WSU alumni
WSU alumni at Wazzu is a file of 3 stories. The newest of them: “At the Fair, WSU Serves Up a Century of Washington Farm History”, “A letter that found a Coug you never knew you needed”, and “How Wazzu Alumni Turn a Pullman Return Into a Proper Tailgate”. The Washington State Fair runs for a few weeks each fall, but WSU's booth there runs for a century. A letter from Barbara A. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every WSU alumni story on Wazzu, newest first.
At the Fair, WSU Serves Up a Century of Washington Farm History
The Washington State Fair runs for a few weeks each fall, but WSU's booth there runs for a century. That is the kind of fact that stops you mid-bite into a scone. The university is serving up a hundred years of Washington farm history at the fair this year, and it is exactly the right thing to do. Pullman is a farm town. The whole Palouse is. WSU started as an agricultural college, and that work still pays the bills in ways most people never see. So standing at the fair and telling that story, how the research from our ag programs shaped what grows in this state, how it keeps farms running, how it puts food on tables, is not nostalgia. It is the truth. This is the kind of coverage that matters. Not every WSU story has to be about a game or a grant number. Sometimes it is about a booth at the fair where a family can learn why Washington apples taste the way they do. That is the university showing up for the people who pay for it. If you want to see how that same practical, roll-up-your-sleeves thinking shows up in other places, read our piece on President Betsy Cantwell talking about AI. She says WSU's job is making it useful, not flashy. Same instinct, different century. Go Cougs.
A letter that found a Coug you never knew you needed
A letter from Barbara A. Petite x'76 landed in our mailbox, and she's right: Catherine Roberts Frasier is a Coug we never knew we needed. The Spring 2026 magazine pulled her story out of the archives, and Barbara calls it exactly what it is, proof that this alumni magazine is the best one out there. We agree. That kind of digging, that kind of pride in the people who built this place, is why we keep turning pages. Jeff Hardesty '97 English, Ed., '18 EdD chimed in too, remembering Gay Selby's truthisms about superintendent-board relationships. The Spring 2026 issue honored Selby, and Jeff says those lessons still ring in his ears daily. That's the kind of impact that doesn't fade when you leave Pullman. It follows you. And while we're on the subject of research that matters, a new WSU study on cannabis ads shows how they're shaping young adults' ideas about sex and intimacy. It's the same sharp curiosity that unearthed Frasier's story, just applied to what's happening right now. We don't stretch stories here. We don't have to. The real ones are good enough. Go Cougs.
How Wazzu Alumni Turn a Pullman Return Into a Proper Tailgate
You roll into Pullman for a game, and within an hour you've seen three people you haven't talked to since graduation. That's the whole point. For Wazzu alumni, coming back isn't just about the scoreboard. It's about parking the car in the same dusty lot, cracking a can, and picking up a conversation that started five or ten years ago. The tailgate is the real reunion. There's a ritual to it. Someone brings the grill they bought at Dissmore's in 2014. Someone else shows up with a cooler full of something local. You stand in a circle, talk about the game, then talk about everything else. The town hasn't changed much, and neither has the feeling. That's what makes it work. We wrote about how Dean Khosla recently made the case that the land-grant mission still means something. That mission is part of Pullman's soul. When you come back for a tailgate, you're not just visiting a campus. You're standing on ground that was built for people to return to. The town stays small, the research stays big, and the people keep showing up. A proper Pullman return tailgate is simple. You bring food. You bring stories. You remember why you left, and why you keep coming back. Go Cougs.