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Fall 2023

Reunions

Fall 2023

Reunion stories from Cougs

The big reunions of June 2023 brought many Cougs back to Pullman and Spokane to visit their alma mater.

Washington State Magazine writers met with some of them at CougStoryCorps—a forum to hear their stories and share them with other Washington State University alumni recollections.

Here are some of their stories:

 

Nancy and Jim Lemery

Washington State University is her “happy place.”

As an undergraduate student in Pullman, she found the campus to be “a safe, encouraging, supportive environment with a lot of positives going on.”

Nancy (Mitchell) Lemery (’63 Ed.) is “forever grateful” for that. Her dad studied here, too. “So some of … » More …

Stephenson Complex (Courtesy Stephenson South Residence Hall)
Winter 2018

Once upon a time in Stephenson South

In 1972, the tenth floor of the Stephenson South residence hall housed seven strangers. The stranger part didn’t last, as they soon became fast friends and poker buddies.

Today, those seven friends still meet and play cards, and have done so for the past 36 years.

“We just immediately bonded,” says Marc Anderson ’76.

Anderson was a sophomore when he lived in Stephenson while the rest of the group were freshmen. The friends hailed from all over Washington: Tonasket, Gig Harbor, Forks, Oak Harbor, and Seattle.

Most of the group still lives in the state while one is in Idaho and another in California. … » More …

Pakistan building
Fall 2018

Cougar rendezvous in Lahore, Pakistan

Recently I briefly visited Pakistan, one reason being to deliver a keynote address at the Global Forum on Islamic Economics in February—sponsored by the University of Management and Technology in Lahore—on “Economic Thought of Early Islamic Scholars and Impact on Western Scholarship.”

During the visit, on February 25, 2018, some friends arranged a memorable luncheon rendezvous with several Pakistani Cougars (and a couple of Vandals). There was nostalgic sharing of wonderful memories from their Palouse days.

Washington State University has had long-standing academic links with Pakistan that began in the 1950s when, under the leadership of President C. Clement French, WSU established an Inter-College Exchange … » More …

WSU alumni headshot in a speech bubble
Spring 2018

What a time it was

One by one, they share memories of curfews, 42-cent dinner dates at the CUB, the JFK assassination, and the birth of women’s lib. A few regale listeners with the infamous tale of the 1964 “Pot Push,” which had nothing to do with cannabis.

These are just a sample of the treats recorded at the recent Diamond and Golden Grads digital storytelling workshops, led by Washington State University English instructor and former assistant director of the Digital Technology and Culture program Rebecca Goodrich.

The workshops, held at the Lewis Alumni Centre during the Diamond and Golden reunions, are available to visiting 50- and … » More …

Alumni News
Spring 2016

Still Cougs after all these years

Golden and Diamond grads back in Pullman

WSU may have transformed a lot since 1955, or even 1965, but the camaraderie of graduates from those years hadn’t changed a bit.

One of the largest groups of golden and diamond alumni in years gathered late last October at the Lewis Alumni Centre, where they joined their old friends from 50 or more years ago. Gerry Danquist ’65 thought it was great to see so many fellow pharmacy students.

“We have about half the class of 26 pharmacy graduates here,” says Danquist. He traveled from Indianapolis, where he retired after getting his MBA from Harvard Business School and working 34 years at Eli Lilly. “I saw several pharmacy students I … » More …