Kiplinger’s ranks WSU 39th in “Top 100 Values in State Universities”
robert.franklinThe September issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine ranks WSU 39th among the nation’s “Top 100 Values in State Universities.”
The first Future Teachers of Color graduate
robert.franklinThe first students recruited to WSU through the College of Education’s Future Teachers of Color program graduated during the 1998 Commencement.
WSU professors Rod Croteau and Linda Randall elected to National Academy Of Sciences
robert.franklinWSU biochemists Rod Croteau and Linda Randall were elected to the National Academy of Sciences. They joined four other WSU researchers in the academy: C.A. “Bud” Ryan, a biochemist; Jim Cook, a USDA plant pathologist at WSU; John Hirth, a materials scientist; and Dieter H. von Wettstein, a plant geneticist.
President Samuel Smith receives the Boy Scouts of America’s Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
robert.franklinVolleyball coach Cindy Fredrick named PAC-10 Conference Coach of the Year
robert.franklinVolleyball coach Cindy Fredrick concluded her seventh season at WSU by being named PAC-10 Conference Coach of the Year, and was named AVCA District VIII Coach of the Year as well. The team finished 22-7 overall and third in the Pac-10, led by All-American Sara Silvernail.
U.S. Army General Shalikashvili speaks at commencement
robert.franklinU.S. Army Gen. John M Shalikashvili, chairman of the U.S. Department of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke at commencement. His son Brant was one of the graduates. Shalikashvili served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Supreme Allied Commander from 1993 through 1997, the first foreign-born American to do so.
Norman Borlaug receives WSU honorary doctoral degree
robert.franklinNobel Peace Prize recipient, Norman Borlaug, received an honorary doctoral degree from WSU during commencement in 1995. Borlaug and WSU professor, Orville Vogel, are credited with research crucial to the “Green Revolution” in wheat breeding, which has saved an estimated one billion lives in the twentieth century.
Internationally renowned WSU faculty member receives 28th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award
robert.franklinJohn Gorham, internationally renowned veterinarian and WSU faculty member, received the 28th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award. Gorham was the first student to earn a graduate degree from the College of Veterinary Medicine and contributed heavily to the study of feline and canine disease.
History professor LeRoy Ashby receives his second CASE Washington Professor of the Year award
robert.franklinHe previously had won the same award in 1990.
WSU alumnus receives 27th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award for service during the Gulf War
robert.franklinU.S. Air Force General (ret.) Robert D. Russ received the 27th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award for his service as Commander of Air Force Aviation during the Gulf War. Russ graduated from WSU in 1955 with a B.A. in business administration and entered the Air Force in 1955 as a second lieutenant, serving until 1991 when he retired as general.
Barry Serafin receives the 26th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award for his career in journalism
robert.franklinBarry Serafin receives the 26th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award for his career in journalism. Serafin started his career at KWSU and later transferred to the CBS Washington D.C. bureau. He won an Emmy for his contribution to the documentary “Watergate: The White House Transcripts.” He then joined ABC in 1979, covering the Iran hostage crisis, and became a national correspondent in 1981.
WSU ranked 34th nationally in corporate financial support
robert.franklinQueen of Denmark appoints Vishnu Bhatia, director of the WSU Honors Program, a Knight of the Dannebrog Order
robert.franklinQueen Magrethe II of Denmark appoints Vishnu Bhatia a Knight of the Dannebrog Order for the decades he devoted to building bridges between the Scandinavian nation and WSU. Bhatia served WSU for 47 years (1951-1998) and counted among his greatest accomplishments heading the Honors Program (1964-1993) and directing the Office of International Education at WSU (1973-1990). The WSU Honors Program, now the Honors College, counts several thousand alumni and is considered one of the best Honors programs in the United States.
Carolyn Kizer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, receives her WSU honorary doctoral degree
robert.franklin.
Allen C. Wilson receives the Regents 25th Distinguished Alumnus Award for his work in molecular evolutionism.
robert.franklinAllen C. Wilson receives the Regents 25th Distinguished Alumnus Award for his work in molecular evolutionism. Wilson received an M.A. in Zoology in 1957, studying under bird physiologist Donald S. Farner. Wilson came to WSU from his birthplace in New Zealand. During his career, his work was recognized with many prestigious awards, including the MacArthur Fellowship.
Gary Larson, syndicated cartoonist and creator of the Far Side, receives the Regents 24th Distinguished Alumnus Award and is the Centennial Commencement Speaker.
robert.franklinGary Larson, syndicated cartoonist and creator of The Far Side, receives the Regents 24th Distinguished Alumnus Award and is the Centennial Commencement Speaker. His talk is titled “The Importance of Being Weird.”
Neva Martin Abelson receives the Regents 23rd Distinguished Alumnus Award for her work in pediatric medicine.
robert.franklinNeva Martin Abelson receives the Regents 23rd Distinguished Alumnus Award. She is the wife of famed-chemist Phillip Ableson, and co-founder of the global test for Rh blood factor which has saved millions of babies’ lives. Neva was one of the first women to earn a medical degree from Johns Hopkins University, and the first woman to be in charge of the hospital’s nurseries there. Later she was a professor of pediatrics and pathology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her work in pediatrics piqued her interest in the Rhesus factor and its relation to blood disease in tiny infants, which at the time was a likely cause of death or mental retardation.
Mary Turner DeGarmo, known for transcribing musical compositions into braille, and William Julius Wilson, sociologist, receive the Regents 21st and 22nd Distinguished Alumnus Awards
robert.franklinMary 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.”
Dean Emeritus of the College of Veterinary Medicine receives the 20th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award
robert.franklinLeo K. Bustad, Dean Emeritus of College of Veterinary Medicine and internationally recognized speaker, humanist, and founder of People & Pet Therapy programs, receives the 20th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Hein, Stevenson, and Bigeleisen receive Distinguished Alumnus Awards.
robert.franklinThe Regents 16th, 17th, and 18th Distinguished Alumnus Awards are respectively awarded to Mel Hein, the “greatest all-around player the game of football has seen;” Robert Stevenson, the former head of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co.; and world-renowned chemist Jacob Bigeleisen.
Gibson, Shroeder, Neill receive the Regents Distinguished Alumnus Awards
robert.franklinWeldon B. “Hoot” Gibson, Charles Schroeder, and Marshall Neill receive the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth Regents Distinguished Alumnus Awards.
The tenth Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award goes to ABC television sportscaster, Keith Jackson
robert.franklinThe tenth Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award goes to ABC television sportscaster, Keith Jackson.
Orville Vogel, developer of the world’s most productive wheat strains, receives Regents ninth Distinguished Alumnus Award
robert.franklinOrville Vogel, developer of the world’s most productive wheat strains, receives Regents Ninth Distinguished Alumnus Award. Vogel received his Ph.D. at WSU in 1939 and stayed as faculty for several decades. His work helped start the “Green Revolution” in agriculture. He led the research team that produced the first commercially successful semi-dwarf wheats and was known for his inventions of scientific research equipment. He received the National Medal of Science, presented by President Ford in 1975, as well as the State of Washington Medal of Merit in 1987.
Matsuyo Yamamoto is presented with the Regents Eighth Distinguished Alumnus Award, the first woman honored
robert.franklinMatsuyo Yamamoto is presented with Regents Eighth Distinguished Alumnus Award and is the first woman honored. After receiving her degree in home economics in 1937 at then Washington State College, Yamamoto returned to Japan where she pioneered home economics extension programs, eventually overseeing a staff of 3,000 home advisors that served the rural populations of Japan and other Asian countries. The College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Studies offers the Matsuyo Yamamoto Endowed Scholarship in her honor.
Howard B. Bowen, president of the University of Iowa, delivers commencement address and receives the sixth Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award
robert.franklinHoward B. Bowen, president of the University of Iowa, delivers commencement address and receives the sixth Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award. Bowen received his bachelors of arts in 1929 and masters of arts in 1933 from then-WSC. He served as chancellor of Claremont University, as well as president of the University of Iowa, Grinnell College and the American Association of Higher Education. He researched and wrote extensively on the economics of higher education, and was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to chair his National Commission on Technology, Automation and Economic Progress.
Republican campaign finance chairman, biochemist receive the fourth and fifth Regents Distinguished Alumnus Awards
robert.franklinJ. Clifford Folger, Nixon’s 1960 campaign finance chairman and member of the board of directors of IBM, and C. Glenn King, one of the two biochemists to isolate vitamin C, are selected for the fourth and fifth Regents Distinguished Alumnus Awards. Folger receives his award on June 3, 1963; King on April 11, 1964.
Weldon B. “Hoot” Gibson graduates with a B.A. in economics
robert.franklinWeldon B. “Hoot” Gibson graduates with a B.A. in Economics. Gibson attended WSC with the help of his Uncle, Arthur “Buck” Bailey, and was a member of the football team and the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. After graduating from WSC, Gibson studied at the Stanford Graduate School of Business receiving an MBA in 1940 and a Ph.D. in 1950. Gibson was a long-time executive at the Stanford Research Institute from 1947 until 1988. He earned the Legion of Merit in 1946, Commander of the British Empire in 1947, and the Washington State University Distinguished Alumni Award for his role in creating the Washington State University Foundation.
U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” praises the WSU writing program for the ninth time in ten years
robert.franklinU.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” ranks the WSU writing program amongst the best for the 9th time in ten years.
WSU’s Anjan Bose and Jim Asay join the National Academy of Engineering
robert.franklinWSU’s Anjan Bose, an international expert in the power grid control industry, and Jim Asay, an expert in shock-wave research and high-pressure science, join The National Academy of Engineering. Bose is internationally known for his development of training simulators and computational tools for reliable power-system operation, and for contributions to education and research on power systems.
William Julius Wilson, Ph.D. receives National Medal of Science
robert.franklinWilliam Julius Wilson, Ph.D. (’66) received the 1998 National Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor in the United States.Wilson was a behavioral and social scientists and received the medal “for his innovative approach to studying urban poverty, his dedication to the proposition that rigorous social science change will improve his fellow American’s lives, and his advocacy of policies which reflect more accurately what we have learned from research and which therefore take a broader point of view with respect to the interactions of race, class, and location.”
Wilson received the award at a White House ceremony April 27, 1999.
“Money” magazine ranks WSU among top 15 best value universities
robert.franklinMoney magazine ranks WSU among the top 15 best value four-year undergraduate universities in the West.
WSU Veterans Memorial finds home on campus
robert.franklinThe 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 professor R. James Cook selected for National Academy of Sciences membership
robert.franklinVogel receives the National Medal of Science for his work in wheat breeding
robert.franklinOn October 18, 1976, President Gerald Ford presented the National Medal of Science to WSU Professor Emeritus, Orville Vogel. Vogel helped develop wheat varieties with stronger stalks and higher yield potential, which now grow on five continents. This research launched the “Green Revolution,” a push in agricultural research to help feed the world’s hungry. Vogel worked at WSU from 1931 to 1973, receiving his Ph.D. here in 1939.
First commencement held at Beasley Coliseum
robert.franklinWSU graduates its 50,000th student
robert.franklinDistinguished Cougs receive Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award
robert.franklinThe Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award honored the first three recipients: Phillip H. Abelson, Henry T. Heald, and Edward R. Murrow.
President Taft visits campus
Mark O'EnglishFormer United States President William Howard Taft speaks briefly and presents a few student awards at Rogers Field in the afternoon, then delivers a speech titled “Capital, Labor, and the Soviet” that evening in Bryan Auditorium.
The president had previously traveled to Pullman on October 7, 1911 while still in office, but he didn’t make it to campus, as he spoke from his train car at the Northern Pacific depot downtown. The visit appears to be the only time a sitting president has visited Pullman.
President French announces his retirement
Brian ClarkPresident French announced his retirement on his 65th birthday, October 24, 1966, but had actually notified the Regents in the spring of 1965. The Regents officially accepted his resignation in their May 31,1965 meeting. French stayed to provide stability while he selected his successor.