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Ricardo Sánchez memorial dedicated in Holland Library

A bronze memorial in Holland Library was dedicated to honor the “Grandfather of Chicano poetry,” Ricardo Sánchez. Sánchez was a celebrated poet and WSU creative writing and Chicano studies faculty member from 1991 until his death in 1995.

 

 

WSU first in U.S. to diagnose “Mad Cow” Disease

A test developed at WSU was used to diagnose the nation’s first case of “mad cow” disease. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service at WSU and from WSU’s Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology were credited. The USDA chose WSU for one of seven laboratories nationwide to conduct tests for the disease.

Murrow School Of Communication expands

WSU’s renowned Edward R. Murrow School of Communication was strengthened by the opening of a 24,000-square-foot building, now known as Goertzen Hall, that includes communication research and teaching labs, TV news studio, faculty offices, and an auditorium.

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Cougar football plays in two bowl games in 2003

The WSU football team had a successful year in 2003. It began with the 2002-03 football team (named PAC-10 Conference co-champions) playing in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2003. The Cougs lost to Oklahoma 14-34. For the 2003 season, former assistant Bill Doba became the Cougars’ new head coach, succeeding Mike Price. The Doba-led team played in the 2003 Holiday Bowl football game on Dec. 30, 2003. The Cougars beat Texas 28-20. The 2003 season marked WSU football’s third straight 10-win season. The Cougs were the first Pac-10 team to achieve this feat in 70 years.

WSU Foundation moves to downtown Pullman

As part of WSU’s commitment to supporting Pullman, the WSU Foundation moved its offices from campus to downtown’s new Pullman Town Centre. The Foundation raised more than $48.5 million, the second highest fund-raising total in its history.

Construction begins on Plant Biosciences Building

Construction began on the new Plant Biosciences Building, the first of several new buildings that will create a new research and education complex along Stadium Way. The building was dedicated on October 14, 2005 and named for wheat researcher Orville Vogel in 2007.

 

 

Distinguished professor Don A. Dillman wins Eminent Faculty Award

WSU named Don A. Dillman the second recipient of the WSU Eminent Faculty Award. Dillman was the Thomas S. Foley Distinguished Professor of Government and Public Policy and a social scientist in the Departments of Sociology and Rural Sociology.

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Dr. Robert W. Higgins wins 32nd Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award

WSU graduate Dr. Robert W. Higgins, former U.S. Navy Deputy Surgeon General and Navy Medical Corps chief, received the 32nd Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award. Also the recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest military peacetime award, he was former president of the American Academy of Family Physicians and of the World Organization of Family Doctors.

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Sociologist James E. Blackwell receives 31st Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award

WSU graduate and sociologist James E. Blackwell received the 31st Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award. Blackwell is a leading scholar in the areas of minorities in higher education and social movement in black communities.  Blackwell received his Ph.D. in Sociology from WSU in 1959 and worked during the turbulent early 1960s as the president of the San Jose NAACP and as a teacher at San Jose State University.  In 1970 the University of Massachusetts hired Blackwell to build its fledgling Department of Sociology and Anthropology at its five-year-old Boston campus where he stayed for 20 years.  Blackwell remained passionately dedicated to teaching, not for the sake of knowledge alone, but to help students ” go on to graduate and professional schools and becoming important, contributing citizens.”

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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.

Bill Chipman Palouse Trail dedicated

The 8-mile-long Bill Chipman Palouse Trail opened. Built on an abandoned railroad bed, this recreational path paralleling the highway between Pullman and Moscow is a recreational asphalt trail involving two states, two cities, WSU, and the University of Idaho. The late Bill Chipman, a Pullman car dealer, was a UI graduate and supporter of his alma mater and WSU.

 

 

Pine Manor torn down

Built by the Works Progress Administration in 1937 with a knotty pine interior, it was operated as a cooperative house, independent of the university’s housing system. In 1963, fire safety concerns brought an end to its use as a dormitory. WSU purchased it and renovated it into headquarters for an internationally recognized anthropology program, the Center for Northwest Archeology.

 

WSU receives grant to create Institute for Shock Physics

WSU received a $10 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to create an Institute for Shock Physics. The institute is directed by WSU physics professor, Yogi Gupta.  In 2001 the university held a ground-breaking for a new building to house WSU’s internationally recognized Institute for Shock Physics.  In 2003, the new building housing WSU’s internationally recognized Institute for Shock Physics was inaugurated.