Chronology of University Events

With over 125 years of history, Walla Walla College, now University, has seen its share of trials, tragedy, and celebrations. Here, listed in chronological order, is just a sampling of events that have shaped who we are. Sources include Terrie Aamodt’s “A Bold Venture : a History of Walla Walla College” (1992) and “60 Years of Progress : the Anniversary History of Walla Walla College” (1952).

1892	December 7	Walla Walla College holds its first class, enrollment 103
1896	May 18	First graduation, three graduates
1897	April 25	First Mountain Ash tree planted on campus
1899	August	College Bakery opens
1901	March 31	WWC is incorporated
1902	Nov/Dec	Typhoid epidemic in College Place; three students die
1903	January	Smallpox epidemic in College Place
1909	April 22	Jubilee Program celebrates paying off the college debt
	May 24	First baccalaureate degree issued
	August 6	Artesian well drillers strike water supply
1910	October 13	The laundry and boiler room at the back of North Hall (old Administration building) catch fire; a wind shift saves the residence hall section
1911	October	New power plant replaces one destroyed in 1910 fire
1913	January 27	University of Washington grants accreditation to the preparatory department of WWC for one year
	March 28	College Place SDA church (1st Village Hall) opens
	Autumn	WWC enrollment reaches 400 students
1914	March 9	Broom-making business discontinued
	May	Collegiate Association is created (precursor of ASWWU)
	Sept. 9	Bachelor of Music degree instituted
1915	May	Western Collegian (the first yearbook) is published
1916	February	Snow storm leaves 48 inches of snow in 54 hours
	September	Collegian (a monthly magazine) is first published
1917	May	Mountain Ash (the renamed yearbook) is first published
		Eleven college students graduate—a new record
	May 24	Alumni Association organized
1918	November 3	Flu epidemic; college closes for about a week
1919	January 18	College Place SDA church (the first Village Hall) burns
	January 28	Fire destroys the fourth floor of the old Ad Building
1920	April	WWC church opens (the second and current Village Hall)
1922	Spring	ASWWC replaces Collegiate Association
1924		Science Building (Bowers Hall) completed
1925	February 5	Collegian becomes a weekly paper
1926	January 21	College enrollment reaches 500 students
1927	April 28	OPS is established
	Fall	Johnson Music Conservatory completed
1928	Fall	AGA is established
1931	Mar. 31-Apr.1	Flood in College Place covers a few streets in 4-5 ft of water (second photo)
	April 22	First accreditation report denies accreditation to WWC
1933	July 1	Fire destroys most of Rachel Oakes Preston House (women’s residence hall)
	October 17	WWC admitted to the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of Seventh-day Adventists by the Board of Regents (denominational accreditation)
1934	Autumn	Conard Hall completed
1935	January 15	WWC receives senior college accreditation from the University of Washington
	April 3	WWC receives four-year accreditation from the Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools
1936	1936	Conard Hall dedicated
	July 15	6.0 earthquake rattles windows at WWC
1938	August 4	Fire in the West Hall basement
1939	Spring	Columbia Auditorium opens (second photo)
1940	Dec. 12	Men’s residence hall quarantined because of influenza epidemic
1942		Martin Airfield is built in College Place
1944	May 11	Peterson Memorial library is inhabited
1945	Dec. 24	City of College Place is incorporated
1947	Summer	School of Nursing opens at Portland Sanitarium
	September	Sittner Hall, though unfinished, is occupied
1948	Autumn	Master in Biology approved
1950	June	Master in Education approved
1954	August	Marine station property is purchased at Rosario Beach, near Anacortes, Washington
	Autumn	First Mask is published
1957	October	Over 100 residence hall students are incapacitated by the flu
1958		Cafeteria (later named Kellogg Hall) is built
	October	College drills a new artesian well to replace 1909 well
1959	January	Enrollment raises above 1400 for first time
1962	October 20	College Church (now University Church) holds first service
1963	April 25	KGTS-FM goes on the air for first time
1964		Walla Walla Valley Academy (WWVA) opens in current location
	April 29	Kretschmar Hall officially named, dedicated November 1st
1965	August 22	Smith Hall dedicated
	Nov. 14	College Bakery closes
1966		West Hall, College Bakery, old swimming pool, old academy/normal building and the academy annex all removed during the school year
	February 27	Music department moves into the Fine Arts Center, dedicated December 4th
1967	June 2	Life Sciences building (Rigby Hall) is dedicated
1969		Alumni Gym (Winter Education Complex or WEC)(Second Photo) is opened
1970	October	Highrise women’s residence hall (Foreman Hall) opens
	October 3	Biology Lodge near Tollgate, Oregon burns
1971	October 11	Engineering Department is accredited by the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development
1972	April	Board approves the purchase of Hallmark Apartments, which opened in September
	December	College is reaccredited for ten years
1973	May 17	OPS ceases to function
1974	January 13	Clyde and Mary Harris Art Gallery opens
	Autumn	Harris Pine Mills opens in College Place
1975	January 8	Fire in a building adjacent to Foreman Hall damages the residence hall building
1976	October	Enrollment tops 2000 for first time
1977		Health Sciences Offices open
1978		Nursing Residence Hall, Portland Campus (Howard Hanson Hall) opens
	Spring	OPS reinstated
	March 23	Columbia Auditorium is destroyed by fire
	Autumn	Classes begin in Industrial Technology Center (now Canaday Technology Center or CTC) (second photo)
1980	April	Sociology and Social Work department is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
1981		Havstad Alumni Center opens.
	September 4	College laundry closes (second photo)
1988	January	First Master of Social Work classes taught
1994	Nov. 3	Lindgren Chemistry Wing (Rigby) dedication
1996	August 20	New College Store ribbon cutting
1997		School of Social Work and Sociology opens campus in Missoula, Montana
	April 27	Chan Shun Pavilion dedicated
2001		School of Social Work and Sociology opens campus in Billings, Montana
	May	Lindgren Hall (Rosario) opens
2003	Autumn	Original Administration building demolished (second photo) (third photo)
	Sept. 16	Mountain View Apartments official opening
2004	August 22	Rogers Adventist School (new) ribbon cutting
	Dec. 17	Rogers Elementary School demolished
2007	April 28	Grand opening of new Administration building (second photo)
	September 1	Walla Walla College officially becomes Walla Walla University
2008	Summer	Soccer field Completed
2009	Summer	The Hebbel-Janke Softball Complex (women's) completed & dedicated on October 4th
2010	March	The Express expansion completed
	November	Nursing, Health, PE, and Social Work remodeling of WEC finished
2011	November 3	Atlas Opens
2015		Master of Arts in Media Ministry (changed to Cinema, Religion, and Worldview in 2018) established
2015-2016	June - December	College Avenue reconstruction project; During (2015)(Second Photo) - (2016) and Ribbon Cutting (2016) - Finished (2016)
2017		Bowers Hall remodel; Groundbreaking (2017), Renovating (2017), Ribbon Ceremony (2017), and After (2018)
2017		Move of Counseling and Testing Center and University Health Care and remodel of the University Bookstore
2020	March 13	Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, campus closes and all classes and tests go online for the end of Winter quarter and all Spring quarter. Graduation 2020 is held online for the first time in history!
	June	First doctorate degree offered: Doctor of Social Work
2021	August	A new well starts to be drilled