Walla Walla College History

Walla Walla University was founded as Walla Walla College in 1892, an event celebrated both by the 1,500 Seventh-day Adventist Church members in the Pacific Northwest and the members of the Walla Walla community.

Members of the young church denomination held a strong desire to send their children to a school that would foster their faith. Walla Walla citizens made significant financial contributions to the cost of founding the college, recognizing the distinction that another institution of higher education could bring to the Walla Walla Valley.

The college opened on December 7, 1892, with 80 students and nine faculty. It was housed in one building, the Administration Building.

The initial direction of WWC was articulated in its first statement of mission: to provide young people with "a Christian education, surrounded with influences favorable to the development of Christian character."

The first few years were a financial struggle. A national economic depression, a 1893 crop failure, and a typhoid epidemic were among the problems that challenged early college administrators.

In a major step toward academic recognition, WWC was incorporated in the state of Washington in 1902 and became authorized to grant degrees. The college granted the first four-year degree in 1909. Walla Walla College achieved academic accreditation in 1935.

In the two years following World War II, enrollment doubled lending to a 25-year period of both academic and physical growth that began in the mid-1950s. A large-scale building program culminated in the 1960s with the addition of major buildings including the College Church, Kretschmar Hall, Rigby Hall, and the Melvin K. West Fine Arts Center.

Walla Walla College was renamed Walla Walla University in 2007 to reflect the breadth of educational opportunities offered. The university currently enrolls 1,865 students in a range of professional, liberal arts, and technical programs, offering six bachelor’s degrees with majors in 42 areas of study. Graduate programs are offered in biology, education, psychology and social work. Satellite campuses include a School of Nursing in Portland, Ore. and a marine biology station near Anacortes, Wash. The master's of social work program is also taught in Missoula and Billings, Montana.

Imbued in academics and extracurricular programs on the WWU campus is an emphasis on service. Approximately 90 students each year serve in the student missionary program as teachers and in other capacities around the world.

The vision of the founders of WWC continues to thrive today at Walla Walla University, a Seventh-day Adventist community still dedicated to exceptional educations shaped by core Christian values.