William Perry

Eastern Illinois University President

On this website, you will read the stories of current students and alumni whose successes underscore the title of our campaign: Expect Greatness.

Eastern Illinois University has a long history of helping students defy expectations so that they could become the people they dared to dream they might be. But you know this—you’re part of our history. You know from experience that Eastern changes lives. You also know that the first step to changing a life is to insist that it be based on excellence.

When we expect greatness of them, our students will rise to the occasion, and our graduates will remember us with pride. Eastern works hard to make greatness possible. We do so by setting high standards for our students and the faculty and staff who work with them. We do so by keeping our eyes on the future, providing members of the EIU community with the programs, services, and facilities they need to become the successes they are destined to be. We do so by consistently demonstrating our commitment to making the world we live in and will leave to our children healthier, more charitable, and more prosperous.

But as the state of Illinois continues to reduce funding for both Eastern and for the financial aid programs that make college possible for many of our families, it will become more and more difficult for us to provide our students with an environment in which greatness will thrive.

Yet now more than ever, it is imperative that we offer them an education that is both excellent and affordable. Now more than ever, the economic prosperity, the intellectual capacity, and the moral character of our state and nation rest on the shoulders of the men and women we prepare to learn, to lead, and to serve.

Now more than ever, we need your help to ensure that Eastern Illinois University can continue to set a standard of greatness for itself and for those who know us as a university that will accept nothing less.

Expect Greatness. We are EIU.

William Perry
President