Jim Walden first saw Mike Utley not on a football field but on a basketball court.
Walden, the WSU Head Football Coach, was putting together his 1985 recruiting class, and his assistant coach Gary Gagnon asked him to take a look at a recruit who was playing for the Kennedy High School basketball team in Seattle.
“He was doing everything 100 miles an hour, full-bore, running up and down the court,” Walden recalls. “I distinctly remember thinking he is not going to lead the league in scoring, but he will lead the league in banging, knocking, and grabbing guys. I really like the way he … » More …
One day in 1936 Betty Lee and her twin sister Peggy, about four years old, posed for their mother in the Washington State College shirts given to them by Carl Morrow, then Dean of Men at WSU.
Their parents, Don and Julia Lee, moved to Pullman in the 1930s and opened a restaurant, and later ran a small grocery on Maiden Lane. Morrow was a regular customer at their restaurant, which served “American” food, says Betty Lee. On occasion, he brought the family gifts, conferring on the girls the shirts, dolls, and balls.
…Summer 2008 the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Edward and Xerpha Gaines returned to eastern Washington. They talked and laughed, piecing together their own memories of Edward and Xerpha, and mentioning the bundle of letters that gave them the details of their grandparent’s romance.
At the end of the reunion, they delivered to Washington State University an astonishing gift–Xerpha’s steamer trunk which holds nearly a century of private papers detailing the life of a woman whose story is not only threaded through the University’s, but … » More …
The Uniqueness of Pacific Northwest Flora and Fauna C.V. Piper
Largely self-taught as a naturalist, Piper believed he needed to classify the flora and fauna of the PNW so other scientists could better understand the uniqueness of area. Published Flora of the Palouse Region (1901), Flora of the State of Washington (1906), Insect Pests of the Garden, Farm, and Orchard (1895), and many other books, including works on hay, soybeans, and other crops.
Allopolyploid formation as a mode of speciation Marion Ownbey
Ownbey’s work on Tragopogon (goat’s beard, salsify, or oyster plant) on the Palouse was a first, seminal … » More …
Every school has its myths and legends. Washington State’s include miles of secret underground tunnels, a ghost, giant cows, and an icon of the psychedelic 60s. We decided to define, dispel, and debunk these stories. The results may surprise you.
False. For years, freshmen have been driving by the cattle enclosures on the east side of campus and marveling at the enormous bovines that graze there. Rumors have spread around the world about the “giant cows” on Washington State’s campus. But there’s nothing aberrant about them.
In his documentary film, Legends of the Palouse, Jeff McQuarrie '98 seeks to answer the question, "What is this love affair we have with our school?" Includes an exclusive video excerpt of Junior Tupuola and Rod Retherford from the film. » More ...
Connie Millard Niva and Angela S. Cox were named by Governor Gary Locke this summer to Washington State University’s 10-member Board of Regents. Cox will serve as the student member, a position created in 1998.
Niva (’62 Bact. & Public Health) makes her home in Everett. She served on the Everett City Council, 1986-89, and on the Washington State Transportation Commission for 10 years, including three as chair.
As a regent, she says, she’d like to see WSU continue making progress in creating the best undergraduate experience and in nurturing a world class environment for research, scholarship, and graduate education. She also wants WSU to … » More …
As Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum marks its 30th anniversary this year, there’s been much to appreciate about the multi-purpose building. It has a great sound system and sightlines. The entertainment is big time and varied—Broadway shows (Jesus Christ Superstar, 1988) to Cougar basketball games and crafts and job fairs. One wonders how the University managed before the $8 million facility opened for commencement in 1973.
Capacity is 12,000, or 4,700 in a mini-arena configuration, and 2,500 in the theatre at the coliseum’s west end. Basketball made its debut in Beasley in 1973, and George Raveling’s 1982-83 Cougars (23-7) went undefeated in the coliseum.
President V. Lane Rawlins has announced his intention to retire from Washington State University. WSU’s ninth president says he will serve through the next academic year. He plans to spend his remaining time as president focusing on legislative issues, continuing to improve the quality of education at WSU, and moving forward on the WSU Foundation’s fundraising efforts.
Video produced by Hannelore Sudermann for Washington State Magazine
