East Central University (ECU) is a four year public university in Ada, Oklahoma, located in the south central region of the state. The university also has courses available in McAlester, Shawnee, Ardmore, and Durant. The university began in 1909 as a normal school that taught high school and college classes. Some of its more famous alumni include past governors Robert S. Kerr and George Nigh, former U.S. Representative Lyle Boren, and Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Tom Colbert. The university was founded as East Central State Normal School in 1909, two years after Oklahoma was admitted as the 46th U.S. state. Its establishment was the product of the intense lobbying efforts of the 25,000 Club, a local booster group. As a normal school, East Central provided four years of "preparatory" (or high school) study, followed by two years of college work. Classes were initially held 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 a building on a 16-acre (65,000 m) site donated by a Chickasaw allottee.