Washington State Normal School (Ellensburg, Wash.)

In 1889 the United States Congress authorized the residents of Washington Territory to form a state government. One provision of that authorization was Section 17 of the Enabling Act, which granted additional lands owned by the United States government to the state for the establishment and maintenance of state normal schools. Those additional lands were to be held, appropriated, and disposed of exclusively for the specified purposes and in the manner that the state legislature might provide. The Washington State Legislature in 1889 and 1890 enacted a law (Session Laws of the State of Washington, Chapter 14: “School Lands; Sale and Lease,” Section 10) whereby the counties would inspect and “appraise the value of such stone, mineral or timber” of school lands to be sold.

The Associated Student Body of Washington State Normal School was established on November 11, 1891, for the purpose of forming a class organization to represent the senior class. It was not until 1907 that a permanent student association was organized to represent all students attending the Normal School. The organization evolved into a student government role in May of 1942 and presently continues to serves in that capacity as the Associated Students of Central Washington University.

Steel-cut engraving blocks were used in yearbooks (Kooltuo), school catalogs and various other publications produced by Washington State Normal School, presently Central Washington University, from 1906 to about 1910.

The Accounting Office at Washington State Normal School was established in 1917 as a duty assigned to the head of the Department of Business Education. A full time accountant was hired by the school in 1924. The Accounting Office has continued to manage the university’s finances since that date and is currently titled the Accounting Department.

The Washington State Normal School Alumni Association was established on June 13, 1892, for the purpose of “extending the pleasant friendship of all the graduates of Washington State Normal School.” The original constitution of the Association declared that all members had to be graduates of the school. Faculty members of the school were granted honorary status.

The Washington State Normal School (presently Central Washington University) Executive Committee is believed to have been established at the turn of the 20th century to investigate scholastic histories of attending students and to regulate the granting of Washington state teaching certificates.

Prior to the construction of Kamola Hall in 1911, the Washington State Normal School (presently Central Washington University) managed and operated a women’s dormitory off-campus in downtown Ellensburg, Washington, that housed fifty female students. With the completion of Kamola Hall, women students were relocated on campus as male students rented rooms in private residences throughout the town of Ellensburg.

The Normal Outlook was first published in January of 1899 by the Washington State Normal School Student Body as a quarterly magazine. In 1902, the magazine was published as a monthly journal by the Senior Class and the Y.W.C.A until April of 1905. The publication ran into debt in late 1905 and ceased publishing the magazine. The following year, the student body decided to publish an annual to replace the monthly magazine. The student body reestablished the the Normal Outlook for a brief time in 1914 but ceased publication after three issues, ending in October of 1914.

The faculty of Washington State Normal School first met on September 6, 1893, to discuss administrative and academic concerns related to the operation of the school. The faculty met on a weekly basis during the school year until July 26, 1916, when policy changes under President George H. Black discontinued the meetings.

The Accounting Office at Washington State Normal School was established in 1917 as a duty assigned to the head of the Department of Business Education. A full-time accountant was hired by the school in 1924. The Accounting Office has continued to manage the university’s finances since that date and is currently known as the Accounting Department.