1980-1989

1980
WSU celebrated its 90th birthday on March 28.

1980
Cooper Publications Building is the first named to honor a classified staff member, Caroline Cooper, Director of Duplicating and Mailing for 39 years.

1980
Alumni/Foundation Leadership Awards started under (Alumni Association) President Richard Gustafson.

1980
Mount St. Helens erupted May 18, leaving one-half inch of volcanic ash on campus.

1980
Connie Kravas, a 1974, doctoral graduate in education administration and supervision, became acting director of development. In 1981 she was named executive director of development and WSU Foundation president. She became University Advancement vice president in 1997, after leading the highly successful Campaign WSU, the university's first comprehensive fund-raising effort. Over a seven-year period, ending in 1997, Campaign WSU raised more than $275 million. It increased the university's scholarship endowment, established endowed professorships to attract and retain top faculty, and provided modern equipment for teaching and research.

1980
March 28 Cooper Publications Building is the first named to honor a classified staff member, Caroline Cooper, Director of Duplicating and Mailing for 39 years.

1980
William Bugge, Washington director of highways, and Laurence Peter, co-author of the Peter Principle, receive 14th and 15th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Awards.

1980
New track and field facility and new baseball field completed.

1981
Warren G. Magnuson Nursing Education Building, home to Intercollegiate Center for Nursing Education, dedicated Aug. 27 in Spokane. Named for State of Washington U.S. Senator.

1981
Robert Redford Institute for Resource Management started at WSU and University of Idaho, named for famous actor.

1981
Football coach Jim Walden led the Cougars to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, where WSU lost to BYU, 38-36.

1981
Enrollment 19,303, highest between 1980-1996.

1982
Jeanne Eggart broke WSU career basketball scoring record for women and men with 1,967 points.

1982
Institutional advancement functions consolidated under new vice president, Stanton Schmid.

1982
Performing Arts Coliseum named for Executive Vice President Emeritus Wallis Beasley.

1983
Mel Hein, the "greatest all-around player the game of football has seen;" Robert Stevenson, former head of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co.; and world-renowned scientist Jacob Bigeleisen given Regents 16th, 17th, and 18th Distinguished Alumnus Awards.

1983
100,000th graduate, Cheryl Anne Breen received degree from WSU.

1983
1962 graduate Col. John Fabian became first Cougar astronaut to fly in space as a mission specialist on Challenger II space shuttle. Later he received the 19th Regent Distinguished Alumnus Award.

1984
Regents approved plans to convert 59-year-old Animal Science barn to new Alumni Center.

1984
Dan Lynch, WSU offensive lineman, named to Associated Press All-America First Team.

1984
WSU athletes won three gold medals and a silver medal in 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

1984
Rueben Mayes, Cougar running back, broke NCAA single-game football rushing record with 357 yards, against Oregon in Eugene.

1984
For the first time in its history, WSU is using an early-start semester academic calendar. Previously, the university had been on a regular semester academic calendar. Although implemented in August 1984, the WSU Faculty Senate approved the calendar change in 1980.

1985
W. Glenn Terrell, 7th president of WSU, retired after 18 years.

1985
Samuel H. Smith, dean of the College of Agriculture at Pennsylvania State University (Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley) named 8th president of WSU.

1985
Agricultural Sciences Building named for former Regent and 50-year advocate of state agriculture and WSU, James H. Hulbert.

1985
Jack and Ann Lewis pledged $1 million toward the new alumni facility, to be named Lewis Alumni Centre. Prominent restaurateur, Ivan Haglund, left half of his multi-million dollar estate to College of Business and Economics.

1985
WSU celebrated its 95th anniversary of its founding on Charter Day, March 28, 1890.

1985
WSU Board of Regents membership increased from seven to nine persons by legislative act.

1985
Washington Higher Education Telecommunication System, or WHETS, started transmitting live, interactive courses from the Pullman campus to Vancouver and other locations.

1986
WSU biochemist, Clarence A. "Bud" Ryan, selected for membership in prestigious National Academy of Sciences; first WSU professor to be honored.

1986
First commencement with college ceremonies held on Saturday, May 11. Following the main ceremony, students participated in college graduations held around campus.

1986
WSU Research and Technology Park construction begun and first tenant lease signed.

1987
The State Higher Education Coordinating Board assigned WSU the full responsibility for upper division undergraduate and graduate education in Tri-Cities and Vancouver and gives WSU responsibility in Spokane for research programs and doctoral education, as well as undergraduate and master's programs in WSU's official lines of responsibility, including engineering and agriculture.

1987
WSU offered its first three undergraduate courses the university will offer in Vancouver, beginning Aug. 24.

1987
Private giving to the university through WSU Foundation surpassed $9 million. Major gifts included Distinguished Professorships from the Kennedy family of Seattle and from five high-tech companies; $1 million from the Boeing Company and $1 million in computer equipment from AT&T.

1987
Washington Mutual Bank donated former Union Pacific train depot in downtown Pullman to WSU. As the Cougar Depot, it has the athletic ticket office, visitor center, and community meeting facility.

1987
First 170 Glenn Terrell Presidential Scholars chosen.
1987 New leadership selected for key athletic posts - Jim Livengood, athletic director; Dennis Erickson, football coach; Kelvin Sampson, men's basketball coach.

1987
Ground was broken for nearly $50 million in construction, which included the Lewis Alumni Centre, Chemistry Building, and Food and Human Nutrition Building.

1987
Leo K. Bustad, Dean Emeritus of College of Veterinary Medicine and internationally recognized speaker, humanist, and founder of People & Pet Therapy programs, awarded 20th Regents Distinguished Alumnus Award.

1987
First pre-registration for classes held during spring semester of fall 1987 classes.

1988
WSU Cougars defeat the University of Houston Cougars, 24-22, in the Eagle Aloha Bowl in Honolulu. ABC-TV nationally televised game played on Christmas Day.

1988
First year of the Summer Orientation Program (for new students and parents).

1988
Vibration-free laser laboratory constructed under Fulmer Hall.

1988
Former WSU president, C. Clement French, died in Lacey, Wash.

1988
Baseball monument constructed along the walkway at entrance to Bailey Field.

1988
Mary Turner DeGarmo, renowned for her work in transcribing musical compositions into Braille, and William Julius Wilson, sociologist, received Regents 21st and 22nd Distinguished Alumnus Awards.

1988
Peter Koech (Class of 1986) won silver medal in 3,000-meter steeplechase at Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

1989
During the state of Washington Centennial celebration in 1989, 100 individuals, including the following with WSU connections, were chosen for the Washington Centennial Hall of Honor in the Washington State Historical Society: Philip Abelson (Class of 1933), "Father of the Atomic Submarine;" Enoch Bryan, WSC president (1893-1916); Gary Larson (Class of 1972), acclaimed Far Side cartoonist; Edward R. Murrow (Class of 1930), preeminent broadcast journalist; Archie Van Doren (Class of 1937), father of controlled atmosphere storage for apples, conducted research for WSU at its Wenatchee Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center; Orville Vogel (Class of 1939), agronomist who revolutionized wheat breeding, made possible the Green Revolution. He worked for USDA at WSU in Pullman.

1989
McEachern Hall dedicated in honor of former WSU Regent Robert and his wife Margaret McEachern.

1989
Alumni Centre opened and named for benefactor Jack and Ann Lewis. The Alumni Association Conference was the first event held in the building.

1989
Food and Human Nutrition Building completed.

1989
Six-story addition to Fulmer Hall constructed.

1989
WSU's Hotel and Restaurant Administration Program ranked 4th nationally among hospitality programs.

1989
WSU signed agreement with Far Eastern State University in Vladivostok, Russia, to begin an exchange program.

1989
Branch campuses in Spokane, Tri-Cities and Vancouver officially began on July 1 by legislature act.

1989
Former WSU track star Peter Koech broke the world record in steeplechase with a time of 8 minutes, 5.35 seconds.

1989
AT&T donated $1.8 million in computer-aided design and analysis network equipment for molecular science.

1989
Neva Martin Abelson received Regents 23rd Distinguished Alumnus Award. She is co-founder of the global test for Rh. It has saved millions of babies' lives.

1989
National Institutes of Health granted WSU $473,000 to train graduate students in the science and applications of protein chemistry.

1989
Michael Utley, former student and 1989 All American offensive guard, was paralyzed by spinal cord injuries during Detroit Lions football game. NFL established a scholarship at WSU in Utley's name for students studying sports medicine.

1989
Jason Hanson, field goal kicker, named first team academic athletic All-American. Only Cougar to achieve the feat. The Detroit Lions of the NFL later signed him.

1989-90
WSU celebrated its Centennial.