Western Washington University

 The state’s growing need for teachers In the early 20th century fueled new educational opportunities for the young people raised in Washington’s cities as well as farming, timber and fishing communities.

Gov. John McGraw signed legislation on Feb. 24, 1893, establishing the New Whatcom Normal School in the city of New Whatcom, which would later become Bellingham. Community members, including the Bellingham Bay Improvement Company, the Fairhaven Land Company, and the heirs of the Lysle Estate, donated a 10-acre tract of land near Sehome Hill for the new campus. In 1899, the school enrolled its inaugural class of 88 students, mostly women and girls as young as 15 who came to finish their high school diplomas before completing college-level work. Others were experienced teachers or college graduates working on post-graduate level work. Some were children of immigrants who needed language interpreters on the first day of class and enrolled in intensive English language classes.

By the end of the academic year, enrollment had reached 264 students. Students typically lived in spare rooms or rooming houses nearby. Extracurricular activities included literary societies and clubs, hikes along Chuckanut Drive, and trips on Lake Whatcom aboard small steamships.

New Whatcom Normal School was entirely housed in its earliest building, now known as Old Main. The central portion of the building went up in 1896, with additions in 1902, 1907, and 1914, with classrooms, offices, an auditorium, and a small library.

The school’s academic offerings grew and expanded, first to keep up with steeper requirements for teacher certification, and then to support the state’s economy with a wider range of programs. In the 1930s, the normal school began granting bachelor’s degrees in education and expanding offerings in general education. In 1937, the school was renamed Western Washington College of Education, reflecting its broadened scope beyond teacher training.

During the years of the Great Depression and World War II, enrollment levels struggled but academic offerings continued to grow. Students enrolled in Western’s first Bachelor of Arts degree programs in 1947, specializing in subjects other than education. Returning veterans filled campus to capacity again: For the first time, men outnumbered women on campus, and College Hall went up in 1947 as the first men’s dormitory.

The 1960s marked a transformative period for the university. Enrollment surged from 3,000 to over 10,000. Fourteen new buildings were built to accommodate the new students, including Red Square and the buildings surrounding it, the Viking Union, and five residence halls to house the Baby Boomer generation. Faculty developed specialized “cluster colleges” in the ‘60s and ‘70s to provide a more intimate learning environment amid such growth: Fairhaven College, Huxley College (now the College of the Environment), the College of Fine and Performing Arts, the College of Business and Economics, and the College of Ethnic Studies.