Skip to main content Skip to navigation

Tragedy ends proposed national debate

A famous national debate almost happens between Claudius O. Johnson, chair of the WSC Political Science Department and humorist / actor Will Rogers.  Johnson gives a speech for the Pullman PTA in December of 1932, and in the course of the evening cautions people against accepting Rogers’ expertise on foreign policy issues. Some of his comments are soon reprinted in the Pullman Herald, and several people forward copies of the article to Rogers.  The comedian sends a telegram back to the Pullman Herald, threatening to come up and debate Johnson.  The offer is gleefully accepted, and for many months thereafter the proposed debate is both bandied about in the press and discussed in telegrams between Johnson and Rogers.  Will Rogers describes the debate as “Ignorance vs. Knowledge – and I’m going to be Ignorance.”

The two correspond for a few months thereafter, but their final exchange comes in March of 1933.  Though the proposed debate gains a public life of its own, it never comes about. The death of Rogers and Wiley Post in a 1935 Alaskan plane crash forever ends the possibility, though the passage of time would turn this almost into an urban legend, reframing it with Rogers fatally canceling the debate at the last moment in favor of the Alaska trip.

Rogers telegram to Johnson, dated 1-16-1933. From Professor Johnson's papers.
Rogers telegram to Johnson, dated 1-16-1933. From Professor Johnson’s papers.

 

Earl Foster: the man who built WSU’s athletic plant and hired some of its most famous coaches

Foster begins a 21-year tenure at the college as graduate manager and later, athletic director. He plays a pivotal role in the construction of almost every major sports facility on campus, including Bohler Gymnasium, Hollingbery Fieldhouse, and the original university golf course, and oversees enlargement of the football stadium.

Known as “Froggy” because of his drooping upper eyelids, Foster also hires (with Doc Bohler) the famous coaches who make up WSC’s “Golden Age” of athletics: Babe Hollingbery, Buck Bailey, Jack Friel, and others. He also helps pioneer sports broadcasting on KWSU, and introduces Dads’ Day to the WSU calendar of annual activities.

1-10

WSU celebrates its first Women’s Day

The new “Women’s Day” incorporates female athletics into what previously had been known as the “May Fete,” an event typically centered on artistic presentations including theater, oratory, and dance, plus a May Queen pageant. The first May Fete took place in 1910.

Cover of the four-page program.
Cover of the four-page program

 

Alumni Association names Harry Chambers first secretary

Chambers is a 1913 graduate and WSC instructor in economics. One of the first priorities of his new job: formation of a council tasked with bringing the college and alumni “into a closer union, that each might serve the other and with the two working in harmony might give more efficient service to the state,” according to the Evergreen.

Chambers later serves as registrar, graduate manager, and faculty adviser for the interfraternity council during his WSC career.

113

The college names Bryan Hall library and auditorium

Though originally dedicated on June 9, 1909, a 1916 naming ceremony honors the presidential contributions of E.A. Bryan, who led the college from 1893 to 1915. Designed by respected Spokane architect J. K. Dow and built in 1908 and 1909, the highly eclectic building was is not dominated by a single architectural style. The broad bracketed eaves and the round arched windows link it with the Italianate Style. The tall clock tower is related to the Italian Campanile. The elaborate bracketing under the eaves may have resulted from an oriental inspiration.

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.

WSU’s Anjan Bose and Jim Asay join the National Academy of Engineering

WSU’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.

 

 

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 students riot on College Hill

Early on the morning of Sunday, May 3rd, approximately 200 students rioted, clashing with police on Greek Row in the College Hill neighborhood of Pullman. The riot, possibly provoked by a WSU ban on on-campus drinking, injured twenty-three police officers and about twelve party-goers.

Initially, two police officers were called at midnight to investigate a car-pedestrian accident at the intersection of Colorado and A streets. When police arrived at the scene, rioters pelted them with rocks, beer cans, and construction materials. They also overturned portable toilets and lit bonfires on the street. The officers retreated and called for backup, “giving the party a chance to cool down,” according to Pullman Police Chief Tim Weatherly.

Seeing no reduction in the rioting by 2 a.m., a combined force of ninety-three officers and troopers from Pullman and Moscow tried to disperse the crowd with tear gas, smoke, and water. This only diverted the crowd around the police, and rioters continued to attack law enforcement for two more hours. The riot was finally dispersed at 5:30 a.m. with property damage listed at $15,000. In the next year and a half, twenty-two felony charges were filed against the students involved. Many of them were plea-bargained down to misdemeanors, resulting in nineteen convictions.

Evergreen 1998-05-04 page 01

Prominent Native American author Sherman Alexie graduates from WSU

Sherman Alexie, a Native American writer, poet, and filmmaker who grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, graduated from WSU cum laude with a B.A. in American studies. Some of his best known works are the book of short stories The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight In Heaven and the film Smoke Signals, for which he wrote the screenplay. In 2003, Alexie received the WSU Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award. In 2007, Alexie received the National Book Award for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  

 

Sherman Alexie Jr. receiving the Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award
Sherman Alexie Jr. receiving the Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award

WSU Veterans Memorial finds home on campus

The 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 opens new $38 million Veterinary Teaching Hospital

WSU opened its new $38 million Veterinary Teaching Hospital. In 2007, the Veterinary Medical Sciences program was ranked among the top three nationally for scholarly productivity, according to Scholarly Productivity Index.  On Sept. 9 the hospital made history when an 80-year-old woman became the first human patient to use the hospital’s magnetic resonance imaging unit. Under a cooperative agreement, the vet hospital provides imaging services for human patients.

WSU alumnus Edward R. Murrow honored by the College of Communication

In 1973, the Edward R. Murrow Communications center was dedicated to WSU alumnus, Edward R. Murrow. In 1990 the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication was dedicated.

In 1994, Murrow was memorialized on a U.S. postage stamp. He was the first broadcast journalist honored this way. The national first day of issue ceremony was January 21 in the Murrow Communications Center on WSU’s Pullman campus.

 

WSU baseball coach Chuck “Bobo” Brayton wins 1,000th game

Chuck “Bobo” Brayton won his 1,000th game as Cougar head baseball coach in a 14-6 victory against Eastern Washington at WSU’s Bailey Field. The field was renamed Bailey-Brayton after Bobo retired in 1994, having accumulated 1,162 career wins at WSU. Brayton’s predecessor, Buck Bailey, coached the Cougars from 1927-1962, and Brayton followed from 1963-1994. The two combined to coach the Cougars for over 60 years.

 

The Lewis Alumni Centre opens

The Alumni Centre opens in the name of benefactors Jack and Ann Lewis. It was part of a $50 million construction initiative on the Pullman campus, which included the Chemistry Building and the Food Science and Human Nutrition Building.

In 1985, Jack and Ann Lewis pledged $1 million toward the new facility. In 1991, the Lewis Alumni Centre dedicates a library in honor of Phillip and June Lighty, the Past President’s Room in honor of Henry and Anna Magnuson Reaugh, and the Reception Gallery for Weldon “Hoot” Gibson. In 1994, the Lewis Alumni Center completes its fifth year of operation and hosts 150,000 visitors and 1,500 meetings.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

Col. John Fabian becomes the first Cougar astronaut aboard the Challenger II space shuttle

Col. John Fabian (’62) becomes the first Cougar astronaut aboard the Challenger II space shuttle. Fabian made two trips to space and logged over 316 hours, and was the first person to deploy and retrieve a free-flying satellite. Fabian graduated from Pullman High School and then enrolled at WSU, receiving a bachelors of science in mechanical engineering. He later received the 19th Regent Distinguished Alumnus Award.

1-6

 

 

Troubled youth detonates bomb in Streit-Perham Hall

John Stickney, a troubled youth and ex-boyfriend of WSU student Lisa Clark, detonated a bomb on the fourth floor of Streit-Perham Hall, killing himself and wounding two policemen. Stickney, a high school dropout, was employed by Industrial Rock Products as a powder man. He drove from his home in Mercer Island to attempt a reconciliation with Clark. Stickney twice attempted to talk with Clark at her dorm room and then detonated the bomb after a failed attempt to force entry.

 

pc123b14f1_sp3

Inside of Streit-Perham 4th floor room after explosion.
Interior of Streit-Perham 4th floor room after explosion.