History
Washington State College was established by the Washington Legislature on March 28, 1890, less than five months after statehood was declared on November 11, 1889. The institution was one of the land-grant colleges created under the 1862 federal Morrill Act signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. The federal land grants for the new institution included 90,000 acres (36,000 ha) of federal land for an agricultural college and 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) for a school of science.
After an extended search for a location, the state's new land-grant college opened in Pullman on January 13, 1892. The year 1897 saw the first graduating class of seven men and women. The school changed names from Washington Agricultural College and School of Science to State College of Washington in 1905, to Washington State College and then to Washington State University in 1959.
Beacy A. Bryan, appointed July 22, 1893, was the first influential president of WSU. Bryan held graduate degrees from Harvard and Columbia and previously served as the president of Vincennes University in Indiana. Prior to Bryan's arrival the fledgling university suffered through significant organizational instability. Bryan guided WSU toward respectability and is arguably the most influential figure in the history of WSU. The landmark clock tower in the center of campus is his namesake.
WSU's role as a statewide institution became clear in 1894 with the launch of its first Agricultural Experiment Station west of the Cascade Mountains near Puyallup. WSU has subsequently established extension offices and research centers in all regions of the state, with major research facilities in Prosser, Mount Vernon, and Wenatchee. In 1989, WSU officially gained branch campuses in Spokane, the Tri-Cities, and Vancouver. Overall, the Federal Government and the State of Washington have entrusted 190,000 acres (77,000 ha) of land to WSU for agricultural and scientific research throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Professional education began with establishment of the School of Veterinary Science in 1899; in 1902 the first two veterinary science students graduated and in 1909 the first Doctor of Veterinary Science degrees were awarded. The veterinary school was elevated to college status in 1916, becoming the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1925.
Graduate education began in the early years and, in 1902, the first master's degree was conferred, an M.S. in Botany. In 1917, the institution was organized into five colleges and four schools, with deans as administrative heads, and in 1922 a Graduate School created. In 1929, the first PhD degree conferred, one in Bacteriology.
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