WSU Spokane Milestones
2007
- September 4: WSU's Applied Science Laboratory Receives Federal Funding for Sensor Research
- July 30: WSU Spokane Design Students Oust Professional Entries and Win First Place
- July 24: New Riverpoint Nursing Building Gets $1.5 Million for Health Education Lab Technology
- May 1: WSU Spokane Commencement to Honor its 17th Class of Graduates
- April 4: WSU and Spokane in the Running to Host a Presidential Debate
- February 27: Butterfield Named New Dean of College of Nursing
- February 23: WSU Sleep Researchers Awarded $1.5M Grant by W.M. Keck Foundation
- February 5: Math-Science Partnership Initiative Launched
- January 11: State Funding to Bring High-Tech WWAMI Classroom to Spokane, Pullman, Seattle
2006
- July 21: WSU, UW, and EWU present a plan to expand medical and dental education in Spokane.
- July 21: Spokane expansion of regional programs in medical and dental education.
- July 21: WSU announces creation of new Division of Health Sciences.
- June 14: WSU Spokane sleep researchers receive defense instrumentation grant.
- June 13: ExMet degree at WSU Spokane granted ADA accreditation.
- April 26: WSU Spokane commencement honors 442 graduates.
2005
- November 1: Sleep scientist expands WSU’s sleep and performance research.
- September: WSU’s enrollment in Spokane climbs to another record high.
- May 3: Washington State University Spokane honors 349 graduates.
- January 6: WSU Interior Design Program ranked among the nation’s top 10.
2004
- November 17: Center for Health Services Research opens at WSU Spokane.
- November 12: WSU names Brian Pitcher as chancellor of Spokane Campus.
- August: Top sleep researcher recruited to WSU Spokane.
- June 24: Lovrich named interim chancellor of WSU Spokane.
- May 5: Washington State University honors 337 graduates in Spokane ceremonies.
- January 30: WSU’s Institute for Shock Physics expanding to WSU Spokane.
- Legislation passes that establishes WSU Spokane as co-located with WSU Pullman—no longer a "branch."
2003
- May 9: WSU honors 369 graduates in Spokane ceremonies.
- March 12: Students from the Interdisciplinary Design Institute present conceptual designs for the proposed university district to Spokane Mayor John Powers; local, state, and federal elected officials and business leaders embrace the concept.
- January: Rom Markin appointed interim head of WSU Spokane.
- January: Bill Gray, founding campus executive officer and dean, steps down.
2002
- Fall: WSU Spokane sets another enrollment record, with 673 FTE (827 headcount).
- September: Genetics researchers Lisa Shaffer and Bassem Bejjani join WSU Spokane, Sacred Heart Medical Center.
- July 10: A report on Spokane's potential for biomedical development is released, encouraging the development of the campus with a focus on health sciences.
- Spring: Faculty Senate approves the creation of a graduate certificate in Exercise Science.
- May 10: Largest commencement yet, with 423 graduates; first graduates in 4+1 MA Interior Design.
- February 22: Formal dedication ceremony held for the Health Sciences Building.
2001
- Fall: Enrollment reaches 622 FTE.
- Spring: Enrollment hits 496 FTE, an increase of 114 over spring 2000. First graduates in the Master of Technology Management and MS Landscape Architecture programs at 2001 commencement.
- School Psychology Certification (post-master’s program offered jointly with EWU) receives approval from the State Board of Education. With the approval, students who successfully complete the program and meet requirements of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction are recognized as eligible to practice in the state.
2000
- Campus Master Plan updated through community process; stakeholders ask for “University District” to be created with Riverpoint at the heart (PDF).
- Fall: Enrollment reaches 555 FTE. Second Distinguished Professor joins campus: Donald Epley, PhD, Victor C. Lyons CCIM Distinguished Professor of Real Estate.
- July: Health Policy and Administration program admitted to WICHE Western Regional Graduate Program, allowing the program to charge Washington-resident tuition rates to students from 14 western states. Graduate Certificate in Aging—the first-ever graduate certificate offered by WSU—launched spring semester 2000.
- May: Health Policy and Administration program achieves ACEHSA accreditation. First graduate in the MS Architecture program.
- Spring: Enrollment of 383 FTE.
1999
- David Sclar named as first Boeing Distinguished Professor in Health Policy.
- Fall: Enrollment reaches 499 FTE.
- September 2: Groundbreaking for Health Sciences Building.
- June: Ten-year anniversary celebration and open house.
- May: 264 graduates honored at commencement.
- Spring: Enrollment of 349 FTE.
1998
- Fall: Four new master's degrees begin classes at WSU Spokane: Master of Technology and Innovation, MS Architecture, MA Interior Design, and MS Landscape Architecture.
- Spring: 435 students enroll. 264 graduates—the highest number yet—honored at commencement.
1997
1996
- February 21–23: Phase I Classroom Building dedicated.
- College of Pharmacy begins offering the External PharmD program in collaboration with the University of Washington, enabling practicing pharmacists to upgrade their credentials.
- Western Regional Institute for Community Oriented Public Safety (WRICOPS) is formed.
1995
- The Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training (WIMIRT) receives $1.1 million for programs.
1994
- Construction begins on the Phase I Classroom Building.
- HREC collaborates with area physicians to study the ability of electron beam computed tomography to provide early detection of coronary artery disease.
- First Health Policy and Administration classes held.
- SIRTI Building completed; WHETS classes begin in building.
1993
- HECB approves the Masters of Health Policy and Administration.
- Charles Madison, of Speech and Hearing Sciences, receives the first WSU Spokane Faculty Excellence Award.
- Biomedical research lab opened at Sacred Heart Cancer and Research Center.
- Construction Management program begins operation in Spokane.
- Fall: Doctor of Pharmacy program begins with six students, the first and still the only such program in Eastern Washington and the only doctoral program at any branch campus in the state.
- February: Cooperative Academic Library Services (CALS), jointly operated by WSU Spokane and Eastern Washington University, is dedicated.
1992
- First graduates in the MS Electrical Engineering and Master of Engineering Management programs.
- New research lab opened at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
- WSU Spokane researchers awarded a $3.76 million grant to study the effects of radiation on humans.
- Inauguration of design studio location in Spokane with fifth-year Architecture and fourth-year Interior Design students.
- Spokane County Medical Society's library collection relocates to WSU Spokane in March.
1991
- Area Health Education Center becomes a public service unit of WSU Spokane.
- 1991 Higher Education Coordinating Board study of graduate education in the state assigns the following program responsibilities to WSU Spokane: "Graduate programs offered by WSU will serve an important function in the educational needs of Spokane and the region. Programs should be developed to complement existing programs offered in the area, enhance the educational opportunities of professionals, and provide unique degree programs which only a doctoral institution may offer."
- WSU opens a biomedical research lab at Deaconess Medical Center.
1990
- August: After nearly 20 years of sponsoring fifth-year clinical clerkships in Spokane, Pharmacy program’s fifth year relocates from Pullman to Spokane.
- Resident faculty in Human Nutrition arrive in Spokane.
1989
- Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Program (MESA) established at WSU Spokane.
- Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training (WIMIRT) created by the state legislature as part of SSB 5400, the Mental Health Reform Act. The Eastern Branch, located at Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake, is under the fiscal direction of WSU Spokane.
- State legislature creates and funds WSU Spokane. 59 students attend in the fall semester.
- Master's degrees are available in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Management, and Food Science and Human Nutrition. Courses are available in engineering disciplines, speech and hearing sciences, and education.
1988
- Higher Education Coordinating Board approves Washington State University proposal for a branch campus system Drug Information Center transfer to WSU Spokane.
1987
- WSU Spokane moves into 23,000 square feet on 4 floors of the Farm Credit Building at 601 West First Avenue. The space houses classrooms, a reference library, a computer lab, the AHEC/Office for Rural Health, HREC, Food Science and Human Nutrition, the College of Pharmacy and its Drug Information Center, and the new Communication Disorders facility (a joint program of the WSU Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences and Eastern Washington University).
- The state legislature recognizes the opportunities for new health sciences programs by providing a $427,000 biennial appropriation to initiate the WSU Health Research and Education Center (HREC). HREC opens as bridge between health sciences and health care community.
1986
- Fall: Courses offered in MS Electrical Engineering, MS Computer Science, and Master of Engineering Management.
- Spring: Graduate degree in Human Nutrition officially available in Spokane.
1985
- Food Science and Human Nutrition begins Registered Dietitian (RD) program.
- The AHEC is initially established as part of a federally funded, four-state regional program through the University of Washington School of Medicine, linked to WSU.
1982
- First graduate class in Human Nutrition offered in Spokane.
1980–1982
- First continuing-education courses offered by Food Science and Human Nutrition in Spokane.
1920s–1980s
- WSU offers a variety of programs in Spokane, such as night courses during World War II, Cooperative Extension programs, pharmacy clerkships, and student teaching. In the 1980s, increased academic activity lays the groundwork for the establishment of the branch campus.