Wichita State and its predecessors sport a chronology of events that spans 130 years — and counting.
Back to Traditions
Fairmount 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).
On the second day of school, a group of students meet under a tree to discuss starting a football team.
The Sunflower prints its first issue.
Fairmount students select the school colors of “sunflower” yellow and black.
The first graduating class totals nine; total enrollment is 179.
The first Parnassus, the student yearbook, is published.
Fairmount’s first official choral group, Women’s Glee Club, debuts.
Fairmount’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.
Fiske Hall is completed as a men’s dormitory.
Ground is broken for Carnegie Library, later renamed Morrison Library; the structure burns in 1964.
President Henry Thayer takes office.
The department of education is added to Fairmount College.
Harry Shuler organizes the college’s first alumni association.
The third president of Fairmount College, Walter Rollins, takes office.
John Finlayson takes over as Fairmount’s fourth president.
The Women’s Athletic Association is formed with Fairmount student Darling Crum as president.
A 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.
Fairmount College transitions to the Municipal University of Wichita. Enrollment is 569 students.
President Harold Foght takes office.
McKinley Hall opens and construction begins on Henrion Gym additions and the university’s second library.
The municipal university’s aeronautical engineering department is founded, on of the earliest in the nation.
A wind tunnel is installed in McKinley Hall.
The university’s original building, Fairmount Hall, burns down; Jardine Hall now stands on the site.
William Jardine becomes the university’s sixth president.
The Auditorium and Commons Building, now Wilner Auditorium, opens. The building houses the Alibi Room, a favorite gathering place for students.
The university president’s home is built on campus.
Harry Corbin ’40, an alumnus of the University of Wichita, becomes the seventh president at the age of 32.
The Gore Scholarship program, established in 1952, begins awarding scholarships annually to incoming freshmen recognized for their strong leadership potential.
WU’s innovatively designed circular field house, quickly dubbed the Roundhouse is completed. In 1969 it takes on the name Henry Levitt Arena.
The engineering department splits off from the business school to become its own college.
Student enrollment tops 5,000.
The Campus Activities Center (CAC) becomes the newest addition to campus, later renamed the Rhatigan Student Center.
President Emory Linquist takes office.
The University of Wichita becomes Wichita State University, with enrollment topping 7,000 students.
WSU’s men’s basketball team reaches the Final Four.
Clark Ahlberg ’39 becomes the ninth university president and the second WU alumnus to hold this top leadership position.
Veterans 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.
The College of Health Professions is founded.
One 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.
The Memorial ’70 sculpture, bearing the names of the 31 people who tragically died in the Gold Plane crash, is dedicated on Nov. 28.
The McKnight Art Center complex, which includes the Ulrich Museum of Art, is completed.
The Shocker women’s bowling team wins the national title for the first time in program history.
President Warren Armstrong takes office.
The National Institute of Aviation Research takes flight.
Wiedemann Hall is constructed to house the Great Marcussen Organ.
For fiscal reasons, football is discontinued at Wichita State, ending a 90-year run.
WSU’s baseball team brings home the national championship.
Eugene Hughes is inaugurated as the university’s 11th president.
The university marks 100 years of excellence during a year-long celebration of the centennial anniversary of its founding.
The university’s centennial celebration culminates with WSU commencement exercises on May 18
President Don Beggs takes office.
James 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.
Charles Koch Arena is officially dedicated on Dec. 20 during a sold-out WSU Shockers vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane men’s basketball game.
WSU opens the Marcus Welcome Center, its new “front door.”
The Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection is named one of the nation’s Top 10 campus sculpture collections.
Homecoming returns to campus after a 20-year hiatus, sponsored by the WSU Alumni Association.
John Bardo takes office as WSU’s 13th president.
Wichita State’s women’s volleyball team reaches the Sweet Sixteen.
WSU’s men’s basketball team competes in the Final Four in Atlanta, where the Shockers lose, 72-68, to the Louisville Cardinals.
Shocker Hall, an 800-person residence hall on campus, opens its doors to students.
Utilizing 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.
Wichita State announces a bold vision: to be “internationally recognized as the model for applied learning and research.”
The Innovation Campus adds its first partnership businesses, a source of student employment and applied learning.
Shocker Studios, a state-of-the-art professional production space, opens in south Wichita.
The 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.
A $13.8 million Student-Athlete Success Center breaks ground at Cessna Stadium.
Phase V upgrades to Eck Stadium, including a 10,000-square-foot locker, classroom and fitness facility, are unveiled.
Woolsey Hall, the new home of the Barton School of Business, opens for fall classes.
Richard “Rick” Muma becomes the 15th president of WSU.
The WSU Foundation and WSU Alumni Association unite to become the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement (WSUFAE).
The Shocker Success Center which houses dozens of student support functions, opens on the site of the former Clinton Hall.
Wichita Biomedical Campus groundbreaking ceremony is held in downtown Wichita.
