Skip to main content Skip to navigation

The Center for Reproductive Biology, an interdepartmental and inter-institutional program involving 16 departments and 7 colleges at WSU and University of Idaho, is established

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.

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.

 

Spokane Chancellor Rom Markin receives first President’s Award for Distinguished Lifetime Service

WSU Spokane Chancellor Rom Markin received the first WSU President’s Award for Distinguished Lifetime Service. His WSU service included 15 years as the dean of the College of Business and Economics.

RomMarkin_ua333_b71_f4

WSU boasts record fall enrollment

WSU had a record fall enrollment with total student numbers increasing from 21,248 to 21,794. The freshmen class on the Pullman campus was the second largest in history and the most diverse ever. This university-wide total includes students at WSU campuses in Pullman, Spokane, the Tri-Cities, Vancouver, and in Distance Degree Programs.

Enrollment at WSU reaches 17,912

Enrollment on the WSU Pullman campus in the fall of 1998 reaches 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.

Washington Higher Education Telecommunications System begins transmitting live courses around the northwest

The Washington Higher Education Telecommunications System, or WHETS, transmits its first live interactive course, originating on the Pullman campus and reaching both Vancouver and Spokane.  The University of Idaho, UW, Gonzaga, and Tri-Cities all also take part in the initial project.

 

Elson S. Floyd named tenth president of WSU

Elson S. Floyd was named tenth president of Washington State University on December 13, 2006 and took office on May 21, 2007. A native of Henderson, North Carolina, President Floyd holds a doctor of philosophy degree in higher education and most recently served as the president of the four-campus University of Missouri system.

The Board of Regents selects V. Lane Rawlins to serve as the ninth president of WSU

The Board of Regents selects V. Lane Rawlins to serve as the ninth president of WSU. He took office after serving as the president at University of Memphis. Rawlins was the first WSU faculty member to become president. He joined the economics faculty in 1968, later served as chair of the department of economics, and was WSU vice provost from 1982-86.

President Rawlins’ administration is best known for strengthening the WSU-UW relationship, giving the WSU branch campuses more autonomy, establishing December commencement, and Academic Showcase. He served as president until June 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

WSU branches out to Vancouver, Tri-Cities, and Spokane

 

In 1987, the State Higher Education Coordinating Board asked WSU to increase access to higher education in the Tri-Cities, Vancouver, and Spokane. On August 24, WSU offered its first three undergraduate courses in Vancouver and in 1989, the three branch campuses officially open. The branch campuses serve more than 6,000 students a year.

 

 

 

 

Samuel H. Smith named eighth president of WSU

On March 7, 1985, the Board of Regents selected Samuel H. Smith to serve as the eighth president of Washington State University.  He took office on July 1, leaving his position as the dean of the College of Agriculture and director of both the Cooperative Extension Service and Agricultural Experiment Station at Pennsylvania State University.

President Smith’s administration is best known for the establishment of the WSU branch campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver in 1989.  In 1997 Smith chaired the NCAA Presidents Commission, the major governing body for college intercollegiate athletics. Smith served as president until January 8, 2000.

The Samuel H. Smith Center for Undergraduate Education, also known as the CUE, was named in his honor.