WSU Highlights by Decade

Originally compiled by Bob Smawley, this timeline of WSU highlights from 1890-2000 will be updated and expanded. If you have questions or changes, please contact us.

1890-1899

1890	State Land-Grant College established by the State Legislature, March 28.
1891	First meeting of Board of Regents, April 22.
1891	George Lilley appointed first president, April 25.
1891	Contract awarded May 22 for the campus's first building named the "CRIB" - the cradle of an infant college. Cost estimate = $1500.
1892	Washington Agricultural College and School of Science, as WSU was first known, opened its doors to 29 students and 63 preparatory students, faculty of 5, on January 13. Instruction began in agriculture, mechanic arts and engineering, and sciences and arts.
1892	Construction started on Ferry Hall, first residence hall, February.
1892	College Hall contract awarded May 15.
1892	John W. Heston, principal of Seattle High School, appointed president, December 13.
1893	E.A. Bryan appointed president July 22. The former president of Vincennes University in Indiana, he had graduate degrees from Harvard and Columbia.
1894	Agriculture research started in Puyallup in Western Washington.
1894	Rogers intramural field construction started.
1894	First varsity football game: WSC beat Idaho, 10-0, November 10.
1895	Instruction began in Veterinary Science.
1895	First issue of Evergreen student newspaper published.
1896	First Glee Club organized.
1897	First graduating class of seven men and women.
1898	Alumni Association organized June 23. Edward Kimmel (Class of 1897) is the first president.
1899	First Chinook student yearbook published.
1899	First intercollegiate debates.

1900-1909

1900	First Summer School session.
1901	Football team won Northwest Championship.
1902	First master's degree conferred - William Harford Lawrence, M.S. in Botany.
1905	College name changed to State College of Washington.
1905	Instruction in Home Economics and Pharmacy launched.
1905-6	Enrollment reached 1,079.
1907	President Bryan went to Europe to recuperate from attack of typhoid fever.
1907	Instruction in Education began in November.
1909	Professor Osmar L. Waller named vice president of the college.

1910-1919

1910-19	Decade of the "Carlisle Connection." Three State College head football coaches arrived from the famous Carlisle Indian college in Pennsylvania: Frank Shivley, William "Lone Star" Dietz and Gus Welch.
1910	First issue of Alumni publication POWWOW printed.
1911	First "Founder's Day" celebration
1911	Miss Rhoda White named first Dean of Women.
1912	Crimson Circle senior men's honorary established.
1913	President's House completed at cost of $25,000.
1913	First Homecoming held.
1913	College natural history museum named for former regent, Charles R. Conner.
1914	Student Book Store established.
1915	President Bryan retires. Runs unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate.
1915	Ernest O. Holland appointed president. He has a Ph.D. from Indiana University and was superintendent of schools at Louisville, KY.
1915	Agriculture research started at Lind in Eastern Washington.
1916	State College football team defeated Brown 14-0 in first annual Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
1916	Auditorium and Library named "E.A. Bryan Hall."
1916-17	Enrollment reached 2,130.
1917	College department system reorganized into five colleges and four schools with deans as administrative heads.
1917	Graduate School created.
1917-19	World War I impacted State College, with units of soldiers training on campus. 41 soldiers died of influenza epidemic.
1919	Professor Harry Chambers named first part-time Alumni Secretary.
1919	State law passed requiring every able-bodied State College student to take at least three years of physical education.
1919	The Cougar is officially adopted as the State College mascot.

1920-1929

1921	First Women's Day held.
1922	College radio station KFAE went on the air. It is now KWSU.
1923	President Emeritus E.A. Bryan returned to campus as research professor of Economics and Economic History. He will teach a civics class until 1938.
1923	Henry Heald graduated in Civil Engineering. He became president of Illinois Tech, New York University and Ford Foundation.
1923	Mortar Board charter received.
1924-25	Enrollment reached 3,129.
1925	Library volumes totalled to 104,000, up from 17,000 in 1909.
1925	Earl Foster named first full-time Graduate Manager (student activities and athletic supervisor).
1925-28	Graduate Manager Earl Foster hired an Athletic staff who created the famous Golden Era of Cougar Athletics - Hollingbery, Bailey, Friel, Deeter, Schlademan, Bohm.
1926	Butch Meeker, 5-foot-5, 145-pound halfback, led the football team to a successful 6 win-1 loss season. The Cougar mascot was named "Butch" in his honor.
1927	First live Cougar mascot presented by State of Washington Governor Hartley.
1927	Phi Beta Kappa chapter established - first for a separate land-grant institution.
1929	First Ph.D. degree conferred - LaVerne Almon Barnes, Ph.D. in Bacteriology.

1930-1939

1930-39	Football Coach Babe Hollingbery recognized as one of the nation's top coaches. Continued as head coach of West team in annual East-West All-Star game. His Cougars did not lose a home game at Rogers Field from 1926-1935.
1930	Edward R. Murrow, ASSCW President, graduated.
1930	Cougar football team won FCC Championship with impressive victories over Cal, USC and Washington.
1931	Cougars outscored by Alabama 24-0 in Rose Bowl.
1931	Cougar center Mel Hein and tackle Turk Edwards named first team football All-Americans.
1931-33	The Great Depression severely impacts WSU, with faculty and staff taking an average 25 percent cut in salary during two-year period.
1933	Philip Abelson graduated in Chemistry. Later recognized as "Father of Atomic Submarine." Editor of Science magazine; president of Carnegie Institution.
1935	Famous national debate scheduled between Claudius O. Johnson, chair of the WSU Political Science Department, and famous American humorist Will Rogers. Rogers canceled it to fly to Alaska with Wiley Post. Rogers and Post died in a plane crash in Alaska.
1935	West Coast radio broadcast sponsored by Alumni Association highlighted 45th Founder's Day.
1935	N.J. Aiken, head of vocational school, started first career placement service. During the Depression. N.J. was referred to as "No Job."
1936	Enrollment reached 4,702.
1936	Marshall Neill graduated in Political Science. Served as Federal District Judge, State Supreme Court Judge, State Senator and Representative, WSU legal counsel.
1936	General student strike protesting social regulations. Agreement signed by students and President Holland on May 8, 1936.
1936	New football stadium constructed.
1936	Construction started on Women's Gym and on Davis and Wilmer residence halls.
1937	Herbert Kimbrough served as Acting President while Dr. Holland takes leave in Europe.
1937	Roy Petragallo and Ed McKinnon won NCAA Boxing Championship. Cougars won national title - WSC's first national athletic championship.
1938	Weldon B. "Hoot" Gibson graduated in Economics and headed for Stanford.
1938	Alumni Association celebrated 40th anniversary.
1938	School of Social Work established.
1939	Board of Regents established first retirement system.

1940-1949

1940	Enrollment reached 5,114.
1940	WSC library collection reached 400,000 volumes.
1940	School of Business Administration created, separating from College of Sciences and Arts.
1941	Coach Jack Friel's men's basketball team was runner-up for NCAA title, losing in the championship game to Wisconsin 39-34, in Kansas City.
1941	Federal government recruited faculty members for U.S. Defense service.
1941	Plans approved for Engineering Lab Building, and Veterinary Medicine Classroom and Laboratory Building.
1941	Land purchased by ASSCW for Student Union Building.
1941	President Emeritus Bryan and Dean Emeritus H.V. Carpenter died.
1942	First contract with government for training enlisted men in aviation, Japanese language, signal corps, radio and gunnery.
1942	Department of Nursing Education established.
1943	Cougar football suspended for duration of World War II.
1944	Research led to the development of "Cougar Gold Cheese," produced by WSU Creamery.
1944	WSC rated "first" in Northwest States for training service.
1944	Butch the cougar was official mascot for battleship U.S.S. Washington during World War II.
1944	President Holland announced his retirement.
1944	Dean Drucker donated the Minnie Barstow Drucker Collection to WSC valued at $50,000.
1945	Establishment of Institutes of Technology and Agriculture.
1945	Football program resumed under Coach Phil Sarboe, a 1932 WSC graduate.
1946	Wilson Compton (Ph.D. from Princeton University, Vice President and Manager of American Forest Products Industries, Inc.) assumed WSC presidency on January 1.
1946	Temporary housing brought in for faculty and students to accommodate G.I. bulge. Influx of military veterans after World War II.
1947	Plans completed for hospital addition to serve WSC and community.
1948	Contract award to build Todd Hall.
1949	Contract award to build Holland Library
1948	Regents approved new athletic code separating student activities and intercollegiate athletics.
1948	Title of graduate manager abolished. Student Activities and Athletics separated under two administrators.
1949	Enrollment reached 7,836.

1950-1959

1950	Helen Compton, wife of President Compton, coordinated purchase of several lake front lots on Priest Lake for WSC faculty members.
1950	Camp Easter Seal established on Lake Coeur d'Alene by Professor Roger Larson.
1950	President Emeritus Holland left estate of $72,000, library and art collection to WSC.
1951	WSC Foundation planned.
1951	WSC plant pathologist Frederick Heald donated personal library to WSC, including 300 volumes and 10,000 reprints in plant pathology.
1951	J. W. Kalkus, superintendent of the WSC Puyallup Research Center, reported that "one new berry plant developed at the station has added $15,000,000 to the state's wealth during the last 10 years."
1951	Weldon B. "Hoot" Gibson selected as "WSC Alum of the Month."
1951	President Compton resigned. William Pearl named acting president.
1952	C. Clement French (Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania, Dean of Faculty at Texas A & M) assumes presidency on April 1.
1952	Eugene "Pat" Patterson named Director of Alumni Relations.
1952	Compton Union Building dedicated.
1953	Philip Phibbs graduated as top scholastic student.
1954	Keith Jackson graduated, president of Crimson Circle, outstanding senior, chief announcer of KWSU.
1955	WSC tied San Jose, 13-13, in a football game played in sub-zero temperature in Pullman. One reserved ticket sold at the game.
1955	Poultry scientists Leo Jensen and Igor Kosin developed hatch process which will return a $9,000,000 annual savings to turkey producers.
1956	WSC grad Pete Radamacher won Olympic heavyweight boxing title by knocking out the Russian finalist in the first round in Melbourne, Australia.
1956	Of 64 U.S. students awarded Rhodes Scholarships, only two were from land grant colleges, both from WSC.
1957	Frances Penrose Owen named to Board of Regents. She would serve 18 years. Owen Science Library named for her in 1979.
1958	Pacific Coast Athletic Conference dissolved membership.
1958	NSF grant of $300,000 assured the building of a nuclear reactor on campus.
1958	Herbert Wood, professor of History, gave the first "Invited Address" by a WSC faculty member.
1958	Jack Friel retired as basketball coach after 30 years and 495 victories.
1959	George Marra, WSU wood technologist, developed high speed laminatory process capable of producing a weatherproof beam in seven minutes.
1959	Washington State College becomes Washington State University as designated by the State Legislature.

1960-1969

1960	Honors program established under direction of Sidney Hacker, Professor of Mathematics.
1960	Dr. J. Fred Bohler died. He served as a coach, athletic director, and physical education administrator at WSU for 42 years.
1961	Jack Cole named a regent.
1961	Keith Lincoln graduated after setting Cougar football rushing and punting records. His post season honors included playing in the All-American, College All-Star, Hula Bowl, and East- West Shrine games.
1962	KWSU-TV goes on the air for first time under direction of Cal Watson.
1962	Compulsory ROTC program changed to voluntary.
1962	Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award names first three recipients: Phillip H. Abelson, Henry T. Heald, and Edward R. Murrow.
1962	President French and Regent Tom Gose visited WSU program in Pakistan, one of the first international programs helping developing countries with land grant-type assistance.
1962	WSU joined Athletic Association of Western Universities, which later became the Pacific-8, then the Pacific-l0 Conference.
1963	Hugh Campbell, WSU record-breaking football pass receiver, voted MVP of the East-West shrine game after setting a new record by catching 10 passes.
1963	Radiocarbon dating laboratory established in College of Engineering.
1963	J. Clifford Folger and C. Glenn King selected for 4th and 5th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Awards.
1963	Miss Ivy Lewellen, 83, died. She served as executive secretary for 37 years to three presidents: Bryan, Holland and Compton.
1964	President Emeritus Holland's estate of $410,000 left to WSU. The John I. & Orpha Preissner estate of S300,000 willed to WSU.
1964	Famed "Agony Hall" torn down to make way for new Kimbrough Music Building.
1964	Cougar baseball coaching legend A.B. "Buck" Bailey killed in auto accident in New Mexico.
1965	WSU and UW establish State of Washington Water Research Center on Pullman campus.
1965	Edward R. Murrow dies of cancer.
1965	Howard B. Bowen, president of the University of Iowa, delivers commencement address and receives the 6th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award.
1965	WSU Animal Science Reproduction Research featured in Life magazine. S.E. Hafez primary researcher in Planet Colonization.
1966	President C. Clement French retires. Academic Vice President Wallis Beasley named acting president.
1966	Karl Sax, internationally acclaimed scientist, awarded 7th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award.
1966	Enrollment exceeded 10,000.
1966	Veterinarian Keith Farrell developed freeze-branding technique for animals, reducing pain and injury to animals.
1967	W. Glenn Terrell named 7th WSU president. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and is Dean of Faculties, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle.
1967	R.A. Nilan, geneticist, develops new barley strain with chemical mutagent.
1967	President Emeritus Wilson Compton dies in Ohio.
1968	Matsuyo Yamamoto, noted home economist, presented with Regents 8th Distinguished Alumnus Award.
1968	New French Administration Building dedicated to President C. Clement French.
1968	Marmes excavation near Washtucna in Adams County revealed the remains of oldest human beings in Western Hemisphere, approximately 12,000 years old. Internationally known as "Marmes Man." WSU Geologist Roald Fryxell was chief investigator.
1969	Gerry Lindgren, WSU track All-American, won 11 NCAA titles. He never lost an NCAA event he entered during his four university years.
1969	Anti-Vietnam War protests and student unrest result in sit-ins in Placement Bureau and French Administration Building.

1970-1979

1970	South grandstands of wooden football stadium at Rogers Field burned by arsonist.
1970	Alumni Achievement Award created by Alumni Association.
1970	Racism Workshop held on campus during student unrest period.
1971	$1,000,000 raised in three months to rebuild football stadium.
1971	50,000th student graduated from WSU.
1971	Geologist Roald Fryxell chosen to examine lunar rocks in Houston.
1972	WAMI medical education program started.
1972	Clarence D. Martin Football Stadium dedicated for former governor.
1973	Performing Arts Coliseum opened with first event - 1973 graduation.
1973	Edward R. Murrow Communications Center dedicated.
1974	Football coach Orin E. "Babe" Hollingbery died.
1974	WSU has major exhibit, Waterworld, at Spokane's World Fair - EXPO ‘74.
1974	WOI (Washington, Oregon, Idaho) regional Veterinary Medicine program started, led by WSU Veterinary College.
1975	100th anniversary of Land-Grant Research Centers.
1975	Ferry Hall torn down; cupola saved and installed as a memorial along what is now Glenn Terrell Friendship Mall.
1975	WSU signs pact with Jordan for providing educational services.
1976	Old Administration Building (Thompson Hall) designated by National Park Service for inclusion in National Register of Historic Places.
1976	Regent Michael Dederer elected as Board of Regents President for third time.
1976	$1,000,000 grant from Kellogg Foundation created Partnership for Rural Improvement.
1976	President Ford presented Orville Vogel, WSU and USDA researcher, with National Medal of Science.
1977	Orville Vogel, developer of the world's most productive wheat strains, received Regents 9th Distinguished Alumnus Award.
1977	Kate Webster and Edith William became second and third women appointed to Board of Regents.
1977	WSU won the National Indoor Track Meet.
1977	Steve Puidokas sets Cougar all-time basketball scoring record.
1978	Butch VI, the last live Cougar to serve as mascot, died at age 15.
1978	College of Home Economics celebrated 75th birthday.
1978	Athletic Hall of Fame created at WSU.
1978	ABC television sportscaster Keith Jackson awarded 10th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award.
1978	Henry Rono set four world track records in distance events.
1979	Jack Thompson's jersey (14) retired, recognizing 7,818 yards gained passing. One of only two football jerseys ever retired by WSU. Mel Hein was the other.
1979	Weldon B. "Hoot" Gibson, Charles Schroeder and Marshall Neill presented 11th, 12th, and 13th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Awards.

1980-1989

1980	Record enrollment of 17,468 achieved.
1980	WSU celebrated its 90th birthday on March 28.
1980	Alumni Foundation Leadership Awards started under (Alumni Association) President Richard Gustafson.
1980	William Bugge, Washington director of highways, and Laurence Peter, co-author of the Peter Principle, receive 14th and 15th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Awards.
1980	Mount St. Helens erupted leaving one-half inch of volcanic ash on campus.
1980	Cooper Publications Building is the first named to honor a classified staff member, Caroline Cooper, Director of Duplicating and Mailing for 39 years.
1980	Warren G. Magnuson Nursing Education Building, home to Intercollegiate Center for Nursing Education, dedicated in Spokane. Named for State of Washington's U.S. Senator.
1981	New track and field facility completed baseball field completed.
1981	Robert Redford Institute for Resource Management started at WSU and Idaho, named for actor.
1981	Football coach Jim Walden led the Cougars to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, where WSU lost to BYU 38-36.
1982	Jeanne Eggart broke career basketball scoring record for men and women with 1,967 points.
1982	Institutional advancement functions consolidated under new vice president, Stanton Schmid.
1982	Performing Arts Coliseum named for Executive Vice President Emeritus Wallis Beasley.
1983	Mel Hein, Robert Stevenson and Jacob Bigeleisen given Regents 16th, 17th, and 18th Distinguished Alumnus Awards.
1983	100,000th graduate received degree from WSU.
1983	1962 graduate Col. John Fabian became first Cougar astronaut to fly in space as a mission specialist on Challenger II space shuttle. Later he received the 19th Regent Distinguished Alumnus Award.
1984	Regents approved plans to convert 59-year-old Animal Science barn to new Alumni Center.
1984	Dan Lynch, WSU offensive lineman, named to Associated Press All-America First Team.
1984	WSU athletes won three gold medals and a silver medal in 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
1984	Rueben Mayes, Cougar running back, broke NCAA single-game football rushing record with 357 yards, against Oregon in Eugene.
1985	W. Glenn Terrell, 7th president of WSU, retired after 18 years.
1985	Samuel H. Smith, dean of the College of Agriculture at Penn State (Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley) named 8th president of WSU.
1985	Agricultural Sciences Building named for former Regent and 50-year advocate of state agriculture and WSU, James H. Hulbert.
1985	Jack and Ann Lewis pledged $1 million toward the new alumni facility, to be named Lewis Alumni Centre. Prominent restaurateur, Ivan Haglund, left half of his multi-million dollar estate to College of Business and Economics.
1985	WSU celebrated its 95th anniversary of its founding on Charter Day, March 28, 1890.
1985	WSU Board of Regents membership increased from seven to nine persons by legislative act.
1985	Washington Higher Education Telecommunication System, or WHETS, started transmitting live, interactive courses from the Pullman campus to Vancouver and other locations.
1986	WSU biochemist, Clarence A. "Bud" Ryan, selected for membership in prestigious National Academy of Sciences; first WSU professor to be honored.
1986	First commencement with college ceremonies held on Saturday, May 11. Following the main ceremony, students participated in college graduations held around campus.
1986	WSU Research and Technology Park construction begun and first tenant lease signed.
1987	The State Higher Education Coordinating Board assigned WSU the full responsibility for upper division undergraduate and graduate education in Tri-Cities and Vancouver and gives WSU responsibility in Spokane for research programs and doctoral education, as well as undergraduate and master's programs in WSU's official lines of responsibility, including engineering and agriculture.
1987	WSU offered its first three undergraduate courses the university will offer in Vancouver, beginning Aug. 24.
1987	Private giving to the university through WSU Foundation surpassed $9 million. Major gifts included Distinguished Professorships from the Kennedy family of Seattle and from five high-tech companies; $1 million from the Boeing Company and $1 million in computer equipment from AT&T.
1987	Washington Mutual Bank donated former Union Pacific Train depot in Pullman to WSU. As the Cougar Depot, it has the athletic ticket office, visitor center, and community meeting facility.
1987	First 170 Glenn Terrell Presidential Scholars chosen.
1987	New leadership selected for key athletic posts - Jim Livengood, athletic director; Dennis Erickson, football coach; Kelvin Sampson, men's basketball coach.
1987	Ground was broken for nearly $50 million in construction, which included the Lewis Alumni Centre, Chemistry Building, and Food and Human Nutrition Building.
1987	Leo K. Bustad, Dean Emeritus of College of Veterinary Medicine and internationally recognized speaker, humanist, and founder ofPeople & Pet Therapy programs, awarded 20th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award.
1987	First pre-registration for classes held during spring semester of fall 1987 classes.
1988	WSU Cougars defeat the University of Houston Cougars in the Eagle Aloha Bowl in Honolulu by a score of 24-22. ABC-TV nationally televised game played on Christmas Day.
1988	First year of the Summer Orientation Program (for new students and parents).
1988	Vibration-free laser laboratory constructed under Fulmer Hall.
1988	Former WSU president, C. Clement French, died in Lacey, Wash.
1988	Baseball monument constructed along the walkway at entrance to Bailey Field.
1988	Mary Turner DeGarmo, renowned for her work in transcribing musical compositions into Braille, and William Julius Wilson, sociologist, received Regents 21st and 22nd Distinguished Alumnus Awards.
1988	Peter Koech (Class of 1986) won silver medal in 3,000-meter steeplechase at Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
1989	During the state of Washington Centennial celebration in 1989, 100 individuals, including the following with WSU connections, were chosen for the Washington Centennial Hall of Honor in the Washington State Historical Society: Philip Abelson (Class of 1933), "Father of the Atomic Submarine;" Enoch Bryan, WSC president (1893-1916); Gary Larson (Class of 1972), acclaimed Far Side cartoonist; Edward R. Murrow (Class of 1930), preeminent broadcast journalist; Archie Van Doren (Class of 1937), father of controlled atmosphere storage for apples, conducted research for WSU at its Wenatchee Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center; Orville Vogel (Class of 1939), agronomist who revolutionized wheat breeding, made possible the Green Revolution. He worked for USDA at WSU in Pullman.
1989	McEachern Hall dedicated in honor of former WSU Regent Robert and his wife Margaret McEachern.
1989	Alumni Centre opened and named for benefactor Jack Lewis. The Alumni Association Conference was the first event held in the building.
1989	Food and Human Nutrition Building completed.
1989	Six-story addition to Fulmer Hall constructed.
1989	WSU's Hotel and Restaurant Administration Program ranked 4th nationally among hospitality programs.
1989	WSU signed agreement with Far Eastern State University in Vladivostok, Russia, to begin an exchange program.
1989	Branch campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities and Vancouver officially began on July 1 by act of the Legislature.
1989	Former WSU track star Peter Koech broke the world record in steeplechase with a time of 8 minutes, 5.35 seconds.
1989	AT&T donated $1.8 million in computer-aided design and analysis network equipment for molecular science.
1989	Neva Martin Abelson received Regents 23rd Distinguished Alumnus Award. She is co-founder of the global test for Rh. It has saved millions of babies' lives.
1988	National Institutes of Health granted WSU $473,000 to train graduate students in the science and applications of protein chemistry.
1989	Michael Utley, former student and 1989 All American offensive guard, was paralyzed by spinal cord injuries during Detroit Lions football game. NFL established a scholarship at WSU in Utley's name for students studying sports medicine.
1989	Jason Hanson, field goal kicker, named first team academic athletic All-American. Only Cougar to achieve the feat. He was later signed by the Detroit Lions.
1989-90	WSU celebrated its Centennial.

1990-1999

1990	$36.5 million expansion approved for Holland Library.
1990	Frances Penrose Owen, a WSU regent from 1957-1975, received the Medal of Merit, the state's highest award.
1990	$2.9 million appropriation to expand WSU's telecommunications system approved by the state Legislature.
1990	Gary Larson, syndicated cartoonist and creator of the Far Side, received the Regents 24th Distinguished Alumnus Award and was the Centennial Commencement Speaker.
1990	Tony Li took first in the 55-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship.
1990	Edward R. Murrow School of Communication dedicated.
1990	Allen C. Wilson received Regents 25th Distinguished Alumnus Award for his work in molecular evolutionism.
1990	Regents approved $28.6 million architectural plans for Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
1990	WSU pitcher Aaron Sele selected to play on the USA baseball team at the Goodwill Games.
1990	Groundbreaking for Holland Library addition.
1990	Regents approved plans for SIRTI, the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute plans.
1990	Money magazine ranked WSU among "America's Best College Buys."
1990	"The Caring Call" veterinary medicine sculpture, located by Grimes Way, built and dedicated.
1990	Chuck "Bobo" Brayton won 1,000th game as Cougar baseball head coach.
1990	Howard Nemerov, Poet Laureate of U.S., given WSU honorary doctoral degree at commencement.
1991	Cross country runners Samuel Kibiri and E.J. Guo named to All-American team. Both finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championship in Knoxville, Tennessee.
1991	Neill Hall, a former residence hall, renovated for $4 million and became home of the Math Department.
1991	Carolyn Kizer, Pulitzer Prize winning poet, presented WSU honorary doctoral degree at Commencement.
1991	KWSU-Northwest Public Radio "Bob and Bill" classical music show goes national.
1991	348 acres chosen at Salmon Creek in Clark County for WSU Vancouver branch campus.
1991	Lewis Alumni Centre library dedicated in honor of Phillip M. and June B. Lighty, Past President's Room in memory of Henry W. and Anna Magnuson Reaugh, and the Reception Gallery named for Weldon B. "Hoot" Gibson.
1991	WSU West moves to the Westin Building in downtown Seattle.
1991	Vishnu Bhatia, director of the Honors Program and former director of WSU's Office of International Education, appointed a Knight of the Dannebrog Order by Queen Magrethe II of Denmark.
1991	Harold Rhodes, the women's basketball coach, and Kelvin Sampson, men's basketball coach, both named Pacific-l0 Coaches of the Year.
1991	Women's basketball team makes first-ever appearance in NCAA Tournament.
1991	Dedication of WSU Tri-Cities new $12.7 million teaching facility in Richland.
1991	WSU men win Pacific-l0 in track and field title and place 2nd in NCAA Track and Field Championships.
1991	WSU ranked 34th nationally in corporate financial support.
1991	Barry Serafin, national correspondent for ABC News, receives 26th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award.
1991	Ground broken for $30 million Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
1992	Football team wins Copper Bowl, 31-28, over the University of Utah in Tucson, Ariz.
1992	Former WSU quarterback Mark Rypien chosen as MVP of Super Bowl XXVI in the Washington Redskins' 37-24 win over the Buffalo Bills.
1992	WSU research moose, Morty, becomes a TV star in the opening credits of the popular CBS show "Northern Exposure."
1992	Mike Lowry (Class of 1962) elected governor of Washington, first from WSU.
1992	Patty L. Murray (Class of 1972) elected to U.S. Senate. She was the first Cougar and first woman to be elected to the post from Washington.
1992	Sallie Giffen named vice president for Business Affairs. WSU's first woman vice president.
1992	Todd Hall addition, home of the Hotel and Restaurant Administration Department completed, at cost of $5.6 million.
1992	Women's volleyball team invited to NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship.
1992	Remodeled Carpenter Hall reopened as home for the School of Architecture. Cost of renovation was $9 million.
1992	Conner Museum, home of the largest collection of birds and mammals in the intermountain Pacific Northwest, reopened in Science Hall after being closed since 1986.
1992	WSU West headquarters insert dedicated in honor of former WSU Regent Michael Dederer.
1992	Doctor of Pharmacy program approved for WSU Spokane.
1992	Men's basketball team receives first-ever NIT (National Invitational Tournament) bid. Lost in second round to University of New Mexico.
1992	Josephat Kapkory claimed 3,000-meter title at NCAA Indoor Track and Field championship.
1992	U.S. Air Force General (ret.) Robert D. Russ receives 27th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award for his service as Commander of Air Force aviation during the Gulf War.
1992	Donors contribute a record-setting $33.5 million in private gifts, grants, and pledges to WSU.
1992	The space shuttle Columbia carried an experiment by WSU physicist Philip Marston.
1993	Women's volleyball team won National Invitational Tournament by beating Bowling Green University in straight sets. The team did not lose a single game throughout the tournament.
1993	R. James Cook, USDA plant pathologist and WSU adjunct professor, selected for National Academy of Sciences.
1993	ICNE celebrated 25th anniversary.
1993	Heather Metcalf became sixth woman to be ASWSU president.
1993	WSU quarterback Drew Bledsoe first pick in the NFL draft by the New England Patriots
1993	Former WSU baseball star John Olerud of the Toronto Blue Jays won American League professional baseball batting title with .363 average.
1993	History professor Leroy Ashby selected as CASE Outstanding College Professor in the state for second time.
1993	Plans for new Cougar Plaza in downtown Pullman approved.
1993	The Boeing Company donated $7 million to WSU - the largest private gift to date.
1993	Regents approved reorganization of College of Sciences and Arts into two separate academic units, the College of Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts.
1993	New Multicultural Center opened doors in renovated former Chemical Engineering Building.
1993	WSU researchers sent a plant experiment up with the space shuttle Discovery.
1993	John Gorham, internationally renowned veterinarian and WSU faculty member, selected as 28th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award.
1994	Alumnus Edward R. Murrow (Class of 1930) depicted on 1994 U.S. postage stamp.
1994	New Holland Library addition completed at cost of $36 million.
1994	Floyd Smith and Mariel Fulmer Doty, WSU's oldest known alumni, both died at age 103.
1994	Regent Kate Webster, retired after 18 years and eight months service. She served the longest term in the past 50 years. Physical Sciences Building named for her.
1994	Legendary WSU baseball coach, Bobo Brayton, retired after 33 years and more than 1,150 victories.
1994	The men's basketball team received invitation to play in NCAA Championship Tournament. Lost in first round to Boston College, 67-64.
1994	Josephat Kapkory captured 10,000 meter title at NCAA Cross Country Championships.
1994	WSU's Army ROTC unit marched away with #1 national ranking.
1994	Lewis Alumni Centre completed 5th year of operation. Host to 150,000 visitors and 1,500 meetings.
1994	WSU Veterans Memorial dedicated and a special tribute made to the 300 alumni, faculty and staff who died during WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf conflict.
1994	Morty, the WSU research moose and CBS-TV "Northern Exposure" star, died of an illness linked to a mineral deficiency.
1994	WSU broke ground for Vancouver campus.
1994	Necia Bennett Huntley (Class of 1935) and husband Elmer C. Huntley left a 890-acre wheat ranch at Thornton to WSU, ultimately to fund scholarships.
1994	Campaign WSU kicks off with goal to raise $200 million.
1994	Museum of Art celebrates 20th Anniversary.
1994	New Student Services building, named for benefactors Phil and June Lighty, under construction at cost of $17 million.
1994	African American Alumni Alliance conducted its first meeting at WSU.
1994	Albert Wilder Thompson, dean of the College of Sciences and Arts at WSU from 1953-64, dies at 95. Thompson Hall is named for him.
1994	Cougar fans celebrated a 23-6 Apple Cup victory against University of Washington, in the snow at Martin Stadium.
1994	WSU shuts down Baylor University 10-3 at the Alamo Bowl in Texas.
1995	Cougar pride went on the road. WSU Cougar logo license plates support student scholarships.
1995	HillTopics alumni newspaper celebrated 25 years. Its only editor has been Patrick Caraher (Class of 1962.)
1995	Stevens Hall, listed on the National Register for Historic Places, celebrated its centennial.
1995	The second woman to be honored with WSU's highest award Regent's Distinguished Alumnus Mary E. Turner DeGarmo, dies at 91.
1995	Coach Kevin Eastman took WSU men's basketball to NIT Tournament.
1995	WSU captured the Pacific-l0 North baseball title under first-year coach Steve Farrington.
1995	Butch the Cougar and Mickey Mouse spent the day together at Disneyland at a pregame rally for the WSU vs. USC football game.
1995	Money magazine ranked WSU among the top eight of the 436 Honors programs at American public universities.
1995	Golden Grads of 1945 gave as a class gift a grand piano which was dedicated during a concert in the Rotunda of the Holland Library addition.
1995	The WSU women's junior varsity eight crew team captured the crown at the National Collegiate Rowing Championship Regatta on Lake Harsha, Ohio.
1995	Coach Lisa Gozley and the WSU soccer team made their first NCAA Tournament appearance, ranking them 19th by "Soccer America."
1995	WSU's student enrollment, including branch campuses, reached another record high at 19,598.
1995	WSU opened a new 130-unit Yakama Village apartment complex for families and graduate students.
1995	President Emeritus Terrell returned to WSU for dedication of the Glenn Terrell Friendship Mall. He led WSU from 1967-1985.
1995	Cougar women's volleyball team ranked, 5th nationally.
1995	Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Norman Borlang received WSU's honorary doctoral degree at commencement.
1995	Campaign WSU passed $200 million mark eight months before its scheduled end.
1995	U.S. Army Gen. John Shaliashvili, chair of the U.S. Dept. of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke at commencement. His son was one of the graduates.
1995	Thomas "Les" Purce, former President of Evergreen State College, selected vice president for Extended University Affairs at WSU.
1995	Jack Friel, coach of the Cougar men's basketball team for 30 years and 495 victories, died at 97.
1995	An acrylic-on-canvas painting depicting a commitment to diversity is dedicated in the Compton Union Building. WSU colleges and administrative units donated the nearly $10,000 for the three-piece mural.
1995	Volleyball Coach Cindy Fredrick concludes her seventh season at WSU by being named Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year. The team finished 22-7 overall and third in the Pac-l0, led by All-American Sara Silvernail.
1996	WSU President Samuel Smith received Boy Scouts of America's Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.
1996	Thrifty Payless contributed more than $100,000 for computer equipment, software and student scholarships for the College of Pharmacy.
1996	WSU officials and community partners announce plans to develop six pilot Learning Centers in the state to expand educational opportunities. The centers are located in Port Townsend, Wenatchee, Colville, Longview/Kelso, Tacoma and Yakima.
1996	WSU President Samuel Smith begins service on the 25-member Kellogg Commission on the future of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.
1996	Construction starts on a 45,000-square foot weightroom addition to Bohler Gym.
1996	Arthur McCartan, who served as a WSU administrator for 38 years before retiring in 1985, as Dean of Students and Dean of Men, dies in Olympia.
1996	Time magazine named WSU graduate William Julius Wilson, noted sociologist, one of America's most influential people.
1996	WSU Vancouver's new Salmon Creek 384-acre campus dedicated. It is WSU's first all new campus in more than a century.
1996	The $16 million Lighty Student Services Building, which adjoins French Administration Building, opened. It is named for WSU graduate Phil Lighty and his wife, June. The Lightys established one of WSU's largest scholarship endowments for students with demonstrated leadership potential.
1995	At the first anniversary of the state of Washington collegiate motor vehicle program, more than 5,119 plates featuring the WSU Cougar logo have been sold - more than all the other public schools in the state combined.
1996	The $3.1 million Phi Kappa Theta fraternity opened. High-tech in every respect, it reflects the "wired world" commitment of WSU alumnus and fraternity member Paul Allen, Microsoft cofounder. He funded the building and equipped each of the other Greek houses at WSU with internet connections.
1996	Money magazine ranks WSU among the top 15 best for value four-year undergraduate universities and colleges in the Western U.S.
1996	Mrs. George Randolph Hearst, Sr., widow of the oldest son of late newspaper giant William Randolph Hearst, became an Adopted Cougar.
1996	Dedication of WSU's Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service. It is named for the former U.S. Speaker of the House and State of Washington member of Congress.
1996	WSU's $38 million Veterinary Teaching Hospital opened. On Sept. 9 the hospital made history when an 80-year-old woman became the first human patient to use the hospital's magnetic resonance imaging unit. Under a cooperative agreement, the vet hospital provides imaging services for human patients.
1997	Gretchen Bataille named provost and vice president for academic affairs, effective July 1. She had been provost of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
1997	The seven-year Campaign WSU, the university's first comprehensive fund-raising effort, concluded with a final total of $275.4million, surpassing its original $250 million goal. Supporting WSU's vision to be one of the top public universities in the nation, the monies raised benefit scholarships, teaching and research programs, student programs and learning initiatives s statewide.
1997	WSU President Samuel Smith chaired the NCAA Presidents Commission, the major governing body for college intercollegiate athletics.
1997	The Consolidated Information Center at WSU Tri-Cities opened. Funds for the $18.6 million literary and teaching center came from the state of Washington and the U.S. Department of Energy.
1997	WSU biochemists Rod Croteau and Linda Randall were elected to the National Academy of Sciences. They joined four other WSU researchers in the academy, C.A. "Bud" Ryan, a biochemist; Jim Cook, a USDA plant pathologist at WSU, John Hirth, a materials scientist, and Dieter H. von Wettstein, a plant geneticist.
1997	Debbie Pipher, senior member of the WSU coaching staff, resigns after 20 years as coach of the women's swimming team.
1997	Dave Cooper retired as manager of the Student Book Corporation, after 27 years leading the "Bookie."
1997	WSU received $10 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to create an Institute for Shock Physics. The institute is directed by WSU physics Professor Yogi Gupta.
1997	Picked to finish 7th in the Pac-l0, the 1997 WSU Cougar football team finished first, earning the right to play the Rose Bowl game (Jan. 1, 1998) for the first time in 67 years.
1998	January 1, the WSU Cougar football team played in the Rose Bowl football game in Pasadena, Calif., pushing national champion and no. 1 ranked Michigan to the last play of the game before losing, 21-16. Some 101,219 fans and a world-wide television audience saw the game. In February, football coach Mike Price signed an eight-year contract extension through Dec. 31, 2005.
1998	An alcohol-induced student riot along a Colorado Street adjacent to the WSU campus takes place in early May. According to the Pullman Police Department, several hundred students engaged directly with police officers, some throwing bottles, cans and rocks. Estimates put some 1,000 onlookers on the street during the five-hour disruption that left 23 law enforcement officers and four students injured, according to a story in the June 1998 issue of Hilltopics.
1998	Washington Gov. Gary Locke participates in a dialogue on race and bigotry in the Compton Union Building, with students, faculty and staff. In an address, he said, "The gift of cultural pluralism is grounded in mutual respect and democracy."
1998	The new $27 million, 100,000-square-foot Engineering, Teaching and Research Laboratory opened. Adjacent to Dana Hall, the four-story structure was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
1997	A new state law gave WSU a major educational leadership role in Spokane, and management responsibilities for the Riverpoint campus.
1998	The WSU Creamery, home of Ferdinand's, celebrated its 50th anniversary. Previously located in Troy Hall, Ferdinand's moved to new facilities in the Food Quality Building in 1992. WSU cheeses, including Cougar Gold, are sold worldwide.
1998	The first students recruited to WSU through the College of Education's Future Teachers of Color program graduated during the 1998 Commencement.
1998	Pine Manor was torn down. Built by the Works Progress Administration in 1937 with a knotty pine interior, it was operated as a cooperative house, independent of the university's housing system. In 1963, fire safety concerns brought an end to its use as a dormitory. WSU purchased it and renovated it into headquarters for an internationally recognized anthropology program.
1998	The Bill Chipman Palouse Trail opened. Built on an abandoned railroad bed, the recreational path parallels the highway between Pullman and Moscow. Creating the eight-mile recreational asphalt trail involved two states, two cities, and WSU and the University of Idaho. The late Bill Chipman, Pullman car dealer, was a UI graduate and supporter of his alma mater and WSU.
1998	At age 102, Dorothy Otto Kennedy, the oldest living graduate of the WSU College of Pharmacy, died in Everett. She earned her degree in 1916 and went on to practice pharmacy in Reardan in eastern Washington and Everett in western Washington.
1998	A $1 million renovation of the "Bookie," WSU's student book store, was completed. The facility now includes a 1,000-square foot den with a fireplace, plus an espresso bar as part of the Wazzu Café.
1998	WSU's official fall semester Pullman campus enrollments reached 17,912. System-wide WSU registration totaled 20,998. The 2,877 new freshmen comprised the largest incoming class since 2,970 enrolled in 1980.
1998	Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine (Sept. 1998 issue) ranked WSU 39th among the nation's "Top 100 Values in State Universities."
1998	A new poetry corner in the Holland/New Library Atrium was named to honor Ruth Slonim, professor emeritus of English.
1998	On March 26, the WSU Alumni Association began a six-month centennial celebration. The association started in 1898, eight years after the state Legislature created the land-grant college (March 28, 1890).
1999	In March, the 24th annual Pal-Loots-Pu, a three-day celebration and dance competition, was held, sponsored by Ku-Ah-Mah, the Native American student organization at WSU.
1999	WSU's campuses in Spokane, the Tri-Cities and Vancouver celebrated their 10th anniversaries. They were all created by the state Legislature on July 1, 1989.
1999	Jamie Kern represented WSU's 150,000th graduate at commencement.
1999	WSU alumnus and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen became the 29th recipient of the Regents' Distinguished Alumnus Award during Commencement.
1999	The Admissions Office suite in the Lighty Student Services is dedicated in Stan Berry's name. He worked 33 years in admissions, 22 of them as director.
1998	President Samuel Smith, age 59, announced he will retire in the summer of 2000. He underwent successful surgery for cancer in March 1998. He said his health is good and notes the university "has just finished a very successful Legislative session that provided much needed dollars for faculty salaries and construction" in Pullman at the branch campuses. A search committee is appointed to assist the WSU Regents in finding a successor.
1999	The May issue of Yahoo Internet Life Magazine rates WSU the No. 1 "wired" public university in America.

2000

2000	Crimson Company, the student show choir, one of WSU's most popular public relations vehicles for nearly a quarter of a century, was discontinued after its final tour in May due to budget cuts. The decision was made by the executive board of the WSU Alumni Association, the group's sponsor.
2000	The WSU baseball facility was renamed Bailey-Brayton Field, honoring Buck Bailey and Bobo Brayton, who coached the Cougars, 1927-41 and 1946-61 (Bailey) and 1962-94 (Brayton). Originally located near Hollingbery Fieldhouse, a new Bailey Field opened in 1980 near the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum.
2000	Steve Wymer became the first person in WSU history to serve three different terms as president of the Associated Students of WSU. He initially became president, upon succession while serving as ASWSU vice president, in 1998-1999. He was elected ASWSU president in 1999-2000 and reelected for 2000-2001.
2000	On June 8, V. Lane Rawlins became WSU's ninth president succeeding eighth president, Samuel H. Smith, who served from July 1, 1985 to June 8, 2000. Rawlins, previously president of The University of Memphis in Tennessee, was a former WSU faculty member and administrator. He joined the economics faculty in 1968, later served as chair of the department of economics, and was WSU vice provost from 1982-86.
2000	Construction on the new $39 million Student Recreation Center neared completion, scheduled to open in January 2001.

Originally compiled by Bob Smawley. Updated 5/11/94 by Mark D. Peck and 3/25/96 by Christina R. Parrish and Cynthia Hulse. Updated fall 2000 by Barb Petura and Tim Marsh. If you have corrections to this document, please contact us. Thank you.