1961
Stanley Allyn meets with Novice Fawcett concerning
a proposed state bond issue that includes a college in the Dayton area.
1962
Community fundraising drive nets $3 million in
seed money to establish a public university in Dayton area.
428-acre parcel of land next to Airway Road and
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base purchased.
1963
Founders Robert S. Oelman and Stanley C. Allyn,
with Campus Business Manager Frederick A. White, break ground for WSU's
first building, Allyn Hall.
1964
The Dayton Campus of Miami University and Ohio
State University opens in Allyn Hall September 8 with 3,203 students registered
for classes and 55 faculty members. The campus comprised general college,
science and engineering, Dayton academic center of Miami University, and
graduate center of Ohio State University.
1965
State Bill #210 passed to create WSU as an independent
state university, contingent upon enrollment totals.
A contest attracts dozens of suggestions for the
university name, from Buckskin University to Whatsamatta U. The Ohio General
Assembly approves the name Wright State to honor Dayton's Wright Brothers.
1966
Dr. Brage Golding, dean of the Purdue University
School of Engineering, is selected as the first Wright State University
president.
1967
Wright State receives independent status when enrollment
reaches 5,704.
Graduate studies department created.
1968
Wright State University holds its first commencement
ceremony on Founders Quadrangle.
Lake Campus branch opens in Celina.
Soccer becomes WSU's first intercollegiate sport.
A team of walk-ons, under Coach Bela Wollner, compiles a 8-3-2 record.
WSU receives full accreditation by the North Central
Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
1969
The Ohio General Assembly approves the largest
single physical expansion in 20 years with a $14 million appropriation to
build the University Library, Creative Arts Center, and Physical Education
Building.
John Ross is hired as the first men's basketball
coach and varsity games are played at Stebbins High School.
Student Caucus sponsors WrightStockmodeled after
Woodstockon Achilles Hill at the eastern edge of campus.
 1970
Hamilton Hall opens, housing the first 242 students
to live on campus.
Enrollment reaches 11,000.
1971
The first WSU October Daze is held. The three-day
party features a battle of bands, nightly film classics, helicopter rides,
and a flea market.
C. J. McLin dedicates the Bolinga Black Cultural
Resources Center, which opened on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday to promote
understanding of the culture and heritage of black Americans.
1972
WSU establishes its first women's intercollegiate
sports teams: tennis and softball.
Graduating class numbers 2,500.
When President Golding leaves to become president
of San Diego State University, vice president and "first employee"
Frederick White becomes acting president.
1973
Dr. Robert J. Kegerreis becomes Wright State's
second president.
The new University Library and Physical Education
Building open. The School of Nursing admits its first students.
1974
Students organize a drive to raise funds and gather
food, clothing, and blankets for victims of the April 4 Xenia tornado. More
than $3,000 and 69 van-loads of goods are collected.
The Creative Arts Center opens, marking a dramatic
expansion of the performing arts.
1975
WSU's first appearance in a postseason NCAA tournament
comes when the Raider men's baseball team comes in third at the Mideast
Regional Tournament. It is Ron Nischwitz's first season as head coach.
First Alumni Teaching Excellence Awards are presented
at June commencement.
1976
First students admitted to the School of Medicine.
Controversy swirls around a student request to
show the film, Deep Throat. Ironically, while the university seeks
an injunction against the showing, Bob Woodward speaks at WSU about Watergate
and...Deep Throat.
1977
Governor James Rhodes responds to the national
energy crisis by ordering businesses to cut their hours and public schools
to close. Universities are among the few "essential" institutions
allowed to continue regular operations in the 24-county area served by DP&L.
Thermostats are lowered, hot water taps turned off, and lights dimmed across
campus.
WWSU hits the airwaves as an FM station (88.5)
for the first time April 4. The station originated as a closed-circuit,
campus-only station in 1968, extending an AM signal to Hamilton Hall in
1971. (WWSU now broadcasts on 106.9 FM).
Enrollment reaches 14,362.
1978
In January, the heaviest Miami Valley snowfalls
since 1918 close the campus from January 16 through 18, and again January
26 and 27.
WSU holds its first Campus Scholarship Campaign,
with faculty and staff donating more than $39,000 to provide scholarships
for continuing students.
1979
First students admitted to the School of Professional
Psychology.
WSU Theatre's production of Look Back
In Anger is invited to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts by the American College Theatre Festival. Only the top-10 college productions
in the nation are invited each year.
WSU men win the Third Annual National Intercollegiate
Wheelchair Basketball Tournament.
1980
Theatre in Ohio1980 Survey,
published by the Ohio Theatre Alliance, lists WSU Theatre's audiences as
the largest of any college or university in the state. Attendance during
1980 is over 38,000.
1982
The WSU delegation to the National Collegiate Model
United Nations returns for the first time with the top awardbeginning an
unparalleled 16-year streak of bringing home top awards at the annual event.
1983
The WSU men's basketball team, under the direction
of Coach Ralph Underhill, wins the NCAA Division II national tournament.
Paraplegic Nan Davis walks at June commencement
by means of computer-controlled, electric stimulation research done at Wright
State. Dr. Jerrold Petrofsky and his staff gain national attention for their
work with paralyzed patients.
The Alumni Association presents its first Outstanding
Alumni Achievement Award.
1984
The WSU international student exchange program
wins the G. Theodore Mitau Award for Innovation and Change in Higher Education.
The award is based on Wright State's unique jobs program for students to
fund their participation in exchange programs with Japanese and Brazilian
universities.
The WSU Department of Theatre Arts wins the first
of two Ohio Program Excellence Awards.
1985
Dr. Paige E. Mulhollan becomes the university's
third president.
Faculty members Thomas Whissen and David Garrison
compose the WSU Alma Mater as part of the university's 20th anniversary
celebration. It is performed for the first time at commencement.
1986
WSU Board of Trustees approves a new mission statement,
identifying WSU as a "metropolitan university" committed to providing
leadership in addressing the educational, social, cultural, economic, and
technological needs of the Miami Valley.
Wright State forms a partnership with six area
educational institutions and area businesses to form EMTEC, the Edison Materials
Technology Engineering Center.
An eight-student team wins the National Intercollegiate
Mock Trial Tournament in Iowa, defeating Northwestern University in the
finals.
Enrollment nears 17,000.
1987
The College of Education and Human Services, and
Dayton Public Schools agree to jointly operate the E. J. Brown School as
a "living, learning laboratory."
WSU athletics move to NCAA Division I.
Enrollment hits 17,066.
1988
The Motion Pictures area of the Department of Theatre
Arts wins an Ohio Program Excellence award.
1990
WSU hosts the first national conference of metropolitan
universities and launches an academic journal as a forum for metropolitan
universities.
The Financial Services program in the Department
of Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate wins an Ohio Program Excellence award.
The Nutter Center opens with commencement and a
performance featuring the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.
WSU research funding tops $20 million.
1992
The Kellogg Foundation announces a $2 million grant
to WSU to fund The Partners for Community Health Development Project. The
project is designed to improve health care delivery to underserved residents
of both east and west Dayton, and to develop innovative ways to train health
care professionals in medicine, nursing, and psychology.
The largest academic building on campus, the Fritz
and Dolores Russ Engineering Center, opens, serving as a centerpiece of
engineering and computer science research in the region.
Accounting students take top prize in the nation
in the annual Case Competition. (WSU students win again in 1994).
1993
The Center for Teaching and Learning opens, offering
programs and assistance to faculty in improving teaching.
The Women's Center opens.
On-campus housing reaches the 2,000 student level
with the addition of The Village, apartment units for graduate and married
students.
The men's basketball team wins the MidContinent
Conference title and advances to the NCAA tournament.
1994
Dr. Harley E. Flack becomes Wright State's fourth
president.
WSU, the University of Dayton, and the Air Force
Institute of Technology sign an agreement to create the Dayton Area Graduate
Studies Institute (DAGSI) to provide the community with a top-notch advanced
engineering education and research center.
Fund-raising efforts exceed $2.7 million.
1996
Virginia Kettering endows $1 million scholarship
for geriatric medical education.
External funding tops $26 million.
WSU granted new Ph.D. program in engineering by
Ohio Board of Regents.
Enrollment totals 15,697.
1997
WSU's original production of 1913: The Great
Dayton Flood opens the 29th Annual American College Theatre Festival
at the Kennedy Center.
WSU breaks ground on new academic building, which
will house College of Nursing and Health, School of Graduate Studies, and
administrative offices.
The Information Technology Research Institute,
a cooperative research and development organization, established. |
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