Western Washington State College
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Former names
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| Motto | Active Minds Changing Lives |
| Type | Public |
| Established | February 24, 1893 |
| Endowment | $57.1 million |
| President | Sabah Randhawa |
| Provost | Brent Carbajal |
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Academic staff
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928 (Oct. 2014) |
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Administrative staff
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1,388 (Oct. 2014) |
| Students | 15,060 (2014) |
| Undergraduates | 14,407 (2014) |
| Postgraduates | 653 (2014) |
| Location |
Bellingham, Washington, U.S. 48°44′02″N 122°29′10″W / 48.734°N 122.486°WCoordinates: 48°44′02″N 122°29′10″W / 48.734°N 122.486°W |
| Campus |
Urban 215 acres (87 ha) |
| Colors | Western Blue, Bay Blue and White |
| Athletics |
NCAA Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Nickname | Vikings |
| Mascot | Victor E. Viking |
| Website | www |
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Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is one of six public universities in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in Bellingham, and is the northernmost university in the contiguous United States. WWU was founded as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School in 1893, succeeding a private school of teaching for women. Its current president is Sabah Randhawa, the former provost of Oregon State University.
WWU offers a variety of bachelor's and master's degrees. In 2014, there were 15,060 students, 14,407 of whom were undergraduate students, and 764 faculty. Its athletic teams are known as the Vikings and the school colors are Western blue, bay blue, and white.
Western was established as the Northwest Normal School, a teachers' school for women, by Phoebe Judson in Lynden, Washington, in 1886. Eventually the school moved to Bellingham (then "New Whatcom"), and through the efforts of William R. Moultray and George Judson (Phoebe's son),Governor John McGraw signed legislation establishing the New Whatcom Normal School on February 24, 1893. The first official class entered in 1899, composed of 88 students.
The institution that is now Western Washington University has since undergone several name changes. In 1901, the school's name was changed to State Normal School at Whatcom to reflect New Whatcom's name change. Again, in 1904, the name was changed to Washington State Normal School at Bellingham when the townships of Whatcom and Fairhaven joined, and again in 1937, to Western Washington College of Education when it became a 4-year college. Twenty-four years later it became Western Washington State College and finally, in 1977, the institution gained university status.
The 1960s was a period of especially rapid growth for Western, as its enrollment increased from 3,000 students to over 10,000 during the decade. Also during this time, the Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies was founded (1967), with non-traditional education methods that would serve as a model for The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Two years later, the Huxley College of the Environment, the nation's first dedicated environmental science college, was founded, continuing Western's trend toward "cluster" colleges. That same year, on a spring afternoon, students gained headlines by blocking Interstate 5 to protest the Vietnam War. Also in 1969, the College of Ethnic Studies was established; however, after being met with significant resistance, it was dismantled in 1975 [citation to be added soon].
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