Vishnu N. Bhatia served as a teacher, administrator, innovator, and ambassador at WSU for 47 years. His chosen field was pharmacy, but he also served as the head of the Honors Program from 1964 to 1993 and as the director of International Education from 1973 to 1990.

With the help of his colleagues, Bhatia began laying the groundwork for an academic program that would promote intellectual curiosity and critical thinking long past graduation. The Honors Program was introduced in 1960 and would later become the Honors College in 1998.

Bhatia passed away on January 16, 2003 in Pullman.