Looking at three decades of Washington State University at Vancouver, Tri-Cities, and Spokane yielded some pretty interesting facts about the campuses.
Read three stories from the three campuses.
WSU Vancouver
It’s… Alive!
In 1993, WSU Vancouver was.one of the first institutions in the country to use interactive electronic classrooms (classes simulcast via video).
Home, Sweet Recreation Home
The sole remnant of the campus’s previous life as a family-run dairy farm is a small brick farmhouse, known today as the Annex, home to the Recreation Program.
Doctors in the House
Fall 2019 is the first time WSU medical students are resident on campus.
Labs Galore
From haptic technology and prosthetics to zebrafish and hearing loss, from prototyping to experimentation, WSUV’s more than 65 labs are always busy.
First Full-time Women
WSUV’s first full-time female faculty members included Renee Hoeksel, who developed the nursing program, and Carol Siegel, who developed the humanities and English programs.
Resident Ninja
When Ninja the cat showed up, she often chilled on a warm patrol car—and took her meals courtesy of Parking Services. After Ninja passed, a Legacy Square was laid in her honor.
The ABCs OF DTC
Now offered at three WSU campuses, the Digital Technology and Culture program was established at WSUV by the late Michelle Kendrick, associate professor of English.
Rural Roots
Ideally located between Vancouver and Kelso/Longview, the 351-acre WSUV campus sits on what was once a dairy farm.
Other Duties as Assigned
There’s a lot of lawn on the WSUV campus, so when the grounds crew was shorthanded, the first chancellor, Hal Dengerink, hopped on a mower and pitched in. Consider it “other duties as assigned.”
Native Ties
The WSUV campus resides in the homeland of Chinookan and Taidnapam peoples and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe.
A Home for Digital Narratives
The Electronic Literature Organization, an international nonprofit, resides on campus. The ELO is dedicated to the writing, publishing and reading of electronic literature.
Sanctuary for Birds (and their Human Nerds)
With a keen eye, you can see bald eagles, red tail hawks, and kestrels hunting over the fields on campus.
Gus Says “Hi”
If you see a skeleton peeking out of the Classroom Building window, don’t worry, it’s just Gus. Students use Gus and other models to learn how to identify human bones and their landmarks.
WSU Health Sciences Spokane
Turning back time:
2017 — Sixty students in the first cohort of WSU medical students begin classes.
2016 — Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine receives accreditation.
2015 — Changes in state law allow WSU to open a medical school.
2014 — WSU pursues opening a medical school in Spokane.
2013 — WSU College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences completes move from Pullman to Spokane.
2010 — WSU Board of Regents designates WSU Spokane the University’s Health Sciences campus.
2009 — College of Nursing moves to the WSU Spokane campus from its former location on Fort George Wright Drive.
2002 — College of Pharmacy moves clinical education from Pullman to Spokane.
1996 — The first new building at WSU Spokane is dedicated.
1990 — WSU Spokane holds its first commencement.
1989 — WSU Spokane opens.
Stories in Washington State Magazine about the Spokane campus:
For the health of a city: The transformation of Spokane into a campus (Fall 2014)
Gallery: WSU Riverpoint Campus in Spokane (Fall 2014)
A half-century of care: College of Nursing’s 50 years in Spokane (Winter 2019)
The Spokane Health Sciences Building (from the WSM archives)
History of WSU Health Sciences Spokane
Read more about WSU Health Sciences Spokane
WSU Tri-Cities
The educational work in Tri-Cities began in 1946, when it was established as the General Electric School of Nuclear Engineering. The school was a partnership effort between Washington State College, University of Washington, and Oregon State University to offer graduate-level engineering programs to prepare and benefit the Hanford Site workforce, which had just developed the world’s first large-scale nuclear reactor.
In 1968, it became the Joint Center for Graduate Studies, which moved from the original location on Lee Boulevard in Richland to its first building, the East Building still on the WSU-TC campus. It was on land donated by the Atomic Energy Commission.
In 1983, artist Dennis Brunson drew up what is known as the “Huscoubea,” a three-in-one mascot representing the then three-school partnership campus between Washington State University (Cougars), Oregon State University (Beavers) and University of Washington (Huskies).
In 1985, WSU, UW, and OSU were joined by Central Washington University and Eastern Washington University to form a five-university consortium called the Tri-Cities University Center.
The Hanford History Project at WSU-TC tells the story of Hanford and in-depth examinations of worker experiences at Hanford.
Programs include:
- Direct industry application in engineering and science at the Hanford Site and throughout the Tri-Cities Research District
- Psychology course and research partnerships to analyze data that assists local service organizations and populations
- Leading educational research on how to best educate our current and future youth inside and outside the classroom, and how to best support English language learners
- Leading research in the viticulture and enology (wine science) fields, ranging from grapevine diseases, to sensory attributes of wine and more
The state-of-the-art Ste. Michelle Wine Estates WSU Wine Science Center opened in 2015. It was made possible by the Washington Wine Commission and a variety of other public and private supporters.\
Other facilities and programs at WSU-TC:
- Albert Ravenholt Research and Teaching Vineyard
- Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory – partnership with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- U.S. Transuranium and Uranium Registries
- The Art Center
In 1989, when the campus was established, there were six full-time faculty, 100 part-time faculty and 800 part-time students.
Doors opened to freshman in 2007. The campus now has over 1,800 students, six academic colleges featuring more than 50 undergraduate and graduate programs, more than 90 full-time faculty, and approximately 50 adjunct faculty.
Facts about campus (2019):
Percentage of student population is 56.1% female.
Average new transfer GPA: 3.05
Average new freshman GPA: 3.40
Percentage of first generation students is 41.8%
Percentage of minority students is 42.4%
2.2% of the student population is international students from more than 20 countries.
94% in-state Washington residents