A new app created over the summer aims to provide Eastern students and the community with information on campus events and resources.

The idea for the app, called “PantherLife,” had previously been rolling around for over a year,

Jeremy Alexander, interim associate director of housing and dining, said.

“The plan is so you don’t have to download three different apps to get information,” Alexander said. “It is all centralized in one place.”

The design company Involvio was chosen to create the app over the summer.

Alexander said large training sessions are being planned for as early as September in order to get registered student organizations involved with PantherLife.

“We were strategic in those who served on the implementation team to cover as wide of a cross-section as we could,” Alexander said. “In the ideal world, I would love for every RSO to have their space inside the app. It’s going to be a lot of us working together bit by bit to really build it out to be what we want it to be.”

The app gives those using it the option to log in with their NetID or as a guest.

While guests can create an account and access the same information as those with a NetID, Alexander said having the NetID makes it easier for students to log in because they will not have to remember another password.

Anne Lewis, the Office Support Specialist for Student Affairs, said having a large implementation team of around 16 people has been both a challenging and rewarding experience.

“We all looked at the app from our own areas and then we also looked at it as representative of the entire university,” Lewis said. “Everyone bringing their different dynamic and their different background to the table has helped us really step back and take a good look at what we needed for our students.”

The athletic department, Doudna Fine Arts Center, Student Body President Luke Young and the Student Life Office, among other organizations, were all involved on the implementation board for the app.

“We want to see students seeing what all is available on our campus event-wise,” Lewis said. “We want them to know everything that is happening on campus in one location— here, on their phone.”

Lewis said the implementation group started with a shell for the app designed for them by Involvio.

“The more the app began to look like EIU, the more excited our team got about the app,” Lewis said. “We can see on the back end our numbers as they increase as students download the app and that’s very exciting.”

Alexander said marketing for the app will begin within the week. So far, he said around 400 students have downloaded the app.

Alexander said he hopes 70 to 80 percent of students will download PantherLife.

The app is currently available for both iPhone and Android devices.

Chrissy Miller can be reached at 581-2812 or clmiller9@eiu.edu.