The history of Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, United States, began in the era of the Oregon Territory. At first a private school, the college later became a state supported agricultural institution. Nineteen presidents have led the school over the years while the school has been transformed from a single building to a campus of 577 acres (2.34 km2) and approximately 30,000 students in 2015.
In 1856, a school building was constructed in the Willamette Valley at Corvallis. [1] The structure would serve as home to a private academy until 1858. [1] Named Corvallis Academy, this was the area's first community school for primary and preparatory education. The local chapter of the Freemasons played an important role in developing the concept to eventually establish a state college in the city and initiated the construction of the early campus with the original donation of land. [2] [3] [4]
In 1858, what would become Oregon State University began as Corvallis College as it was formally incorporated by members of the Freemasons. [1] [5] [6] At that time the school did not offer college level courses. Years later the school's ownership was transferred to the Methodist Episcopal Church. [1] In 1865, William A. Finley was named as the school's first president. [1] The school as began offering a bachelor's degree that year. [1]
Corvallis College was incorporated by the church in 1868, and the state of Oregon designated the school as the State Agricultural College (SAC). [1] In 1873, the school became the first West Coast school to offer a course in agriculture. [1] The two-year program had been approved by the Oregon Legislative Assembly. [1] State Agricultural College became a completely state run school in 1885. [1] In 1889, the original building of Corvallis College was torn down. [1] In 1888 the college informally became known as Oregon Agricultural College (OAC), a name not made official until 1907. [7]
By 1934, Mary J. L. McDonald made donations that allowed for the purchase of the land that comprises the McDonald Forest owned by the school, which also includes Peavy Arboretum. [8]
The school's growing diversity in degrees led to another name change in 1937, when the college became Oregon State College.
Naval ROTC, and the program of Naval Sciences, were added to the existing Army ROTC program in 1946. The Air Force ROTC program was included in 1949, making Oregon State one of only 33 universities in the country to offer officer training for all branches of the United States Armed Forces.
Although OSU's academics mainly focused on agriculture, engineering and business through the 1960s; liberal arts remained an important part of the curriculum throughout its history. In fact, one of the more famous novelists of the 20th century taught English composition in 1940s and 50s. Bernard Malamud used his experiences as a professor at OSU for the basis of his novel A New Life . He was also awarded the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Fixer , named after a store in downtown Corvallis. Malamud's most famous book, The Natural, was said to have been greatly influenced by OSU's first appearance in the college world series playoffs in 1952.
Linus Pauling, Class of 1922, became Oregon State's first Nobel Laureate alumnus in 1954 when he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work elucidating the nature of the atomic bonds. In 1962, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign against nuclear weapons testing. He joined Marie Curie as the only person to win two different Nobels. Curie's physics prize was shared with her husband, Pierre Curie. Both of Pauling's prizes were unshared. The university's current title, Oregon State University, was adopted on March 6, 1961 by a legislative act signed into law by Governor Mark Hatfield. A new library, the William Jasper Kerr Library, opened in 1963. [9] That building was expanded twice, and after the latest expansion nearly doubled the size that ended in 1999, the library was renamed as The Valley Library. [10]
The position of President was created in 1865. From 1868 to 1929 the president reported to the institution's own Board of Trustees/Regents. Since the creation of the Oregon University System (OUS), the president has reported to the OUS chancellor.
List of presidents:
Linus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics. New Scientist called him one of the 20 greatest scientists of all time, and as of 2000, he was rated the 16th most important scientist in history. For his scientific work, Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954. For his peace activism, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962. He is one of five people to have won more than one Nobel Prize. Of these, he is the only person to have been awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes, and one of two people to be awarded Nobel Prizes in different fields, the other being Marie Curie.
Corvallis is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 59,922. Corvallis is the location of Oregon State University and Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. Corvallis is the westernmost city in the contiguous 48 states with a population larger than 50,000.
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. Undergraduate enrollment averages close to 32,000, making it the state's largest university. Out-of-state students make up over one-quarter of the undergraduates and an additional 5,500 students are engaged in graduate coursework at the university. Since its founding, over 272,000 students have graduated from OSU. The Carnegie Foundation Classification consistently places Oregon State in their most selective tier, "Doctoral University – Very high research activity" and since 2010 has also awarded it with the prestigious "Community Engagement" distinction, making it one of only 28 schools in the nation to hold both.
The Oregon–Oregon State football game is an American college football rivalry game played annually in the state of Oregon between the Ducks of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the Beavers of Oregon State University in Corvallis.
Amory Tingle "Slats" Gill was an American college basketball coach, the head coach at Oregon State University in Corvallis for 36 seasons. As a player, Gill was twice named to the All-Pacific Coast Conference basketball team. As head coach, he amassed 599 victories with a winning percentage of .604. Gill was also the head coach of the baseball team for six seasons and later was the OSU athletic director.
Oregon State University's College of Engineering is the engineering college of Oregon State University, a public research university in Corvallis, Oregon. U.S. News & World Report ranks OSU's engineering college 73rd in the nation for 2022. The ranking makes the college one of the top two in the Northwest, while the college's nuclear engineering school ranks 12th nationally.
The Valley Library is the primary library of Oregon State University and is located at the school's main campus in Corvallis in the U.S. state of Oregon. Established in 1887, the library was placed in its own building for the first time in 1918, what is now Kidder Hall. The current building opened in 1963 as the William Jasper Kerr Library and was expanded and renamed in 1999 as The Valley Library. The library is named for philanthropist F. Wayne Valley, who played football for Oregon State.
Ava Helen Pauling was an American human rights activist and wife of Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling. Throughout her life, she was involved in various social movements including women's rights, racial equality, and international peace.
William Herbert "Will" Bloss, Sr. was the first American football coach at Oregon Agricultural College in 1893 and again in 1897. He also was the quarterback of the 1893 team. Bloss was heralded by contemporaries as a "great coach" and one of the fiercest players on the field of the first two decades of football in the Pacific Northwest.
John Davidson Letcher was an American academic and an acting president of Oregon State University. He served as the acting president for 4 months in 1892, upon the death of the second president Benjamin Lee Arnold.
The Memorial Union (MU) is the student activity center at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. It contains a ballroom, cafeteria, bowling alley, shops, and study areas. It was designed by Oregon Agricultural College graduate Lee Arden Thomas.
William Jasper Kerr was an American academic in the states of Oregon and Utah. A native of Utah, he served as president of Oregon State University), known then as Oregon Agricultural College, Brigham Young College, and Utah State University), known then as Utah State Agricultural College. He later served as the first chancellor of what became the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, known then as the Oregon State Board of Higher Curricula. The administration building at Oregon State University is named in his honor.
Lee Arden Thomas (1886–1953) was an architect in Bend and Portland, Oregon, United States. He graduated in 1907 from Oregon State University. He completed many projects in Bend, often partnering with local architect Hugh Thompson. His work in that area includes the planning for Bend Amateur Athletic Club Gymnasium (1917–1918), Redmond Union High School, and the Washington School in Corvallis.
John Virginius Bennes was an American architect who designed numerous buildings throughout the state of Oregon, particularly in Baker City and Portland. In Baker City he did an extensive redesign of the Geiser Grand Hotel, designed several homes, and a now-demolished Elks building. He moved to Portland in 1907 and continued practicing there until 1942.
August Leroy Strand was an American entomologist who served as President of Montana State University from 1937 to 1942, and as President of Oregon State University from 1942 to 1961.
Community Hall was the first building constructed on the Oregon State University campus in Corvallis, Oregon and the oldest structure on its campus today. Its original name was simply the "Administration Building" while the university itself was using the name under which it was first organized: Oregon State Agricultural College. It is situated on a gentle slope called "College Hill," just west of the city's commercial center on the west bank of the Willamette River, there anchoring what remains of the school's original buildings on the "Lower Campus" : Apperson Hall (1899), Benton Annex (1892), Education Hall (1902) and Gladys Valley Gymnastics Center (1898).
The College of Liberal Arts is a liberal arts college at Oregon State University, a public research university in Corvallis, Oregon. It is the second largest of the 11 colleges at the university and offers 23 undergraduate degrees, 12 master's degrees, and 5 doctoral degrees.
Oregon State University Army ROTC is an ROTC Battalion assigned to Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. Its mission is to train Cadets in basic military leadership and commission them as 2nd Lieutenants upon the completion of a bachelor's degree. Founded in 1873, the ROTC Battalion has continued to serve the nation and US Army Cadet Command and was given the nickname, "The West Point of the West" after it produced more commissioned officers than any other ROTC Battalion in the USA during World War II.