- In the beginning
1890 - George Lilley
May 1891-Dec. 1892 - John Heston
Dec. 1892-Aug. 1893 - Enoch Bryan
1893-1915 - Ernest O. Holland
1915-1945 - Wilson A. Compton
1946-1951 - C. Clement French
1952-1966 - Glenn Terrell
1967-1985 - Samuel H. Smith
1985-2000 - V. Lane Rawlins
2000-2007 - Elson S. Floyd
2007-current
How history was made
In the beginning
Since its founding in 1890, WSU has forged a rich history from stories of remarkable people-scholars and leaders whose contributions transformed lives nationwide.
After a shaky beginning-2 presidents were forced from office in less than 2 years-Enoch Bryan became the University's third president in 1893 and served for 23 years. During his tenure, Washington Agricultural College and School of Science, as it was then called, became the State College of Washington, and the University's journey to become one of the top research universities in the country was begun.
| 1892 | Washington State Agricultural College and School of Science opens to students |
| 1905 | Name changes to State College of Washington |
| 1959 | Name changes to Washington State University |
George Lilley
May 1891-Dec. 1892
Academic field: Mathematics
Degree: Unknown
Major challenges: Starting a college from nothing
| 1892 | Washington Agricultural College and School of Science opens its doors on Jan. 13 to 13 collegiate and 46 preparatory students |
| 1892 | Construction starts on Ferry Hall, the first residence hall, in February |
| 1892 | College Hall contract awarded May 15 |
John Heston
Dec. 1892-Aug. 1893
Academic field: Education, master's degree, Penn State
Major challenges: Just about everything
Life after WSU: Later serves as president of Dakota State University
| 1892 | Agricultural College, Experiment Station and School of Science of the State of Washington opens |
| 1893 | Stock market crash: "Panic of 1893" |
Enoch Bryan
1893-1915
Academic field: Classics, master's degree, Harvard University
Life after WSU: Becomes Idaho's Commissioner of Education for several years and then returns to SCW as a research professor
Namesake: Bryan Hall and Tower
| 1894 | First varsity football game, WSC 10, Idaho 0 |
| 1895 | First issue of Evergreen |
| 1897 | First graduating class of seven |
| 1899 | Enrollment 481 |
| 1902 | First master's degree |
| 1905 | School renamed State College of Washington |
| 1906 | Enrollment 1,371 |
| 1913 | President's house completed for $25,000; first homecoming |
Ernest O. Holland
1915-1945
Academic field: English, Ph.D., Columbia University Teacher's College
Major challenges: Conflict in legislature regarding duplication of courses at WSC and UW. Although he and President Suzzallo of UW were great friends before moving to Washington, they gradually became bitter rivals
Namesake: Holland Library
Life after WSU: Stays in Pullman, dies five years after retirement
| 1916 | WSC beats Brown in Rose Bowl |
| 1917 | Enrollment 2,130; Act of February 2, 1917, distinguishes major curriculum lines at WSC and UW |
| 1919 | Cougar adopted as mascot |
| 1925 | Enrollment 3,129 |
| 1927 | Phi Beta Kappa chapter established, first for a separate land-grant institution; enrollment 3,275 |
| 1929 | First Ph.D. conferred, in bacteriology |
| 1930 | Edward R. Murrow graduates |
| 1931 | WSC loses to Alabama in Rose Bowl |
| 1929-33 | Great Depression |
| 1936 | More than 2,500 students march to demand "abolition of Ultra-conservative, dictatorial Administrative policies" |
| 1940 | Enrollment 5,109 |
| 1942 | Government contract training soldiers in aviation, Japanese, signal corps, radio, and gunnery |
| 1943 | Enrollment 1,530; Cougar football suspended for duration of WWII |
| 1944 | Cougar Gold cheese introduced |
Wilson A. Compton
1946-1951
Academic field: Economics, Ph.D., Princeton
Major challenges: Providing classrooms and housing for GIs and families; Regent McAllister, who spearheads Compton's ouster
Namesake: Compton Union Building
Life after WSU: Director, International Information Administration in D.C., then heads Council for Financial Aid to Education in New York City
| 1945 | Enrollment 2,708 |
| 1946 | Surge in military veterans enrolling as students; enrollment 5,907 |
| 1948 | Enrollment 7,890 |
| 1950 | Construction of Holland Library begins |
| 1951 | Regents order Compton to dismiss 182 employees (including vice president); Compton resigns; new Student Union dedicated to Compton |
C. Clement French
1952-1966
Academic field: Chemistry, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Major challenges: Healing campus wounds after Compton firing
Namesake: French Administration Building
Life after WSU: Serves on various higher education committees and commissions, active in Episcopal Church
| 1959 | WSC becomes Washington State University |
| 1960 | Honors Program established |
| 1962 | Compulsory ROTC changes to voluntary |
Glenn Terrell
1967-1985
Academic field: Psychology, Ph.D., University of Iowa
Major challenges: Student unrest and social upheaval
Namesakes: Glenn Terrell Friendship Mall, Terrell Library
Life after WSU: Active with The Pacific Institute, an international organization working to transfer knowledge from the cognitive sciences to educational settings, organizations, and the public and private sector.
| 1968 | French Administration Building dedicated |
| 1968 | Marmes Man excavated near Washtucna by WSU geologists Richard Daugherty and Roald Fryxell |
| 1969 | What is today the WSU College of Nursing accepts its first class of 37 students |
| 1969 | Enrollment 13,128; Vietnam protests and student unrest |
| 1970 | South grandstands of Rogers Field destroyed by arson |
| 1971 | 50,000th student graduates |
| 1972 | WAMI (Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) medical education program starts at WSU |
| 1973 | Performing Arts Coliseum opens with 1973 graduation |
| 1976 | WSU and USDA researcher Orville Vogel receives National Medal of Honor from President Gerald Ford |
| 1977 | Enrollment 18,160 |
| 1978 | Butch VI, last live mascot, dies at age 15 |
| 1979 | WSU Foundation created on Nov. 8 |
| 1980 | Mount St. Helens erupts |
| 1981 | Enrollment 19,303 |
| 1983 | 100,000th student graduates |
| 1984 | WSU athletes won three gold medals and a silver medal in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. |
Samuel H. Smith
1985-2000
Academic field: Plant pathology, Ph.D., U.C. Berkeley
Major challenge: Create statewide University system
Namesake: Smith Center for Undergraduate Education
Life after WSU: As president emeritus, establishes office at WSU West in Seattle. Serves on a number of boards, including the Higher Education Coordinating Board, and is director of the Washington Education Foundation, which provides scholarships to low-income, high-potential students
| 1985 | Washington Higher Education Telecommunications System (WHETS) starts transmitting live, interactive courses from the Pullman campus |
| 1986 | WSU biochemist Clarence A. "Bud" Ryan becomes first WSU faculty member selected for National Academy of Science |
| 1989 | Lewis Alumni Centre opens |
| 1989 | Branch campuses established in Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver |
| 1990 | Bobo Brayton wins 1,000th game as baseball head coach |
| 1990 | Edward R. Murrow School of Communication dedicated |
| 1992 | Distance Degree Program established to offer courses online |
| 1993 | Plans for new Cougar Plaza in downtown Pullman approved |
| 1994 | New library adjacent to Holland Library completed |
| 1996 | WSU Vancouver's Salmon Creek campus is dedicated |
| 1996 | Lighty Student Services Building opens |
| 1996 | WSU's Thomas Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service opens |
| 1996 | WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital opens, one of the best-equipped veterinary hospitals in the country |
| 1998 | Picked to finish seventh in PAC-10, the 1997 co-conference champion WSU Cougars play Michigan in the Rose Bowl |
| 1998 | State legislature gives WSU management responsibilities for the Riverpoint campus in Spokane |
| 2000 | Enrollment 22,015 |
V. Lane Rawlins
2000-2007
Academic field: Economics, Ph.D., U.C. Berkeley
Major challenge: Creates a strategic vision for the university
Life after WSU: President, University of North Texas; Interim Director of the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, a joint enterprise of UW and WSU; economics professor at WSU
| 2000 | V. Lane Rawlins becomes WSU's ninth president |
| 2000 | WSU unveils its new logo, a crimson and gray cougar head first created in 1936 by WSU student Randall Johnson, within an academic shield |
| 2001 | New Student Recreation Center opens |
| 2002 | Samuel H. Smith Center for Undergraduate Education opens |
| 2003 | WSU Cougars play Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl |
| 2003 | WSU Regents give WSU urban campuses expanded responsibilities |
| 2003 | Institute for Shock Physics moves into new building |
| 2004 | New Communication Addition (CADD) opens to strengthen programs in the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication |
| 2004 | Inaugural Showcase event, a daylong celebration of faculty and staff excellence |
| 2005 | Opening ceremonies for the new Plant Biosciences Building and the new Education Addition. |
| 2006 | Construction begins on a major renovation of the CUB |
| 2006 | Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ranks WSU as one of 96 public and private research institutions with very high research activity. |
Elson S. Floyd
2007-current
Academic field: Higher and Adult Education, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
| 2007 | Elson S. Floyd took office May 21 as the tenth president of Washington State University. |
| 2007 | Work continues on major projects on campus in Pullman, including extensive renovation of the Compton Union Building (CUB) and Martin Stadium, home of WSU Cougar football. |
| 2007 | Football coach Bill Doba concludes his career at the 100th Apple Cup in Seattle where WSU defeats the University of Washington Huskies, 42-35 |
| 2008 | Scientific American names WSU reproductive biologist Patricia A. Hunt one of the top 50 researchers in the world for her work on bisphenol A (BPA), a component of the polycarbonate plastics used to make food and beverage containers. |
| 2008 | The largest grant in WSU history—$25 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—will help will help create a research center for WSU's new School for Global Animal Health. |
| 2008 | In April, pop music icon Elton John performs in two WSU Mom's Weekend concerts at Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. |
| 2008 | Named for WSU's illustrious graduate Edward R. Murrow, the university's Murrow School of Communication becomes the Murrow College of Communication on July 1. |
| 2008 | The initial class of WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) medical program students begin classes at a new site, WSU Spokane. WSU's Pullman campus first had WWAMI students in 1972. |
| 2008 | The newly-renovated Compton Union Building and Martin Stadium opens for the fall semester. |
| 2008 | The WSU Cougars defeat the University of Washington Huskies 16-13 in the Apple Cup. |