History

History first-gen grad honored for excellence

Washington educator Jordan Frost received the University’s inaugural First-Generation Alumni Excellence Award, presented by the Office of Academic Engagement (OAE). Frost earned two degrees at WSU—a BA in history in 2018, and a master’s in teaching in 2019. While an undergraduate in Pullman, he was elected and served as head of the Associated Students of […]

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum multi‑year initiative

A collaboration between WSU and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., will bring the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Annual Lecture and programming to the Northwest year next year and begin a multi-year regional initiative to address anti-Semitism, racism, and histories of persecution in North America. The joint endeavor will put WSU at the […]

Cougs who serve

The world-wide reach of WSU’s Global Campus has given rise to a unique community of students who are actively serving in the United States military. The convenience and flexibility of asynchronous learning is an ideal option for active duty soldiers and sailors who live and work in locations around the globe. “Earning my degree was […]

Fallen, but not from history

Charles Kirkham. Noel Plowman. Toll Seike. Allen Ferguson. Sidney Beinke. Myron “Mike” Carstensen. Archie Buckley. They were husbands, fathers, sons, brothers. One was a standout college athlete and beloved coach. A couple were pilots. A few quit school to serve. Some were never found. These seven servicemen are a handful of nearly 260 military personnel […]

Preserving a nearly⁠-lost legacy

Following a talk about the Fallen Cougars Project in Pullman last Veterans Day, Kathy Aiken (’80 PhD history) shared a faded newspaper clipping with the speakers. The obituary for her father’s friend noted that he had—like Aiken’s dad— attended Washington State College for a year and a half before joining the United States Army to […]

History alumnus leads virtual vacations from Bolivia

Derren Patterson (’07 History) wanted to see the world. After stops in China and Korea, he landed in Bolivia—and made the landlocked South American country his home. The ecotourism adventurer has been sharing his passion for the place—part mountain range, part desert, part rainforest—for twelve years now. “I’ve guided Hollywood movie stars, princes and princesses, […]

New books get to roots of contemporary issues

Tackling some of the world’s most pressing issues —from energy supply to mass migration and public health—is at the heart of an acclaimed new book series based on WSU’s innovative Roots of Contemporary Issues program (RCI). Written and edited by WSU history faculty, the series reflects the RCI thematic structure and introduces the University’s pioneering […]