College was one of three officially designated recipients of memorial gifts by his family. In 1982, President Reagan told the Eureka College audience, "Everything that has been good in my life began here."
Eureka College established the Ronald W. Reagan Leadership Program in 1982 to provide scholarships and four-year full-tuition scholarships to designated Reagan Fellows.
=== Other notable alumni ===
Emik Avakian (1948), inventor and owner of numerous patents
Franklin Burghardt (1934), college football and basketball coach
Harvey Butchart (1928), mathematician and explorer of Grand Canyon backcountry
James E. Harris (1860s), lieutenant governor of Nebraska from 1897 to 1899
Frank Frantz (1880s), Rough Rider and the final Governor of Oklahoma Territory
Winfred Ernest Garrison (1890s), president of Butler University and professor of philosophy and religion at the University of Chicago
Dan C. Ogle (1924), U.S. Air Force Surgeon General and Major General
Oliver Perry Hay (1870), zoologist
William A. Poynter (1867), …
