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Spokane Health Sciences Building opens with state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories

The $39 million, 145,000 square-foot Health Science Building was the third building opened on the WSU Spokane campus and houses pharmacy, speech and hearing sciences, exercise science, health policy and administration, and food sciences and human nutrition. Other WSU programs inside include the Health Research and Education Center, Area Health Education Center, Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training (WIMIRT), and the Institutional Review Board-Spokane.

Eastern Washington University programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and dental hygiene are also housed here.  The Health Science Building adds to Spokane’s status as an important regional medical community, the largest between Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

 

Samuel H. Smith Center for Undergraduate Education opens

The Samuel H. Smith Center for Undergraduate Education (CUE), a $32 million, five-story, 94,000 square-foot building, opened in early 2002 as a hub for student-centered and active learning.  The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology, the WSU Writing Program, General Education Program, and the Student Computing Services Lab are all housed in the building along with 20 classrooms of various sizes.  The building was named for WSU’s eighth President, Samuel H. Smith, who served from 1989-2000.

 

Herbert Eastlick passes away at 94

Herbert Eastlick, a devoted mentor and self-described “taskmaster and autocrat in the classroom” who taught at WSU for 33 years, passed from complications to Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 94.  Eastlick came to then-WSC in 1940 as an assistant professor in zoology from the University of Chicago where he earlier became acquaintances with President Holland.  He was chairman of the Department of Zoology from 1947 to 1964 and chaired the Faculty Executive Committee in 1955-56.

He also helped create WSU’s nationally ranked Honors Program and presented the University’s eighth Faculty Invited Address on his research in 1961. In 1979 the new Eastlick Biological Sciences Building was dedicated in honor of the Herbert and his wife Margaret Eastlick.

 

WSU Regents rename two buildings

The WSU Regents renamed two Pullman campus buildings. Wilson Hall became Wilson-Short Hall, honoring James F. Short, Jr., influential WSU sociology professor. This building was first named for James Wilson, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1897 to 1913. The Plant Biosciences Facility I, part of a multi-building bioscience complex, became the Orville A. Vogel Plant Biosciences Building, named for one of WSU’s great agricultural researchers and wheat breeders.

 

 

Spillman Stone rededicated to honor a pioneer wheat breeder

The Spillman Stone, a two-ton granite rock with William Jasper Spillman’s name engraved on it, was rededicated October 21 at Clark Hall Plaza on the Pullman campus. A wheat breeder at WSU from 1894 to 1902, Spillman was the only American to independently rediscover Mendel’s Law of Heredity and was also influential in early agricultural economics.

 

Construction begins on Plant Biosciences Building

Construction began on the new Plant Biosciences Building, the first of several new buildings that will create a new research and education complex along Stadium Way. The building was dedicated on October 14, 2005 and named for wheat researcher Orville Vogel in 2007.

 

 

WSU receives grant to create Institute for Shock Physics

WSU received a $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.  In 2001 the university held a ground-breaking for a new building to house WSU’s internationally recognized Institute for Shock Physics.  In 2003, the new building housing WSU’s internationally recognized Institute for Shock Physics was inaugurated.

 

“Common Ground” mural dedicated in the CUB

“Common Ground,” a three-piece acrylic-on-canvas painting celebrating diversity at WSU, was dedicated in the Compton Union Building. WSU colleges and administrative units donated funds for the mural by artist Katrin Wiese, Riverside, Calif.

Students view "Common Ground" Mural at the opening reception.
Students view “Common Ground” Mural at the opening reception.

“The Caring Call”, a sculpture by Larry Wayne Anderson sculpture, is built on campus.

“The Caring Call”, a traditional bronze sculpture by Larry Wayne Anderson sculpture, is built and dedicated near the intersection of Stadium Way and Grimes Way.  It is the only bronze statue in the country depicting a human administering medical care to an animal.

 

WSU dedicates McEachern Hall in honor of former Regent Robert and his wife Margaret McEachern

WSU dedicates McEachern Hall in honor of former Regent Robert and his wife Margaret McEachern, both long-time benefactors and alumni. McEachern Hall was originally known as the Graduate Residence Center and was built in the early 1970s.

Roger and Margaret McEachern at McEachern Hall dedication.
Roger and Margaret McEachern at McEachern Hall dedication.

Washington Mutual Bank donates a former Union Pacific train depot in downtown Pullman to WSU.

Washington Mutual Bank donates a former Union Pacific train depot in downtown Pullman to WSU. As the Cougar Depot, it opens on July 13, 1988 as home to the athletic ticket office, visitor center, and community meeting facility. In 2014, the Brelsford Visitor Center opens and the Cougar Depot is sold to Umpqua Bank.

Union Pacific Railroad Depot (Cougar Depot)
Union Pacific Railroad Depot (Cougar Depot)

WSU dedicates science building to James H. Hulbert, 50-year advocate of Washington agriculture and WSU.

Agricultural Science Phase II Building, built in 1971, is dedicated to former Regent, Skagit County farmer, and 50-year advocate of state agriculture and WSU, James H. Hulbert.

James H. Hulbert
James H. Hulbert
Agricultural Science Phase II (now Hulbert Hall) shortly after construction in 1972
Agricultural Science Phase II (now Hulbert Hall) shortly after construction in 1972
Dedication of James H Hulbert Agricultural Sciences Building
Dedication of James H Hulbert Agricultural Sciences Building

Arthur Drucker, Dean of the School of Mines and Geology, donates the Minnie Barstow Drucker Oriental Art Collection to WSC

Arthur Drucker, Dean of the School of Mines and Geology, donates the Minnie Barstow Drucker Oriental Art Collection, valued then at $50,000. The gift is presented in the memory of his late wife. Eight years earlier, the Druckers donated a collection of over two hundred rare books on Asia to the WSC library. Arthur Drucker came to Pullman in 1926 and was heavily involved in mining research during his tenure at WSC, retiring in 1945.

 

Dean Drucker

The football stadium at Rogers Field gets a complete renovation

The football stadium at Rogers Field gets a complete renovation. The new horseshoe-shaped structure is named for former Washington State Governor, John R. Rogers. The wood bleachers supported by concrete pilings seat 23,500 fans.

During spring break of 1970, a fire destroyed the wood stands. The Cougars were forced to play off-campus for two years while the university built Martin Stadium.

 

Stadium_Job_217_Sept_1_1936

The college names Bryan Hall library and auditorium

Though originally dedicated on June 9, 1909, a 1916 naming ceremony honors the presidential contributions of E.A. Bryan, who led the college from 1893 to 1915. Designed by respected Spokane architect J. K. Dow and built in 1908 and 1909, the highly eclectic building was is not dominated by a single architectural style. The broad bracketed eaves and the round arched windows link it with the Italianate Style. The tall clock tower is related to the Italian Campanile. The elaborate bracketing under the eaves may have resulted from an oriental inspiration.

WSU Veterans Memorial finds home on campus

The WSU Veterans Memorial is dedicated on Veterans Day in 1993, honoring all alumni, faculty, and staff who died during 19th and 20th century conflicts. In 1996, the class of 1949, with help from former registrar James Quann, began a campaign to complete the memorial. It was rededicated on October 7, 2000.

WSU alumnus Edward R. Murrow honored by the College of Communication

In 1973, the Edward R. Murrow Communications center was dedicated to WSU alumnus, Edward R. Murrow. In 1990 the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication was dedicated.

In 1994, Murrow was memorialized on a U.S. postage stamp. He was the first broadcast journalist honored this way. The national first day of issue ceremony was January 21 in the Murrow Communications Center on WSU’s Pullman campus.

 

First commencement held at Beasley Coliseum

The recently constructed Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum opened for hosting the 1973 commencement ceremonies. In previous years, commencement ceremonies had been held either in Bohler Gym or, weather permitting, at Rogers Field (now Martin Stadium).

 

Beasley_Performing_Arts_Coliseum