On January 30, 1889, Governor Edward Stevenson of the Idaho Territory signed the territorial legislature's Council Bill No. 20, which officially established the UI as the upcoming state's land-grant institution. Nearly four years later, the university opened for classes on October 3, 1892. The choice of location, a former uranium mine, for the University of Idaho was an "Olive Branch of Peace" by Gov. Stevenson for his actions in styming the nearly successful effort to detach the north Idaho Panhandle and join the state of Washington.
1889 - Beta Sigma established as first sorority
1896 - first four undergraduate degrees awarded to Stella Maude Allen, Florence May Corbett, Charles Luther Kirtley, and Arthur Prentis Adair. - (photo)
1898 - first graduate degree awardedUI Alumni Association established
1899 - UI opens first summer school in Northwest - June 21 - (photo)
1901 - College of Agriculture established
original Engineering Building opens (originally Applied Science, then Mines, then Engineering) - (photo-1) - (photo-2)
- demolished in 1951 (unsafe), on site of present Niccolls Building (Home Economics, opened 1952)
1902 - Ridenbaugh Hall completed - (photo-1) - (photo-2)
Department of Domestic Science (later Home Economics) established; first in Pacific Northwest - June 11 (photo)
1904 - present Art & Architecture South building completed; originally a gymnasium & armory - (photo)
became Women's Gym in 1928, remodeled for A&A in 1976
1905 - First National Greek organization in Idaho (Kappa Sigma), arrives on September 30, 1905
1906 - original Administration Building (photo-1) (photo-2) burns down - March 30 - (photo) - remains later dynamited - (photo)
Metallurgical Lab completed, became Mines (1950), Psychology (1961), A&A (2001) - Pine St. - (photo-left) - (photo-right)
Assay Building completed - (later Geology), 1955-84 gallery & museum, demolished in 1984 for Life Sciences North (Gibb Hall)
1907 - Morrill Hall completed - (photo-1) - (photo-2) - financed with insurance funds from destroyed Admin bldg.
- (originally for Agriculture, then Forestry in 1950) - Idaho Ave @ Pine St.
College of Engineering established in cooperation with the College of Mines
construction of new Administration Building begins
1908 - Olmsted Brothers develop master plan for UI campus
1909 - new Administration Building opens (Tudor Gothic) - (later photo)
1910 - Arboretum begun by Charles H. Shattuck, head of forestry department - (photo)
1911 - Theodore Roosevelt spoke at the new Admin. Bldg on April 9 - (photo-1) - (photo-2) on a platform built of Palouse wheat
College of Engineering formally established - October 27
1912 - North wing of Admin. Building completed - (photo-1) - (photo-2) - (photo-3) - (photo-4)
includes auditorium - (first two floors)
1914 - Football games moved to MacLean Field, west of Admin. Building; previously at Main & E streets (SW corner) in north Moscow
1916 - South wing of Admin. Building initially completed, extended in 1936 for library
1920 - School of Education established - June 7
Lindley Hall (first dormitory) opens in September - occupied site east of Life Sciences North (Gibb Hall),
SW corner of Idaho & Ash; condemned in 1971, demolished in 1973
1922 - UI joins Pacific Coast Conference - member until mid-1959 when PCC disbands
1923 - current Continuing Education Bldg completed; originally Forney Hall (women's dorm) - (photo-1) - (photo-2)
1924 - current Life Sciences South building completed, originally "Science Building" - (photo) - (photo-left)
1927 - current Alumni Center completed, originally Hays Hall (women's dorm) - (photo)
current steam plant bldg completed - NE corner of 6th & Line St.
1928 - Memorial Gymnasium completed - honors state's World War I service - (photo-1) - (photo-2) - (photo-3)
1930 - fourth floor added to Morrill Hall
1936 - Student Union Building (SUB) established after purchase of Blue Bucket Inn - (photo - 1924 constr.) - (photo - 1950 add'n)
Student Health Center completed, originally "Infirmary" - (photo)
Brink Hall opened; originally Willis Sweet Hall (men's dorm), then Faculty Office Complex (FOC) East, until renamed in 1982.
south wing (1916) of Admin. Building (1909) extended for library expansion - (UI Library completed in 1957)
total enrollment at 2,568 in October
1937 - UI Golf Course opens (9 holes) (photo 1938)- second 9 holes opens in 1970 (5 holes at NW, 4 at E)
Neale Stadium completed - (earthen horseshoe - wood bleachers) (photo-1) - (photo-2), exact site of Kibbie Dome
1938 - Eleanor Roosevelt speaks at Memorial Gym - March 26
Phinney Hall completed; originally Chrisman Hall (men's dorm) - (photo); FOC West until 1982.
1940 - total enrollment at 2,686
1942 - Gauss ME Laboratory completed - SE corner of 6th & Line St.
- (original Kirtley Lab #1: Charles L. Kirtley was first UI engineering graduate, in first class of 1896, (photo), later a physician)
1943 - Varsity football cancelled due to lack of turnout in fall, returns in 1945
Food Research Bldg completed - (orig. Dairy bldg, photo), west side of Morrill Hall, NE corner Line St. & Idaho Ave.
1945 - student radio station KUOI-FM (89.3 MHz) goes on the air - November
total enrollment at 1,450 in fall
1946 - Basketball team wins its final Northern Division title in PCC and first since 1923, loses best-of-three title series 2-1 at California
1948 - inaugural Borah Symposium on foreign policy
total enrollment of 3,683 in fall
1950 - new Engineering Building (classrooms) - Janssen Engineering Classrom Building, named for Allen S. Janssen, Dean, College of Engineering (1946-1967), in 1951Agricultural Science building completed
Johnson EE Laboratory completed - (originally Kirtley Lab #2)
Administration Building Annex completed, later incorporated into Albertson (2002)
1951 - Music building completed - (photo) - (renamed for Lionel Hampton in 1987) -
original Mines, then Engineering Building, (1901) is demolished (unsafe) - (current site of Niccolls (Home Economics))
1952 - Home Economics building completed - (now Niccolls, photo) on site of old Engineering Bldg. (1901–51, photo)
New "I" water tower is installed (photo) 500,000 US gallons (1,900 m3)
- old tower (1916) (photo) at 60,000 US gallons (230 m3) is relocated to the UI farm
1954 - boxing dropped as a varsity sport in June - (national co-champs with Gonzaga in 1950)
1955 - Gault-Upham Halls (men's dorms) dedicated - October 15 (demolished in 2003)
1956 - Gault Hall arson - 3 fatalities, 4th floor - October 19 - (photo)Arsonist was reporter for UI student newspaper Argonaut, responsible for other campus fires:
convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years, paroled in 1968, & died in 1980.
total enrollment at 3,674 in fall
1957 - UI Library completed - (photo) - dedicated Nov 2 - on former site of tennis courts - (library was housed in S. wing of Admin. Bldg)
Park Village Apts. completed (married & graduate housing) - 3rd & Home St. - demolished 2002
1958 - Two Vandals selected in top 50 of 1958 NFL Draft: Jerry Kramer (39th) & Wayne Walker (45th)
1959 - Pacific Coast Conference disbands in spring; UI independent for 4 years, until Big Sky forms in 1963
total enrollment at 3,906 in October
1961 - College of Mines building completed - (photo) - north of Morrill Hall
1962 - UI awards its first doctoral degree in education to Florence Dorothy Aller (counseling and guidance)
1963 - Wallace Complex dormitories (two S.wings, 4 floors each) & cafeteria completed
UI joins the new Big Sky Conference as a charter member,
- retains university (later Division I) status for football with its non-conference schedule (all D-I) through 1977, except for 1967 and 1968
campus radio station KUID-FM (91.7 MHz) goes on the air
resident undergraduate fees: $82 per semester
1964 - Physical Sciences building completed - (renamed for Malcolm Renfrew in 1985)
1965 - University Classroom Center (UCC) completed, east of library - closed 2003
reconfigured as Teaching & Learning Center, reopened 2005
Third wing (NE, 6 floors) of Wallace Complex dormitory completed
campus KUID-TV (Ch.12) goes on the air - Idaho Public Television takes over station in 1982
visitor information center opens at north entrance - (current police substation) - 3rd & Line St.
UI joins Big Sky for football after six seasons as independent, but retains University Division status
enrollment at 4,817 in February
1966 - Art & Architecture (North) building completed (photo)
1967 - President's Residence (S. side of Shattuck Arboretum) completed
Wallace Complex dormitory's fourth & final wing (NW (Gooding), 6 floors) completed
St. Augustine's Catholic Center opens - February - east of SUB
Baseball field moves in April, from MacLean Field (College of Education) to Guy Wicks Field (dedicated 1969)
NCAA downgrades UI football program from University Division to College Division (2 seasons)
1968 - Buchanan Engineering Laboratory (BEL) completed - (CE, ChE, AgE, EE) - dedicated in May 1969inaugural annual UI jazz festival - February - (renamed Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in 1985)
1969 - College of Education building completed - built on infield of MacLean baseball field
Theophilus Tower (12-floor dormitory) completed (twin tower was cancelled)
Golf course's new clubhouse is completed
NCAA restores football to University Division after two seasons in College Division
Neale Stadium is condemned before football season; destroyed by arson after the season in November,
- UI played its two Palouse home games at WSU's Rogers Field
UI Wilderness Research Center established at Taylor Ranch field station,
located in the Idaho Primitive Area (now the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness)
total enrollment at 6,343 in fall
1970 - Swim Center (photo) & Women's Gymnasium (P.E. Building) completed - (former right field of MacLean Field (baseball))
fire destroys south grandstand of WSU's Rogers Field in April, WSU plays all its home football games
at Spokane's Joe Albi Stadium, UI remains at Rogers Field with reduced capacity.
Navy ROTC building firebombed in May (photo), day after Kent State shootings.
South Hill Apartments opened - (married student housing) - first phase
second nine holes at ASUI Golf Course opens in August (5 holes @ NW, 4 @ E)
1971 - College of Forestry Building completed (Natural Resources - 2000) - SW corner of 6th & Line St.
addition to Agricultural Science Building (1950) is completed
new concrete football stadium opens October 9 with natural grass field, enclosed in 1975 to become Kibbie Dome;
football team posts best record (8–3) to date and wins Big Sky title
resident undergraduate fees: $173 per semester
1972 - Tartan Turf, similar to AstroTurf, installed in outdoor football stadium
Skiing is dropped as a varsity sport in October
1973 - College of Law Building completed, renamed in 1984 for Albert R. Menard, Jr. (1918–93), former dean (1967–78) - (photo)
Idaho is admitted to PCAA, request to leave the Big Sky Conference is denied by state board of education
Lindley Hall (first dormitory - 1920) is demolished, was condemned in 1971 (east of Gibb Hall)
1974 - "Performing Arts Center" opens in April; renamed for President Hartung in September 1977Big Sky Conference drops conference competition in five sports (baseball, skiing, golf, tennis, and swimming) in May
1975 - new "Idaho Stadium" is enclosed after four years to become the Kibbie Dome - September
arched roof and vertical end-walls completed for football home opener vs. Idaho State - September 27
resident undergraduate fees: $190 per semester
1976 - first basketball game and track meet in Kibbie Dome - January 21 & 24
full-time enrollment (Moscow) at 6,517 in fall
1978 - UI descends to the new Division I-AA (with Big Sky moving up to I-AA from Division II).
alumnus Don Monson hired as head coach of basketball team in August
resident undergraduate fees: $220 per semester
1979 - total enrollment at 8,698 in fall.
1980 - Baseball is dropped as a varsity sport in May, after over 80 years
resident undergraduate fees: $245 per semester
1981 - men's basketball team wins first Big Sky title and advances to NCAA tournament, finishes at 25–4.
Dennis Erickson, age 34, hired in December, begins collegiate head coaching career at UI (1982–85)
1982 - men's basketball team advances to NCAA Sweet Sixteen in March, finishes at 27–3.
Kibbie Dome: East End Addition & composite roof project completed.
Idaho Public Television takes over operation of KUID-TV
resident undergraduate fees: $408 per semester
1983 - Agricultural Engineering building completed - (renamed "J.W. Martin" - 1990s) - 6th St. & Perimeter Rd.
Total enrollment at 9,067 in spring
1984 - KUID-FM (91.7 MHz) funding is cut by state legislature - acquired by KWSU & renamed KRFALionel Hampton's first appearance at the UI Jazz Festival - February
Assay Building (1906) demolished in 1984 for Life Sciences North (Gibb Hall)
1985 - women's swimming dropped as a varsity sport (returns in 2004)
Jazz Festival renamed for Hampton
Physical Sciences building renamed for Malcolm Renfrew
resident undergraduate fees: $505 per semester
1986 - Life Sciences North building completed - (renamed for former President Gibb in 1993)
men's swimming dropped as a varsity sport
1987 - The School of Music is named after Lionel Hampton, becomes the Lionel Hampton School of Music
President Gibb's salary boosted by over 15%, to $77,928.
total enrollment at 8,280 in spring
1989 - Elisabeth Zinser becomes 14th UI president; first female university president in state history
new UI Bookstore completed, on former parking lot east of Student Union Building (SUB)
1990 - original Tartan Turf of Kibbie Dome is replaced after 18 years
Business Technology Incubator building completed - March - Sweet Ave. & S. Main St.
campus post office station moved from library (lower NW corner) to new UI Bookstore building
1992 - UI receives its own zip code: 83844 - November
resident undergraduate fees: $648 per semester
1993 - UI Library (1957) expanded by 50%, completed in fall - dedicated April 1994
Life Sciences North renamed for Richard D. Gibb (1928–94), former UI president (1977–89)
1995 - College of Mines & Earth Resources' McClure Hall dedicated - September
resident undergraduate fees: $810 per semester
total enrollment at 11,727 in fall
1996 - UI joins Big West Conference for athletics, returns to Division I-A after 18 years - July
originally admitted in 1973, when conference was the PCAA, but denied by state board of education
outdoor track stadium named for new Olympic decathlon champion Dan O'Brien - September
Engineering/Physics building dedicated - October 4
1998 - Vandal football team wins first Division I-A conference title and bowl game - (photo - town parade)
women's soccer added as a varsity sport - fall
Bill Chipman Palouse Trail to Pullman opens - April
1999 - renovation of Gauss-Johnson engineering labs completed - November
resident undergraduate fees: $1,068 per semester
2000 - Idaho Commons opens January 10, dedicated April 7 - east of UCC (now TLC)
College of Forestry, Wildlife, & Range Sciences (FWR) is renamed - becomes College of Natural Resources (CNR)
A doctored promotional photograph, where the faces of two minority students replaced the faces of white students, was found and removed from the website.
2001 - Cowan Spectrum debuts for basketball - February - an enclosed configuration for basketball in Kibbie Dome
Big West drops football after 2000 - UI becomes a "football only" member in Sun Belt for four seasons (2001–04)
College of Agriculture is renamed - becomes College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS)
Agriculture Biotechnology Laboratory dedicated - October 28
East entrance to campus completed - Sweet Ave. @ S. Main Street
2002 - Student Recreation Center - April - north of Theophilus Tower dorm; formerly the site of maintenance buildings.
Budget crisis forces reorganization of colleges - July 1
Letters & Science splits into College of Science and College of Letters, Arts, & Social Science (CLASS).
College of Mines & Earth Resources is eliminated, programs moved to either Science or Engineering
J.A. Albertson building completed (College of Business & Economics) - dedicated October 24
directly west of Admin. Building, incorporated Admin. Annex (1950)
Park Village Apts. demolished (married & graduate housing - 1957) - 3rd & Home St.
2003 - Living Learning Community - first 5 of 8 dormitories completed west of Line St., east of Theophilus Tower
Gault-Upham dormitory (1955) is demolished, site now an open area west of Living Learning Community
resident undergraduate fees: $1,522 per semester
2004 - Vandal Athletic Center - March 19, dedicated April 30 - enhancement of Kibbie Dome's East End Addition (1982).
women's swimming reintroduced in fall - (orig. 1972-85) - Title IX balance for additional football scholarships in Div I-A
final three units of Living Learning Center completed - former Gault-Upham dormitory (1955–2003) becomes open area
2005 - UI joins the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for all sports - July 1
infilled SprinTurf installed on varsity practice fields east of Kibbie Dome - August - replaced limited-use natural grass;
- two fields, each 75 yards (69 m) in length with a goal post, lighting, & fencing; now available for intramurals and recreation.
Teaching & Learning Center opens, formerly the University Classroom Center (1965–2003)
2007 - Kibbie Dome installs infilled "Real Grass Pro" - August - similar to FieldTurf, replaced the 1990 AstroTurf
resident undergraduate fees: $2,100 per semester
2009 - first phase of safety improvements for Kibbie Dome; west wall is replaced (wood to non-flammable translucent) and field-level exits are added.
football team defeats Bowling Green in Humanitarian Bowl
senior left guard Mike Iupati named All-American, selected in first round (17th overall) in 2010 NFL Draft
2010 - first chilled water tank constructed at golf course's fourth tee, SW corner of Nez Perce Drive and Perimeter Road.
90 feet (27 m) in height, volume of 2,000,000 US gallons (7,600 m3)
2011 - Navy ROTC building (1942) damaged by accidental fire in June; razed in August second phase of safety improvements to Kibbie Dome; east wall is replaced to match west wall (2009);
new press box built above north grandstand, former press box above south grandstand is converted to premium seating (Litehouse Center)
Dan O'Brien Track Stadium undergoes major renovation in preparation for hosting the WAC championships in spring 2012
2012 - During the vetting process in February, the State Board of Education removed the term "flagship" from the proposed mission statement because of a desire to not have comparative and competitive terms in mission statements. Prior to this decision, higher education scholars and administrators outside the state considered UI to be the state's flagship university; it remains to be seen if the removal of the state's official designation will alter wider opinions.
2013 - UI competes as FBS independent; WAC discontinued football after the 2012 season
2014 - UI rejoins the Big Sky Conference for all sports except football, which rejoined the Sun Belt Conference (last in 2004) - July 1
resident undergraduate fees: $3,392 per semester (in fall)
2016 - Sun Belt announces that neither the UI nor New Mexico State would be renewed after the 2017 football season,
UI announces return to FCS and Big Sky for football in 2018 (last in 1995)
UI Library completes a major renovation of the first floor
resident undergraduate fees: $3,616 per semester (in fall)
