The new Carnegie Classifications ranked WSU as one of 94 public and private research institutions nationwide with very high research activity. This recognition brought attention to WSU research and Ph.D. educational programs.
The first students recruited to WSU through the College of Education’s Future Teachers of Color program graduated during the 1998 Commencement.
Mary Turner DeGarmo, known for her work in transcribing musical compositions into braille, and William Julius Wilson, sociologist, receive the Regents 21st and 22nd Distinguished Alumnus Awards. DeGarmo, who graduated in 1926 with a B.A. in Education, developed the first and only detailed, comprehensive teaching text on transcribing musical compositions into Braille for blind musicians, a volume used worldwide. DeGarmo, the second woman honored with the Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award, passed away in 1995. Wilson received his Ph.D. in Sociology in 1966 and is known for his research and scholarship on the black underclass. He authored articles and books including, “The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass and Public Policy” and “The Declining Significance of Race.”
From student to philanthropic leader, Connie Kravas (’74), doctoral graduate in education administration and supervision, becomes director of development. In 1980, she was named executive director of development and WSU Foundation president. She became University Advancement vice president in 1997, after leading the highly successful Campaign WSU, the university’s first comprehensive fund-raising effort. Over a seven-year period, ending in 1997, Campaign WSU raised more than $275 million. It increased the university’s scholarship endowment, established endowed professorships to attract and retain top faculty, and provided modern equipment for teaching and research.
Camp Easter Seal, also known as Camp Manitowish and later renamed as Camp Larson, is established on Lake Coeur d’Alene’s Cottonwood Bay by Professor Roger Larson. For over 50 years, both the Easter Seals and WSU education students use the site as a field school in their studies. WSU sold the property in 2005 to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.
The coursework is introduced with the arrival of Alfred A. Cleveland, assistant professor of psychology. The 1909-1911 course catalog describes the purpose of the education program as training physical science teachers who will further the application of science to industrial pursuits.