Timeline
Timeline
1895 – 1905: Our Early Origins
- 1895Fairmount College is established atop Fairmount Hill under the leadership of founding president Nathan J. Morrison. A private college for both men and women, Fairmount is funded by the Congregational Education Society (CES).
- 1895On the second day of school, a group of students meet under a tree to discuss starting a football team.
- 1896The Sunflower prints its first issue.
- 1896Fairmount students select the school colors of “sunflower” yellow and black.
- 1898The first graduating class totals nine; total enrollment is 179.
- 1902The first Parnassus, the student yearbook, is published.
- 1903Fairmount’s first official choral group, Women’s Glee Club, debuts.
- 1905Fairmount’s Wheatshockers football team beat Cooper College, 24-0, in the first night game in college gridiron history; the field was lit by gas lanterns.
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1906 – 1925: Flourishing Fairmount
- 1906Fiske Hall is completed as a men’s dormitory.
- 1907Ground is broken for Carnegie Library, later renamed Morrison Library; the structure burns in 1964.
- 1907President Henry Thayer takes office.
- 1911The department of education is added to Fairmount College.
- 1913Harry Shuler organizes the college’s first alumni association.
- 1914The third president of Fairmount College, Walter Rollins, takes office.
- 1922John Finlayson takes over as Fairmount’s fourth president.
- 1925The Women’s Athletic Association is formed with Fairmount student Darling Crum as president.
- 1925A first call for Fairmount to become a municipal university fails, but a year later CES trustees gift the private college to the city of Wichita.
1926 – 1950: The Municipal Years
- 1926Fairmount College transitions to the Municipal University of Wichita. Enrollment is 569 students.
- 1927President Harold Foght takes office.
- 1928McKinley Hall opens and construction begins on Henrion Gym additions and the university’s second library.
- 1928The municipal university’s aeronautical engineering department is founded, one of the earliest in the nation.
- 1929A wind tunnel is installed in McKinley Hall.
- 1929The university’s original building, Fairmount Hall, burns down; Jardine Hall now stands on the site.
- 1934William Jardine becomes the university’s sixth president.
- 1936The Auditorium and Commons Building, now Wilner Auditorium, opens. The building houses the Alibi Room, a favorite gathering place for students.
- 1938The university president’s home is built on campus.
- 1949Harry Corbin ’40, an alumnus of the University of Wichita, becomes the seventh president at the age of 32.
- 1954The Gore Scholarship program, established in 1952, begins awarding scholarships annually to incoming freshmen recognized for their strong leadership potential.
1951 – 1970: Becoming Wichita State
- 1955WU’s innovatively designed circular field house, quickly dubbed the Roundhouse is completed. In 1969 it takes on the name Henry Levitt Arena.
- 1955The engineering department splits off from the business school to become its own college.
- 1956Student enrollment tops 5,000.
- 1959The Campus Activities Center (CAC) becomes the newest addition to campus, later renamed the Rhatigan Student Center.
- 1963President Emory Linquist takes office.
- 1964The University of Wichita becomes Wichita State University, with enrollment topping 7,000 students.
- 1965WSU’s men’s basketball team reaches the Final Four.
- 1968Clark Ahlberg ’39 becomes the ninth university president and the second WU alumnus to hold this top leadership position.
- 1969Veterans Field, a 15,000-seat football stadium in use since 1946, reopens as Cessna Stadium after an expansion project doubles its capacity to 30,000. The renovated stadium is named for Cessna Aircraft Co., which provided the lead gift.
- 1970The College of Health Professions is founded.
- 1970One of two planes carrying Wichita State football players, coaches and others crashes in Colorado, killing 31. Each year since the tragedy, a remembrance ceremony is held at the university’s Memorial ’70 site.
1971 – 1995: 100 Years of Excellence
- 1974The Memorial ’70 sculpture, bearing the names of the 31 people who tragically died in the Gold Plane crash, is dedicated on Nov. 28.
- 1974The McKnight Art Center complex, which includes the Ulrich Museum of Art, is completed.
- 1975The Shocker women’s bowling team wins the national title for the first time in program history.
- 1983President Warren Armstrong takes office.
- 1985The National Institute of Aviation Research takes flight.
- 1986Wiedemann Hall is constructed to house the Great Marcussen Organ.
- 1986For fiscal reasons, football is discontinued at Wichita State, ending a 90-year run.
- 1989WSU’s baseball team brings home the national championship.
- 1993Eugene Hughes is inaugurated as the university’s 11th president.
- 1995The university marks 100 years of excellence during a year-long celebration of the centennial anniversary of its founding.
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1996 – 2015: A New Wave of Innovation
- 1996The university’s centennial celebration culminates with WSU commencement exercises on May 18
- 1999President Don Beggs takes office.
- 2002James J. Rhatigan steps down from his full-time role as senior vice president, which he had served in since 1996. He is the namesake of the Rhatigan Student Center.
- 2003Charles Koch Arena is officially dedicated on Dec. 20 during a sold-out WSU Shockers vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane men’s basketball game.
- 2005WSU opens the Marcus Welcome Center, its new “front door.”
- 2006The Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection is named one of the nation’s Top 10 campus sculpture collections.
- 2010Homecoming returns to campus after a 20-year hiatus, sponsored by the WSU Alumni Association.
- 2012John Bardo takes office as WSU’s 13th president.
- 2012Wichita State’s women’s volleyball team reaches the Sweet Sixteen.
- 2013WSU’s men’s basketball team competes in the Final Four in Atlanta, where the Shockers lose, 72-68, to the Louisville Cardinals.
- 2014Shocker Hall, an 800-person residence hall on campus, opens its doors to students.
- 2015Utilizing what was the Braeburn Golf Course, WSU tees off its development of the Innovation Campus with the groundbreaking for the Experiential Engineering Building, later the John Bardo Center.
2016 – Today: Forward Together
- 2016Wichita State announces a bold vision: to be “internationally recognized as the model for applied learning and research.”
- 2017The Innovation Campus adds its first partnership businesses, a source of student employment and applied learning.
- 2017Shocker Studios, a state-of-the-art professional production space, opens in south Wichita.
- 2017The Innovation Campus solidifies industry partnerships with companies like Koch Industries, Airbus, Net App and Dassault Systèmes. The first Braeburn Square business, a free-standing Starbucks, opens.
- 2019A $13.8 million Student-Athlete Success Center breaks ground at Cessna Stadium.
- 2020Phase V upgrades to Eck Stadium, including a 10,000-square-foot locker, classroom and fitness facility, are unveiled.
- 2021Woolsey Hall, the new home of the Barton School of Business, opens for fall classes.
- 2021Richard “Rick” Muma becomes the 15th president of WSU.
- 2022The WSU Foundation and WSU Alumni Association unite to become the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement (WSUFAE).
- 2024The Shocker Success Center which houses dozens of student support functions, opens on the site of the former Clinton Hall.
- 2024WSU’s women’s bowling program begins its transition to an NCAA sports and competes in its final Intercollegiate Team Championship. The Shockers win the ITC crown, bringing home the program’s 11th national title.
- 2024Wichita Biomedical Campus groundbreaking ceremony is held in downtown Wichita.