The WMEL was an integral part of WSU’s materials science and engineering program and an early contributor to sustainable resource use from forests. WMEL researchers developed nondestructive testing methods that revolutionized production of high quality engineered wood composites. Ultrasonic veneer grading technology was key in the development of the I-joist material that now claims about 30% of the market for floor supports in single-family homes.
The School of Molecular Biosciences (SMB), established in 1999, offers programs in biochemistry, genetics and cell biology, and microbiology, and joined with the Center for Reproductive Biology (CRB) and the College of Veterinary Science to provide a larger group of biomedical research scientists and scientific resources. SMB is housed in the state-of-the-art Biotechnology–Life Sciences building, completed in 2013, which has exceptional laboratory facilities for scientists and students to conduct research and enhance learning. The building also houses the Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience.
The Veterinary Leadership Experience (VLE) is a global leadership education program for veterinary students, faculty and allied professionals. Originally developed from the Cougar Orientation and Leadership Experience (COLE) curriculum, the VLE emphasizes personal leadership and teamwork. Participants have come from as far away as China, Sweden, and South Africa. To expand its reach, VLE moved from WSU in 2012 and is now led by VLE alumni.
Dr. Bayly has been at WSU for more than 20 years and was named the first, four-year Robert B. McEachern Distinguished Professor in Equine Medicine in 1995. Named acting dean in 2000, one year later the position would become permanent.
The Animal Disease Biotechnology Facility (ADBF) houses offices for the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences and research laboratories. The facility is unique among all USDA buildings and facilities projects because its focus is on the use of molecular biology to resolve diseases in agricultural animals with application where appropriate to human health. Program goals include ensuring a safe and abundant human food supply; improving the health and well-being of food animals produced in the US; and providing research training for the next generations of scientists.
Groundbreaking ceremonies for WSU’s Animal Disease Biotechnology Facility. Left to right: Barry Wilcox, owner Wilcox Farms; Borje Gustafsson, dean WSU College of Veterinary Medicine; Melinda Wilkerson, graduate student; Mary Joe Hamilton, research tecnologist; Sam Smith, president WSU; Phyllis Campbell, vice president of the WSU Board of Regents; Rep. Tom Foley; and David Prieur, chair WSU Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology.
The test was developed by Microbiologist Katherine O’Rourke, immunologist Timothy Baszler, large animal clinician Steven Parish, class of 1973 and USDA Animal Disease Research Unit Leader Donald Knowles.
The mission of the Center (CRB) is to provide opportunities for investigators from across the Pacific Northwest to collaborate and learn from one another. The Center boasts a large membership at the two core institutions (WSU and UI), but also includes a number of members at Montana State University, University of Washington, Central Washington University, and Spokane Community College.The CRB includes approximately 88 faculty and over 200 trainees and staff and is one of the largest reproductive biology centers in the world.
The Center for the Study of Animal Well-Being at Washington State University is a cooperative effort between the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Home Economics. Its goal is to produce and distribute the best possible information on what factors of animal care and use controlled by humans are truly in the animals’ best interest.
WSU introduces the first elective alternative laboratory course on basic surgical techniques which uses cadavers of animals euthanized for humane reasons to avoid use of surplus animals for that purpose.
The track is completed in early summer of 1980, and named that year after horse industry activists Maurice and Kathleen Hitchcock, who donated about one quarter of the construction costs.
In 1983 a $3 million multi-purpose animal holding and care facility is completed adjoining existing animal care facilities in the Veterinary Science Building. In 1984 the building is named for the dean emeritus, Leo K. Bustad.
The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) is officially created with new funds from the legislature and existing resources. Today, it is a fully accredited facility and one of only a handful integrated with veterinary schools nationwide.
Modern, powerful equipment is installed including a GE Maximar 250 III with medical x-ray head, mounted on an electrically operated jib crane. A diagnostic unit manufactured by Standard X-ray Co. is mounted from the ceiling. Upon completion, the WSC veterinary x-ray facility is the best in the country and perhaps the world.
The animal clinic and classroom-laboratory buildings (both constructed in the early 1940s) are named after J. E. McCoy and E. E. Wegner, respectively. Each had served as dean of the veterinary college during their careers. In 1972 a two-story addition is built on McCoy Hall. The space is used primarily for faculty offices and research
John Gorham, a 1946 graduate, earns his Masters of Science Degree in pathology under D. R. Cordy. Later the pair go on to discover a rickettsia that is the cause of salmon disease in dogs and foxes.
Following a series of discussions between J. E. Schillinger, superintendent of disease control for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Dean E. E. Wegner of the College of Veterinary Medicine at WSC, a cooperative agreement was signed whereby the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey and the college embark on research work into the diseases of fur bearing animals. Frank McKenney is the first veterinarian employed to start the work. The relationship now under the administration of the USDA continues today.
The American Veterinary Medical Association begins accreditation of veterinary colleges. WSC’s College of Veterinary Medicine is immediately accredited and has maintained uninterrupted accreditation ever since.
Ehmer, a 1918 WSC graduate, goes on to a distinguished career in the development and advancement of veterinary orthopedics. Today his original Seattle Dog and Cat Hospital is known as the Seattle Emergency Hospital.
Owing to the importance of Veterinary Science a new three story, brick veterinary science building is erected on the Pullman campus. Later known as the Administrative Annex, the structure, which sat on the western edge of the historic campus core, was torn down in 2009.
In 1909, a two-story brick building is constructed at 225 Indiana Avenue in Spokane and established as a satellite teaching hospital. This teaching hospital closes in 1923 and all teaching is transferred back to Pullman.
In 1911, Dean Nelson recommends a schedule of fees to the Board of Regents for the Veterinary Hospital: “For the hospital at Pullman, 60 cents per day for feed and care. For floating horses teeth, 50 cents. All other treatment in the hospital, free.” The first dog ambulance is purchased for $300.
March 11, the first state Veterinary Practice Act is signed into law granting the governor the power to appoint an examining board composed of three graduate veterinarians, one to be the state veterinarian. All graduate veterinarians in the state are required to show proof of graduation by July 1. Non-graduate veterinarians who’ve practiced in the state for not less than two years are grandfathered in. Interestingly, graduates of human medical schools can become licensed veterinarians in Washington simply by showing proof of graduation.
The first annual Vet-Pharmic football game is played. The event becomes a major campus attraction until 1957 when concerns for student safety saw the contest end. The Pharmics are said to have won only three to four games over the years. For a time basketball games take the place of the football game but lack of interest causes them to disappear in the 1960s. The annual football game is followed each year by the Hobo Dance. For the dance, male students and faculty grow their beards out in honor of the vagrant namesake of the dance. Dancing, drink, and merriment often flow into the following morning. It too, is done away with in 1957 after a particularly raucous occasion also raises concerns for student safety.
This major division of the college admits its first class of three students into a three-year curriculum, and this year is considered to be the official birth of today’s College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. In 1902 two of the three original class, Drs. Charles S. Philips and John W. Woods, graduate.
James Petersen receives a 5-year National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) grant, the largest NSF grant received at WSU at that time. The grant enabled the education of about 45 PhD students and transformed the PhD educational programs.
