A treasured transportation landmark gets new life.

Thanks to the dogged persistence of a small group of rail and history buffs, a seminal part of EWU’s history — one that it shares with its hometown — has been preserved and repurposed for another century or more of service.

The Cheney Depot, a charming Spanish-colonial style structure completed in 1929, for decades served as a primary means of connecting generations of Eastern students to Spokane and the wider world. But after passenger service came to an end in 1971, and freight operations terminated a few years later, the abandoned station gradually fell into disrepair.

After the railroad announced plans to demolish it in 2014, a local group, the Cheney Depot Society, was formed to save it. Their audacious $2.2 million rescue plan involved first stabilizing and relocating the structure, then recruiting both professional and volunteer labor to refurbish it. When finished, the society proposed, the space would be a perfect home for select local retailers or other small businesses.

It wasn’t easy to keep things moving forward — particularly during the pandemic years — but earlier this spring Depot Society members announced that the structure, now fully restored and resituated at a new location on 1st Street, was ready to return to service.

At a grand opening event in April, Eastern alumnus Rick Mount, the society’s chair, told a packed house that the project demanded a lot from the volunteers, donors and other supporters. It’s been a “long process,” he said, but one that had been “a truly rewarding experience for all of us who have put in so much time and effort to make this dream come true.”

The depot, located on Union Street about two blocks from its original location, is once again serving both EWU students and community members, this time as the outpost of an artisanal coffee shop. The business, Eastern Coffee Roasters, will feature an outdoor patio and indoor dining areas from which coffee roasting will be on view. There will also be dedicated spaces for meetings and study sessions, the owners say.

First Among Eagles: Eastern’s early days as a State Normal School were decidedly difficult. In spite of spirited local support, fire, funding and organizational woes all contributed to a decided sense of impermanence. That changed with the arrival of Noah David Showalter in 1911. Showalter brought to his leadership impeccable academic credentials (WSU, Stanford and Columbia University) and a single-minded devotion to the advancement of public education. As principal and later president of the school, he recruited highly qualified faculty members, expanded enrollment, professionalized the curriculum and oversaw construction of the building (below) that now bears his name. Perhaps most importantly, he took steps to ensure graduates teaching in rural schools stayed connected to the institution, a move that eventually established Eastern as a truly regional college. By the time he left to become the state’s Superintendent of Instruction — 100 years ago this spring — Showalter was widely recognized as the “father” of Eastern Washington University.

Camping in Cheney: When Seattle was awarded an NFL expansion franchise 50 years ago, one of the first orders of business was establishing a site for the team’s summer training camp. In those days, the hardboiled owners who ran the league were convinced that, during the crucial preseason training period, their mostly youthful players should be housed as far away from “distractions” as possible. The EWU campus, with its relative isolation, seemed to fit the bill. The team would summer in Cheney until 1985, then again from 1997-2006. Pictured is Chuck Knox, the Seahawks’ head coach from 1983–1991, talking to reporters during his first trip to EWU.

Eastern’s 75-year-old radio station confronts a “changing media landscape.”

Eastern announced earlier this fall that its long-running non-commercial jazz radio station, 89.5 KEWU-FM, has transitioned to DJ-free, “pre-loaded” jazz as part of a phase-out plan that could eventually result in the university ceding ownership.

The decision to potentially offload the station did not come lightly, EWU officials said. The move, they added, had the support of program faculty and university administrators who recommended that Eastern would be best served by looking at new broadcasting opportunities in the future.

“KEWU has provided quality entertainment as well as classic and contemporary jazz to the Inland Northwest for nearly 75 years, and we are proud of that accomplishment,” says Jonathan Anderson, provost and vice president for academic affairs at EWU: “With how dynamically the media landscape is changing, there will be new opportunities for the university to explore.”

KEWU’s long history began on April 7, 1950, when KEWC (as it was originally named) first hit the airwaves. It operated as a free-form student station until 1986, when it increased its transmitter output from 100 watts to 10,000 watts. At that time the format changed to straight-ahead jazz  —  such as big band, swing and bop — as well as modern and smooth contemporary jazz. Over the years KEWU has also hosted local artists in the studio to showcase their music.

Elizabeth Farriss, who joined the station as program director in 2004, was twice named Best Small Market Jazz Programmer by Jazz Week Magazine. The same publication named KEWU “best small market station” two different times.

“Elizabeth Farriss’ expertise and dedication over the years established KEWU as a leader in jazz programming and a well-respected ambassador of the university,” says Pete Porter, an EWU professor of film, the academic program which currently administers the station: “Eastern was fortunate to have someone of her caliber at the helm of its flagship radio station for so many years.”

As part of the 100th Anniversary of Eagle Family Homecoming earlier this fall, EWU’s Alumni Association worked with university archivist Steven Bingo to curate an extraordinary collection of photographs, videos and memorabilia from Eastern’s long, extraordinary history. The exhibit, dubbed “Walk Through the Decades,” ended in October, but it’s not too late to share the excitement of EWU’s century of service to its students and community. Our specially designed web feature — including this image of “yell leaders” from 1925 — lets you “scroll through the decades” in a way that’s almost as much fun as being there. Point your web browser to go.ewu.edu/decades.

As Title IX turned 50 this year, EWU took time to reflect on the landmark federal statute.

This year marked a half-century since the adoption of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a landmark federal civil rights law that prohibited sex-based discrimination in education programs and other activities that received federal funding. At Eastern and around the nation, colleges and universities have used the anniversary to reflect on Title IX’s seismic impact in higher education and beyond. 

“It wasn’t that long ago that your gender would have had a really big impact on what you were able to do and how much you could achieve,” says Annika Scharosch, JD, Eastern’s Title IX coordinator and associate vice president for civil rights, compliance and enterprise risk management. These days, she adds, students don’t have to worry about being denied admission to professional programs or held back due to their gender. That includes women who want to become doctors and men want to become nurses, as well as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

At Eastern, past enrollment numbers bring Title IX’s true impact into focus. Back in 1972, there were 3,806 men and 2,920 women enrolled at the university, then called Eastern Washington State College. At today’s Eastern Washington University, the student body last year included 6,562 women and 4,312 men.

Nationwide, U.S. Census Bureau data shows that in 1970, pre-Title IX, just 8 percent of women earned a college degree. By 2020, the number of female college graduates increased to nearly 33 percent, a number exceeding that of male graduates.

EWU Athletic Director Lynn Hickey says she experienced this changing landscape firsthand, both as a pre-Title IX high school basketball player and a post-Title IX college athlete, coach and athletic director. 

“I grew up playing half-court basketball in the state of Oklahoma,” recalls Hickey. Back then, she says, women’s basketball was a three-on-three, half-court game because male administrators thought females didn’t have the stamina to compete full-court.

Over the years, as Title IX’s impact on athletics created a battleground for women’s rights, thousands of women — and men — stepped up to champion equity. Hickey credits her father, who coached middle and high school sports for 47 years, with inspiring her love of athletics. 

Hickey’s groundbreaking résumé includes becoming the first female athletic director at the University of Texas, San Antonio. At the time she was the only female Division 1 athletic director in Texas. When Hickey left the job 18 years later, her list of accomplishments included starting football, women’s soccer and women’s golf programs. She points to the experience of her daughter, Lauren, as evidence of Title IX’s generational sway.

Lauren not only grew up in a world where her mother was high-achieving in the male-dominated field of collegiate athletics, Hickey says, her aunts included a doctor, two attorneys and a social worker.

“Just think that in one generation how everything has changed,” Hickey says. “You have to give Title IX credit for that turnaround.”

A cherished link to Eastern’s past returns, this time without restrictions.

On a beautiful fall day, led by the Eagle Drum Corps and flanked by cheering faculty, staff and Greek Life members, hundreds of incoming students in September “passed through” EWU’s iconic Herculean Pillars to begin their university careers.

The annual event, now one of Eastern’s most cherished traditions, recreates the path generations of students once took from Cheney’s downtown train depot to their new collegiate homes. These days, their belongings safely stowed in residence halls, the newly arrived Eagles are encumbered only by red and white pom-poms and complimentary bar-b-que. 

“I’m so excited for what’s to come!” said one happy undergraduate, Alana Zamora, a soon-to-be biology major from the Tri-Cities, right before the walk.

This year’s event was especially exciting given that it was “restriction free” — meaning that, unlike last year’s gathering, students could enjoy the day without pandemic-related health and safety requirements.

Constructed from granite salvaged from the ruins of EWU’s original Cheney Normal School building, the posts powerfully represent the perseverance and resilience of the university and its students. 

Passing through the pillars is one of a slew of Welcome Week activities designed to help new students seamlessly adapt to university life. Unlike some of the other entertaining activities, however, the pillars event signifies more than just a symbolic start, said Kelsey Hatch-Brecek, Eastern’s director of alumni relations. Constructed from granite salvaged from the ruins of EWU’s original Cheney Normal School building, the posts powerfully represent the perseverance and resilience of the university and its students.

“For 107 years, these gates of knowledge, these Herculean Pillars, have symbolized that the spirit of Eastern cannot be defeated,” Hatch-Brecek told attendees.    

For the newly arrived members of the Class of 2026, however, the day’s focus was, understandably, mostly on the excitement of the here and now. “It feels good to be here,” said Grace Grubaugh, an outdoor recreation major from Medical Lake. “I’ve been on campus the last couple days and doing all the Welcome Week activities. It’s been awesome!”