History
In 1887, W.W. Prescott became the first education secretary of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He noticed that Seventh-day Adventist schools were opening all over the place without a plan for long-term success, and decided to encourage these new Adventist schools to consolidate into larger, regional institutions that would stand a better chance of survival. In 1890, Prescott visited the Pacific Northwest and asked the three Adventist schools there to merge; and after overcoming local opposition, the Adventist schools in Coquille, Portland, and Milton, all in Oregon, agreed to merge. A committee chose to place the new school on forty acres of land located just west of Walla Walla, Washington that were donated for the school. The new school opened on December 7, 1892, named Walla Walla College, and Prescott was named the first president. However, Prescott was also president of two other institutions at the time, so Edward A. Sutherland, the principal, took over running the school's day-to-day activities and eventually became the second president of the college. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
On the first day, Walla Walla College offered all education from elementary up to the first two years of college; total enrollment was 101, with six teachers. All classes were run out of the four-storey tall administration building, deliberately built tall so that it could be seen from the city of Walla Walla. Sutherland focused on following the counsels of Adventist prophetess Ellen G. White as closely as possible, and under his direction the school became the first to offer an exclusively vegetarian diet. Likewise, he emphasized manual labour for the students. Initially school finances were shaky, but the manual labour of the students eventually provided sufficient income to stabilize the school's finances. The school's first graduation was held in 1896; three students graduated. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
The school quickly celebrated a number of important milestones. In 1895, the school became the first Adventist institution to allow a brass ensemble to play during church services. In 1899, the first college bakery opened. In 1901, Walla Walla College was incorporated. In 1905, Marion E. Cady became the school's eighth president, and under his leadership the school expanded its college course offerings to a full four-year college program; by 1909, the college celebrated its first baccalaureate graduate. Cady also stabilized the school's finances, which resulted in the college paying off its debt in 1909. However, in 1910 the school suffered the first of many fires, when the power plant burned down. In 1911, Ernest Kellogg took over as president, and under his leadership the academic program of the college was further strengthened; elementary and high school classes were moved to separate buildings, and the school received accreditation from the University of Washington in 1913 for its high school; in that same year, enrollment reached 400 students. Kellogg designed the school's seal, and under Kellogg, the first yearbook was published, the first student newspaper was published, the student association was founded, and the alumni association was created. The first school gym opened when Kellogg retired in 1917; the current cafeteria building is named after him. [5] [6] [7]
In 1919, a fire destroyed the top floor of the school's administration building. In the 1920s, Walla Walla College pursued accreditation for its college program, receiving accreditation for the first two years of its college program and also winning accreditation for its teacher training program. However, the college met opposition from the church over its pursuit of accreditation, and suspended its application. During this time period, OPS and AGA (dorm clubs) were founded, the Johnson Music Conservatory was built, and a fire burned down the women's dorm. In the 1930s, Walla Walla College again pursued accreditation, and by 1935 it received accreditation for its full college program; in this same year, the high school separated from the college and became Walla Walla Valley Academy, leaving the school strictly a college. By this time, Walla Walla College was the largest Seventh-day Adventist college in the world. Walla Walla went through further conflicts with Adventist authorities, which reached an apex in 1938, when several theology professors were fired because they were considered heterodox. President William Martin Landeen resigned. [4] [5] [6] [7]
In 1939, the Columbia Auditorium opened, a popular performing arts venue. In the 1940s, a number of important developments helped found some of Walla Walla's most popular programs. An airfield was built in 1942 which led to the start of Walla Walla's aviation program. In 1944, the present library building was completed, and in 1947 the present boys dorm was built. In 1945, the village that had grown up to support the college was incorporated as the city of College Place, Washington. In 1947, the university opened up the first school of engineering in the Seventh-day Adventist church, and the first physical education program started around the same time. Also in 1947, the school opened its first satellite campus, when it began its school of nursing at the Portland Sanitarium, today Adventist Health Portland. In 1948, the college's first master's program was offered in Biology, and a master's degree in Education began two years later. A second satellite campus was opened in 1954 at Rosario Beach in Anacortes, Washington, for the marine biology program. Enrollment more than doubled in the post-war years, reaching 1,300 by 1950. [4] [5] [6] [7]
Growth slowed in the 1960s. A church was built in 1962, the present-day University Church. The college radio station, KGTS, began broadcasting in 1963, as the first FM-radio station in the Walla Walla Valley. Several buildings were built towards the end of the decade. The college also began to liberalize its rules, allowing its female students more freedom in how they dressed, and also hired its first full-time black professor. In 1971, the university's engineering school was granted accreditation. [6] [7] [9]
In the 1970s, the college ran into financial difficulties; a number of college industries were closed, sold, or privatized. A fire damaged the women's dorm, and in 1978 a fire destroyed the Columbia Auditorium. Enrollment reached 2,000 by the middle of the decade. In the 1980s, WWC established an endowment fund in 1987. Also in 1987, a graduate program in social work began. [6] [7]
In 2007, the school was renamed Walla Walla University. Today enrollment fluctuates just under 2,000 students who are served by over 200 faculty and staff, across the university's five campuses. [4] [6] [7] [10]
Presidents
Past presidents of Walla Walla University: [11]
- William Prescott (1892–1894)
- Edward A. Sutherland (1894–1897)
- Emmett J. Hibbard (1897–1898)
- Walter R. Sutherland (1898–1900)
- Edwin L. Stewart (1900–1902)
- Charles C. Lewis (1902–1904)
- Joseph L. Kay (1904–1905)
- Marion E. Cady (1905–1911)
- Ernest C. Kellogg (1911–1917)
- Walter I. Smith (1917–1930)
- John E. Weaver (1930–1933)
- William M. Landeen (1933–1938)
- George W. Bowers (1938–1955)
- Percy W. Christian (1955–1964)
- William H. Shephard (1964–1968)
- Robert L. Reynolds (1968–1976)
- N. Clifford Sorenson (1976–1985)
- H. J. Bergman (1985–1990)
- Niels-Erik Andreasen (1990–1994)
- W. G. Nelson (1994–2001)
- John C. Brunt (2001)
- N. Clifford Sorenson (2001–2002)
- Jon L. Dybdahl (2002–2006)
- John K. McVay (2006–2012)
- Steve Rose (2012)
- John K. McVay (2013–present)
