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 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.
WSU West moves into the Westin Building in downtown Seattle. In 2000, WSU West moved from the Westin Building to a building on Pike Street, both in downtown Seattle.
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.
Washington State College officially becomes Washington State University.