West Virginia University history

On December 4, 1868, lawmakers renamed the college West Virginia University to represent a broader range of higher education.

The name was changed to University Building in 1878 when the College of Law was founded as the first professional school in the state of West Virginia.

In June 1891, Harriet Lyon became the first woman to receive a degree from West Virginia University, finishing first in the class ahead of all male students.

In 1899, the Vance Farm was acquired for the West Virginia University Experiment Station.

The university's outlook at the turn of the 20th century was optimistic, as the school constructed the first library in present-day Stewart Hall in 1902.

In 1909 a north wing was added to University Building, and the facility was renamed Woodburn Hall.

The campus welcomed United States President William Howard Taft to the campus for WVU President Thomas Hodges's inauguration in 1911.

With a heavy military influence in the university, many students left college to join the army during World War I, and the local ROTC was organized in 1916.

In 1918, Oglebay Hall was built to house the expanded agriculture and forestry programs.

Stansbury Hall was built in 1928 and included a new basketball arena named "The Fieldhouse" that held 6,000 spectators.

Throughout the next decade, Woodburn Hall underwent several renovations and additions, including the construction of the south wing and east tower (in 1930) housing the Seth Thomas clock.

Men's Hall, the first dormitory built for men on campus, was built in 1935, and was funded in part by the Works Progress Administration.

An official selection process began naming the mascot annually in 1937, with Boyd "Slim" Arnold becoming the first Mountaineer to wear the buckskin uniform.

In 1957, WVU opened a Medical Center on the new campus and founded the first school of dentistry in West Virginia.

In 1970 the WVU Coliseum, a basketball facility with a capacity of 14,000, opened near the new campus.

The resulting Personal Rapid Transit system opened in 1973 as the world's first automated rapid transit system.

With no room for growth on the downtown campus, the football stadium was closed, and the new Mountaineer Field was opened near the Medical campus on September 6, 1980.

E. Gordon Gee served as interim president following his departure; this was Doctor Gee's second time in this role, having first served as president of WVU in 1981.

Manchin entered electoral politics in 1982, when he successfully ran for the West Virginia House of Delegates.

After an $8 million donation to the university, Ruby Memorial Hospital opened on the Medical campus in 1988, providing the state's first level-one trauma center.