This behind-the-scenes video highlights the Department of Communication, Film, and Theatre's fall 2025 production of "The Burial at Thebes," an adaptation of Sophocles' classic tragedy "Antigone," which was staged in the Proscenium Theatre from Dec. 4 to 7.
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Eastern students showcased their entrepreneurial skills at the College of Business’s third annual Big Idea Pitch Competition on Dec. 1 at the J. Eugene Smith Library. The “Shark Tank”-style contest featured 20 original business ideas, presented by Eastern students to a panel of faculty and staff members. Businesses showcased at the event included a hotel for pets, anti-blister soccer cleats, a social networking service for musicians, a dressing aid for individuals with disabilities, and more.
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“Hold on to the curiosity that has been created here, that openness and confidence in your ability to live forward with purpose,” said Eastern President Karim Ismaili to fall semester graduates during a special reception on Dec. 3 in the Fine Arts Instructional Center foyer.
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Eastern welcomed nearly 500 guests to Hurley Hall on Nov. 26 for the 19th annual Day of Giving, a Thanksgiving feast served by students/staff and prepared by Eastern's dining service, Eastern Eats.
Read Full StorySteve Emt '03 knows all about adversity — a March 1995 car accident left him paralyzed below the waist. Today, Emt is a world-class wheelchair curling champion. When not competing on the national and international stage, he is a popular motivational speaker on the national high school circuit.
Since its founding in 1889 as a normal school tasked with preparing primary school teachers, Eastern Connecticut State University has seen thousands of teaching candidates graduate to become educators and administrators in schools across Connecticut and beyond. Over the years, many Eastern graduates have become leaders of their institutions. In the past decade alone, more than 90 alumni have served as principals and heads of school. Four recent principal appointments for the 2025-26 academic year demonstrate the leadership and devotion that have marked Eastern alumni for more than 135 years.
When Robert “Bob” Polito ’86 retired from his job as senior vice president at Webster Bank in 2019, he found he had a bit of time on his hands. COVID-19 exploded a few months later and Polito decided to try to reconnect with his favorite professor from Eastern — political science Professor Jay Cobbledick.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene M. Russell-Tucker recognized Eastern alum Brian Betesh ’05 as the 2026 Connecticut Teacher of the Year this fall. Betesh, a sixth-grade social studies teacher at Rogers Park Middle School in Danbury, leads efforts in interactive and project-based learning. He was selected from more than 44,000 Connecticut public school teachers, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does a biology degree at Connecticut’s public liberal arts university get you? For Liz Charnysh ’17 and Kristine Zlotnick ’23, an Eastern education helped launch careers in research and academia, from sequencing the human genome at the prestigious Jackson Laboratory to study of electrical currents in the brain.
This behind-the-scenes video highlights the Department of Communication, Film, and Theatre's fall 2025 production of "The Burial at Thebes," an adaptation of Sophocles' classic tragedy "Antigone," which was staged in the Proscenium Theatre from Dec. 4 to 7.
Eastern Connecticut State University will host a major showcase of prison artworks from Dec. 8 through Feb. 28, 2026, in the Art Gallery of the Fine Arts Instructional Center. Organized by Community Partners in Action (CPA), the exhibition marks the 45th annual show of CPA’s Prison Arts Program and features 604 artworks by 162 artists from nine Connecticut correctional facilities.
Eastern’s Department of Psychological Science hosted its semesterly research showcase, “Psychapalooza,” on Dec. 1 in the Student Center's Betty R. Tipton Room. A culmination of semester-long projects for students enrolled in “Research Methods II," the event featured more than 50 poster presentations and three student speakers.
Two students in Eastern’s Department of Art and Art History recently showcased their research exploring surrealist and gothic art. Seniors Carmelena Jones and AJ Beauregard presented their senior theses in a symposium on Dec. 3 in Goddard Hall, focusing on artists who specialized in the abnormal.
Eastern student Caio de Sousa has wasted no time getting involved in Willimantic’s small business scene. Along with friend Griffin Ryan, the sophomore accounting major co-owns and operates T-Shirts with a Purpose (T-SWAP), a printing and marketing service located on Main Street.
