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WKU Archives serves as the collective memory of not only Western Kentucky University, but also it's founding institutions:
Bowling Green Business University 1907-1963
Glasgow Normal 1875-1890
Ogden College 1877-1928
Potter College for Young Ladies 1889-1909
Southern Normal School & Business College
WKU has had five name changes through the years:
Western Kentucky State Normal School 1906-1922
Western Kentucky State Normal School & Teachers College 1922-1930
Western Kentucky State Teachers College 1930-1948
Western Kentucky State College 1948-1966
Western Kentucky University 1966-present
it is referred to as WKU throughout the timeline. See also Board of Regents records.
This timeline incorporates significant events from each of the schools and provides links to source documents describing those events in more detail.
| 1870 | 1880 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 |
| 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 |
| 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 |
Prehistory
1864
November 16 - Henry Cherry born
Ogden Hall built ca. 1870 as private home
1873
November 10 - Robert Ogden dies, his will created Ogden College
1874
Southern Normal School & Business College founded by A.W. Mell and J. Tom Williams.
1875 - documents
Glasgow Normal School opens
1876 - documents
March 9 - Glasgow Normal receives charter from the General Assembly
1877 - documents
September 3 - Ogden College founded by Robert Ogden's will opens
1880 - documents
1881 - documents
1884 - documents & student papers
1885 - student papers
Southern Normal School & Business College opens in Bowling Green
1889 - documents
Cabell Hall completed
Recitation Hall opens, main building of Potter College for Young Ladies
September 9 - Potter College opens with Rev. B.F. Cabell president
Glasgow Normal School closes
1891
J.R. Alexander named president of Southern Normal School & Business College
1892
Southern Normal School & Business College reorganized by Cherry brothers as Bowling Green College & Literary Institute.
1893
November 2 - Paul Garrett born at Waddy near Shelbyville, Kentucky
1895
Bowling Green College & Literary Institute secures new charter and name - Southern Normal School & Bowling Green Business College
March 12 - E.A. Diddle born in Gradyville, KY
1898 - documents
1899 - documents
November 1 - Southern Educational Building Company purchased Southern Normal School & Bowling Green Business College building and lot
November 16 - Southern Normal School & Bowling Green Business College destroyed by fire.
1900 - documents
Southern Normal School & Bowling Green Business College builds new building.
Robert Underwood designs and builds family home
1901 - documents
1902 - documents
1903 - documents & student papers
1904 - documents
1905 - documents
SNS&BGBC renamed Southern Normal School & Bowling Green Business University
April 1 - Frisbie Hall completed
History
1906 - documents
March 21 - Governor J.C.W. Beckham signs legislation chartering the WKU.
April 5 - Locating Commission appointed by the governor
May 7 - Commission appointed by the Governor votes to locate WKU in Bowling Green. Campus is on College Street between 11th and 12th Streets. 162 acres are purchased on the Hill to be used later.
June 2 - first meeting of the WKU Board of Regents
July 1 - Henry Hardin Cherry becomes president of the WKU.
August 18 - Mattie McLean hired as secretary
August 30 - A.J. Kinnaman appointed dean of WKU
November - first issue of the State Normal Bulletin published
November 14 - C.J. Van Meter named chancellor emeritus
1907 - documents & student papers
January 7 - Southern Normal School & Bowling Green Business University split into two distinct schools: WKU under Henry Cherry and Business University under J.S. Dickey, J.L. Harman and W.S. Ashby. BGBU moved into the McCormack Building.
January 22 - first classes held in WKU, Herman Donovan first student officially registered. First faculty and staff:
Henry Cherry, president
A.J. Kinnaman, dean
Fred Mutchler, Biology
Frederick Roman, Literature & History
J.M. Guilliams, Mathematics
J.R. Alexander, Math & Physics
R.P. Green, Geography
Sarah Scott, Training School
W.L. Gebhart, Public Music
C.W. Fulton, Drawing & Penmanship
Irene Russell, Special Music
Annie Egenhoff, Reading & Expression
Susan Irvin, Training School, first grade
Anna Barclay, Training School, second grade
Jennie West, Training School, third grade
Mattie McLean, secretary
H.H. Eggner, registrar and bookkeeper
Josephine Fayne, student home hostess
Parthenia Weller, librarian
April 17 - Architect Brinton B. Davis hired to design WKU campus
April 18 - BGBU incorporated
May 10-11 - students travel to Mammoth Cave
September 2 - enrollment 1,082
December 18 - Board of Regents approves the issue of life certificate to Flora Stallard, first Western graduate.
1908 - documents
January 22 - Herman Donovan of Mason County first student to register at WKSNS.
February 21 - students meet Henry Cherry at midnight to celebrate passage of education appropriations Bill No. 120
April - Florence Stallard first WKU life certificate recipient
1909 - documents
January - WKU library housed 3,733 books, 95 magazines and 2 newspapers in a single room
January 28 - Kelly Thompson born in Lebanon, Kentucky
February 27 - Western puchases Potter College for Young Ladies on Vinegar Hill.
May 20 - Potter College closes at end of the spring term; buildings acquired by WKU included a small stone building located behind Recitation Hall, razed after 1937.
July 9 - Henry Wright, WKU landscape architect dies in New Jersey
November - first issue of the Elevator
1910 - documents
Pioneer Log Cabin constructed of cedar logs
February 26 - Van Meter Hall cornerstone set
March 31 - authorization to extend Model Training School to sixth grade
May 2 - first offical athletics competition, WKU baseball defeats Eastern 6-0
July 20 - Agriculture curriculum approved
September 2 - Franz Strahm becomes director of Music
December - The Elevator student publication debuts
1911 - documents & student papers
WKU's first seal designed by Julia Franklin Howard
January 24 - Domestic Science & Domestic Arts department opens under Iva Scott's direction
February 3-4 - Western campus moves up the Hill
February 21 - Athletic Committee created
February 26 - Van Meter cornerstone laid - includes school catalog, list of students and alumni and The Elevator
March - measles outbreak
March 24 - first Clean Up Day
May 2 - first baseball game WKU 6, EKU 0
May 5 - Van Meter Hall dedicated
July 5 - Business University destroyed by fire, moves into the Castle at 12th and College
1912 - documents & student papers
Moot House of Representatives held at WKU
1913 - documents & student papers
First football game WKU 20 Elizabethtown High School 0
August - Enrollment reaches 1,944
1914 - documents
First basketball game WKU 28 - Bethel College 21
June 7-12 - Homecoming Week in conjunction with graduation
1915 - documents & student papers
The Vista yearbook published
January 11 - May 19 - Henry Cherry resigns as president to enter Kentucky's gubernatorial campaign
March 1 - first women's basketball game, WKU 12 - Logan College in Russellville 8
June 9 - Henry Cherry returns to WKU as president
1916 - documents
December - Normal Heights and the Elevator merge
1917 - documents
February 19-21 Rural Life and Rural School Conference held at WKU
1918 - documents
December 21 - Henry Cherry resigns to run for governor
Barracks constructed to house the Students' Army Training Corps
War Emergency Courses offered conversational French and War Service
1919 - documents & student papers
January 28 - ROTC is established
March 21 - WKU purchases property on Russellville Road from the African American Baptist Church
April 7 - Henry Cherry withdraws from gubernatorial race
June 21 - BGBU purchases property for $35,000
December 30 - Model Rural School approved by Regents
1920 - documents & student papers
Construction begins on Potter Hall
Red Barn built for basketball
Cherryton opens with 24 cottages for rent or purchase
March 15 - Student Bookstore established
May 5 - Henry Cherry takes extended leave of absence due to health
May 21 - Josephine Cherry hired as physical education director
September - The departments of Industrial Arts, Correspondence & Extension and Physical Education formed
September 20 - campus bookstore opens in Recitation Hall
November 18 - Mary Gilmour is first woman regent
1921 - documents
January 16 - BGBU president J.S. Dickey dies, J.L. Harman succeeds him
July - Potter Hall completed as girls dormitory
July 29 - John Minton born in Cadiz
September 10 - Dero Downing born in Fountain Run
Cedar House built by students
1922 - documents
Guest House constructed for $2,720
March 20 - WKU becomes a 4 year college. Legislation changing name to Western Kentucky State Normal School & Teachers College approved.
April 24 - Literary society meetings dismissed in favor of attending baseball game
July 17 - College Heights Foundation incorporated.
September 7 - E.A. Diddle hired as athletic director and coach
September 20 - first campus bookstore opens in Recitation Hall
November 3 - faculty granted right to expel students for insubordination or immoral conduct
1923 - documents
WKU acquires Robert Underwood home for music department
January 12 - Women's basketball team delivers Diddle's first coaching win
February 16 - E.A. Diddle first waves a red towel at basketball game
April - Library moves out of Recitation Hall into Cedar House
July 17 - College Heights Foundation incorporated
1924 - documents
Rural Training School built
World War I barracks razed
First WKU Talisman yearbook published
Faculty outgrow meeting room in Henry Cherry's office
April 17 - College Heights Post Office approved by Regents
June 5 - first bachelor degree awarded
November 27 - WKU beats Bethel in football with a score of 73-0
1925 - documents & student papers
January 29 - first issue of College Heights Herald published
March 12 - WKU's alma mater, College Heights first sung in chapel
October 30 - College High building dedicated as Training School; Rural Model School dedicated
1926 - documents
Cabell Hall razed, materials used to build Home Economics Building
Snell Hall built on Ogden College campus
Diddle Dorm building purchased
October 14 - auction held to liquidate WKU's holdings downtown:
Frisbie Hall - located on Center Street, just opposite the city's high school and joining the Business University. This was a three story brick building, consisting of 50 furnished rooms.
Buidling Lot - 42' wide x 220' deep and joined Bailey Hall property. It faced the junior high school.
Bailey Hall - located on Center Street opposite the high school and adjoining the Business University. It was a two story frame building of 25 rooms.
December 1 - receives accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools.
1927 - documents & student papers
Home Economics Building completed
Library opens in Gordon Wilson Hall, replacing Cedar House
Industrial Education Annex & Colonnade built
Original heating plant built
November 5 - first homecoming complete with open house, alumni luncheon and football game against University of Louisville, final score WKU 7 - UL 6
November 19 - Western and Ogden College agree to merge
1928 - documents & student papers
January 1 - Ogden College merges with WKU
June 12 - Dean A.J. Kinnaman dies
Industrial Arts building constructed for $68,500
1929 - documents & student papers
Industrial Education Building completed
White Hall aka Schneider Hall opens
WaKaTaCa Club first pep club formed
1930 - documents & student papers
Offers both BA and BS degree
College Heights becomes school song
February 2 - WKU becomes Western Kentucky State Teachers College
November 16 - first Founders Day celebrated
1931 - documents & student papers
College Heights Foundation moves into small house between Recitation Hall and the Training School
Henry Cherry and family move into president's home, now Craig Alumni Center.
Health & Physical Education Building opens, replaces Red Barn
Kentucky Building construction begins
Graduate studies added during summer session with 60 students
Music Building constructed
April 16 - Regents authorize graduate studies
June - WKU celebrates 25th anniversary by staging Pageant of Progress
July 11 - first tennis team beats George Peabody College 7-5
November 6-8 - WKU celebrates 25th anniversary
December 1 - A.W. Mell dies
1932 - documents
May 24 - swimming pool opens on site of Cravens Graduate Center
June 2 - first master's degree awarded
1933 - documents
Goal Post restaurant opens, closed in 1979
Red & Grey Orchestra organized
1934 - documents & student papers
Western Players present "Miss Lulu Bett" their first production
Mary Walton crowned Mountain Laurel Queen
June 23 - WKU purchased Covington Farm
1935 - documents & student papers
Cherry Hall designed by William Bass Jr., WKU '35
May 1 - WKU meets Austin Peay University in golf tournament
May 24 - ROTC training authorized
June - Kelly Thompson receives BA from WKU
September 1 - Paul Garrett becomes second president
November 16 - Henry Hardin Cherry statue dedicated
1936 - documents & student papers
Kentucky Building opens, interior construction incomplete
Recitation Hall razed to make room for Cherry Hall
Graduate program suspended
Jonell Stewart crowned first Talisman Queen
September - "Western" painted on water tower
1937 - documents & student papers
Music Hall opens
James Cornette publishes history of WKU
August 1 - Henry Hardin Cherry dies
August 11 - Finley Grise appointed postmaster of College Heights substation
September 1 - Paul Garrett elected president
November 16 - Cherry Hall dedicated
1938 - documents
William "Red" McCrocklin was WKU's first basketball all-American captain.
November 22 - Ogden College Trustee, R.C.P. Thomas dies
1939 - documents
November 16 - Kentucky Building dedicated
1940 - documents
March 19 - Marion Conner Ford killed in car wreck
April 14 - W.J. Edens named head of Agriculture, H.L. Stephens named head of Biology
October 19 - first athletic radio broadcast, Hilltoppers vs Tennessee Tech
1941 - documents & student papers
April 7 - Ogden College receives $90,000 R.C.P. Thomas bequest
June 13 - graduate program reinstated
December - Takeichi "James" Oshiro, Japanese-American student moves into president's home after attack on Pearl Harbor.
1942 - documents
January 1 - defense stamp drive launched at Chapel
March 25 - Bowling Green welcomes Hilltoppers home from NIT Tournament after losing 47-45 to West Virginia
May 8 - WKU designated a "key center for information and training in civilian morale
October 23 - Perry Snell dies in Laredo, Texas
1943 - documents & student papers
April - WKU opens dorms and classes to the 321st College Training Detachment, they create the Open Post newsletter
August 20 - Kelly Thompson receives MA degree from WKU
1944 - documents
Cheerleading Cook twins recruited by E.A. Diddle
1945 - documents
1946 - documents
January 15 - Vets Village created consisting of 214 dwellings
October 26 - first homecoming held after World War II
Rock House purchased for $28,000
1947 - documents
McLean Hall completed
Ogden College lease extended ten years
1948 - documents
Teddy Lou Johnson named first Military Queen
February 27 - WKU becomes Western Kentucky State College; Kelly Thompson designs new seal
August 21 - McLean Hall cornerstone placed
1949 - documents
January 14 - tenure adopted for faculty members
November 5 - Teddy Lou Johnson crowned first homecoming queen
Jimmy Feix enrolls, Hilltopper quarterback 1949-1952 and Hilltopper coach 1968-1993
1950 - documents
1951 - documents
Garrett Student Center constructed to be student union
Dottye Nuckols crowned Miss Kentucky
May 21 - McLean Hall named for Mattie McLean
1952 - documents
Pat Barker crowned Basketball Queen
May 25 - Hilltoppers Quartet release hit single "Trying"
1953 - documents
June 6 - WKU leaves the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1954 - documents & student papers
Establishment of departmental budgets
Mary Moore publishes Western Kentucky State College -- Past & Present
November 11 - Bess Fayne Cherry dies in New York
December - Mattie McLean dies
1955 - documents
East Hall and North Halls constructed
Rural Training School razed
January 18 - Van Meter renovation completed for $25,000
February 28 - Paul Garrett dies, student union named for him
October 17 - Kelly Thompson becomes WKU's third president
1956 - documents
February 12 - Murray State vandals hit Cherry statue with green and white paint after basketball game
June 1 - Ogden College lease extended for ten years
June 7 - WKU officially desegregates with start of summer session
July 12 - Charles Keown named first Dean of Students
September 15 - Margaret Munday and John E. Jones become WKU's first African American students
December 19 - Regents approve red and white as official school colors
1957 - documents
Physical Plant & Parking Structure completed
May 30 - Pylon dedicated in honor of WKU's 50th anniversary
1958 - documents & student papers
Physical Plant Building opens
Televised course "Atomic Age Physics taught by Harvey White
Pat Stiff named Blue Grass Bowl Queen
April 13 - Choir performs at Eddyville Prison
1959 - documents
Regents Hall opens for women and South Hall opens for men
May 7 - honor societies established
September 26 - Change of Work Status implemented establishing a mandatory retirement age. Seven long term faculty retire Finley Grise, E.H. Canon, L.F. Jones, Gordon Wilson, W.M. Pearce, H.F. McChesney and M.E. Shell
December 31 - E.A. Diddle wins 700th basketball game in Sugar Bowl championship over Tulane
1960 - documents
March 8-9 Basketball fans stranded along 31-W. Snowball Express comes to the rescue!
Thompson Science Complex - North Wing opens
West Hall completed
September 1 - night classes begin
Ogden College lease extended through 2059
1961 - documents
State Hall opens, later renamed McCormack Hall
Business & Government created
New, improved Bookstore opens in Cherry Hall
March 1 - puchase of Diddle Arena site
August 25 - College Heights Herald becomes a weekly publication and fraternity / sorority system approved
October 15 - Kelly Thompson Science Hall dedicated
December 15 - Owen Lawson named director of Building & Grounds; Dero Downing named first Dean of Admissions
1962 - documents & student papers
Central Hall, Security Building and Launderette built
Community College Division created
Seminar Centers purchased
First Cross-country meet
January 6 - E.A. Diddle coaches 1,000 game at WKU
1963 - documents
Terrace Hall opens for women
President's Home, Home Management Center and Curry House purchased
Two-year Nursing program established
April 7 - Mike & Robert Redd first African American to receive basketball scholarships
June 1 - WKU and BGBU merge becomes the Bowling Green College of Commerce
December 7 - Diddle Arena dedicated
December 28 - Hilltoppers beat the US Coast Guard Academy 27-0 in the Tangerine Bowl
1964 - documents & student papers
E.A. Diddle retires with 759-302 record
Zone parking lots created to deal with influx of cars
Clem Haskins enrolls, basketball star 1964-1967; Hilltopper coach
Toni Martin named first Mrs. Western Student Life
President's Home at 1536 State Street acquired
Charles Taylor Agriculture Center opens
February 26 - Dero Downing becomes Dean of Business Affairs
June - fired guts College of Commerce Building
July 21 - Associate of Arts degrees created for Nursing, Industrial Technology and Agricultural Technology & Management
October 30 - Centrex telephone system approved
December 23 - Library named in honor of Margie Helm after major remodeling
1965 - documents & student papers
Garrett Conference Center addition built
Telephones installed in dormitories
Susan Crabtree hired, first African-American not hired as maid
Rodes-Harlin, Bemis-Lawrence, Grise and Barnes-Campbell Halls completed
Underground newspaper The Skewer published, 3 students suspended
April 28 - Vice Presidencies established - Raymond Cravens, Academic Affairs; Dero Downing, Administrative Affairs
May - Summer School established with John Scarborough as head
June 1 - creation of colleges - Education; Ogden College of Science & Technology; and Potter College of Liberal Arts
July - Tax Research Center created under Lewis Bell
July 22 - Hilltopper Hundred Club organizes
1966 - documents
Barnes-Campbell Hall and Bemis Lawrence Hall open as men's dorms
Grise Hall built
Ogden Hall razed
Rodes-Harlin Hall opened
Black faculty members James Beck & Mable Anderson hired
February 14 - Susan Friedli crowned Valentine Queen
February 26 - WKU gains university status
March 11 - Hilltoppers lose to Michigan in NCAA regional semi-finals
April 1 - Associated Students of Western Kentucky University constitution adopted
April - Institutional Research established
June 16 - WKU renamed Western Kentucky University
1967 - documents
Thompson Science Complex - Central Wing opens
Carmen Willoughby crowned Athenian Queen & Charlotte Lyle named first Miss Western
February 6 - Bowling Green renames University Boulevard in honor of WKU
September 28 - Enrollment exceeds 10,000
October 14 - Barnes-Campbell Hall, Grise Hall, Hardin Planetarium, Helm Library, Bemis Lawrence Hall, Wetherby, Taylor Agricultural Center and Thompson Science Complex, dedicated
1968 - documents
April 2 - William Menser becomes first student regent
September 21 - Van Meter Hall officially named
L.T. Smith Stadium completed, dedicated October 26
Dormitory 9 opens, later renamed Douglas Keen Hall
1969 - documents
Academic Complex opens
Dormitory construction completed, later named Hugh Poland Hall
Jones-Jaggers Lab School replaces University Training School
First computer lab opens in Thompson Science Complex
May 13 - Gordon Wilson Hall dedicated
May 21 - Kelly Thompson resigns as president
July 8 - Community College renamed Bowling Green Community College
August 8 - 100th commencement
September 12 - Dero Downing becomes WKU's fourth president
October 15 - Vietnam Moratorium Day
1970 - documents & student papers
Downing University Centeropens replacing Garrett as student union
Education Complex opens
Parking Structure built
Services Supply Building completed
1971 - documents
Cravens Graduate Center & Library completed
Carolyn Brown named first Miss Black Western
Pearce-Ford Tower tallest building in Kentucky 246 ft., 7 in.
March 18 - Hilltoppers defeat UK Wildcats 107-83 in first round of NCAA Mideast Regional Final. Adolph Rupp calls it "my most humiliating moment."
April 6 - Linda Jones elected first female president of Associated Students organization.
May 10 - Chuck Crume gives John Oldham first sketch of WKU's red towel logo
1972 - documents
May 1 - Live Animal Evaluation team takes first place at Southeastern Live Animal Evaluation & Livestock Judging Contest
June - Harry Gray named outstanding college chemistry teacher
July - WKU implements new academic programs: credit by examination, reinvents the Honors Program and creates an exchange program with France
August - WKU provides technical assistance to Austral University in Chile
November 4 - Alice Gatewood crowned WKU's first Black homecoming queen
1973 - documents
Ivan Wilson Center for Fine Arts opens
March - Dewey Smith, POW honored at WKU
April 15 - Ken Fleenor Day honoring former POW
September - WKU Holstein Wins at State Fair
August 3 - Gary Ransdell graduates with BA from WKU
November - Julian Goodman receives distinguished alumni award
1974 - documents & student papers
January - John Minton named fifth WKU president
February - Agriculture Conference held at WKU
March 18 - Ford Motor Company donates equipment to Agriculture Department
March 22 - streaking cartoon by Carl Clayworth runs in the College Heights Herald
May 18 - Alum Bob Stevenson honored by town of Russellville
June 19 - Gregory McKinney sworn in as WKU's first African American student regent
September - John Egerton publishes article regarding WKU
October 26 - Reorganization of Bowling Green Community College & Continuing Education begins
1975 - documents
Environmental Sciences & Technology built for $4.5 million
Music Hall razed
Women's basketball comes back to WKU
1976 - documents
1977 - documents
April - Livestock Juding Team wins competition and holsteins receive top rating
May - Alum Clyde Ray Franklin gains membership in the International Biographical Centre of Cambridge
October 24 Campus Blackout
October United Black Students reorganize
Museum wing added to Kentucky Building
1978 - documents
September 9 - Dero Downing announces resignation
November - WKU Holsteins national leaders in milk production
1979 - documents
Agriculture Exposition Center opens
President's Home at 1700 Chestnut Street acquired
January 8 - John Minton named president
August 1 - Donald Zacharias becomes WKU's sixth president
August 10 - William Natcher receives honorary Doctor of Laws degree
December 1 - Big Red, created by Ralph Carey, is delivered during half-time of the basketball game
1980 - documents
April 26 - Donald Zacharias installed as sixth president, first formal installation held for any president
June 23 - 19 cows hit by lightning in thunderstorm, 14 killed
August 16 - Bowling Green Community College & Continuing Education renamed Office of Public Service & Continuing Education.
November 8 - WKYU-FM signs on the air
1981 - documents
April 20 - Margaret Ragan elected first African American president of Student Government Association
May 23 - Julius Price named first black regent
1982 - documents & student papers
Industrial Education Annex razed
April 20 - Margaret Ragan elected first black president of the Associated Students organization
1984 - documents
January 26 - Gregory Grey receives Smith T. Powell Scholarship in Agriculture
1985 - documents
July 3 - WDCL-FM Somerset, public radio station comes signs on the air
September 1 - Paul Cook becomes interim president after Zacharias resigns
1986 - documents
January 25 - Samuel Kern Alexander named seventh WKU president
February 5 - WKU participates in education rally in Frankfort
December 13 - Kern Alexander installed as president
1987 - documents
January 1 - Community College opens as part of WKU with separate admissions and curriculum
1988 - documents
February 7 - WKU Glasgow campus officially opens 98 years after Glasgow Normal closes
June 20 - Agriculture receives Excellence in Agriculture Technology Instruction award
August 31 - Thomas Meredith becomes WKU's eighth president
1989 - documents
January 17 - WKYU-PBS signs on the air, the only Kentucky television station operated on a university campus
April 14 - Thomas Meredith installed as eighth president
September 6 - new cupola logo unveiled, designed by Gilbert Stengel
1990 - documents
September 25 - Glasgow Campus ribbon cutting
October 15 - WKUE-FM Elizabethtown radio begins broadcasting
1991 - documents & student papers
September 13 - Athletic Hall of Fame opens with inductees E.A. Diddle, Dee Gibson, Adele Gleaves, John Oldham, Max Reed, Jimmy Feix, Clem Haskins, Jim McDaniels, Bobby Rascoe and Nick Rose.
November 20 - Ryan James wins "President for a Day" raffle sending President Meredith to his classes
1992 - documents
Paul Sanderford celebrates ten years as Lady Topper coach
April 14 - Associated Students of WKU changes name to Student Government Association
August 23 - Preston Health & Activities Center dedicated
October 23 - Hall of Distinguished Alumni opens
1993 - documents & student papers
August 14 - former president Kelly Thompson dies
September 27 - Center Street renamed Big Red Way
1994 - documents
1995 - documents
1996 - documents
October 26 - Diddle Park dedicated
December 14 - WKU holds first winter commencement
1997 - documents
Lady Toppers swim team jumps into the pool
May 8 - Creed Monument dedicated
May 12 - Provost Barbara Burch named interim president on Meredith's resignation
October 31 - Gary A. Ransdell installed as WKU's ninth president
1998 - documents & student papers
May 16 - University mace makes debut at commencement
1999 - documents & student papers
Karen Adams appointed to the College of Education & Behavioral Sciences as first female academic dean
2000 - documents
February 23 - Lady Toppers softball team organized
June 22 - wku.sports.com WKU's official sports website goes live
2001 - documents
May 6 - international flags processional added to commencement ceremonies
August 7 - new athletic logos created featuring the red towel, Big Red and WKU
2002 - documents
March - students camp out to get rooms in newly renovated dorms
May 6 - Guthrie Bell Tower dedicated
December 20 - Football team brings home WKU's first national team championship, NCAA I-AA
2003 - documents
May 10 - first class of students complete education online
2004 - documents
September 13 - groundbreaking for parking structure between Diddle Arena and Smith Stadium
2005 - documents & student papers
WKU Forensic Team takes sixth consecutive International Forensics Association Championship and 15th consecutive Kentucky Forensic Association State Championship
2006 - documents & student papers
WKU celebrates centennial - collection inventory
2007 - documents
June 25 - $2.5 million track facility construction begins
December - 513 Regents Ave. purchased to be used for visiting scholars
2008 - documents
June 29 - John Minton dies
2009 - documents
2010- documents
2011
April 4 - Dero Downing dies
Gary A. Ransdell Hall new home of the College of Education & Behavioral Sciences
