singer
 * Marvin Rees – Mayor of Bristol, England
 * Brandon 'Scoop B' Robinson – sports writer, radio host, television personality most notably with CBS Sports Radio.
 * Ron Sider – professor, activist, author, and founder/president emeritus of Evangelicals for Social Action
 * Bryan Stevenson – alumnus, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative