Focus on interdisciplinary excellence had an early start

The first major steps toward focusing on interdisciplinary excellence were taken in the autumn of 1919.

Two years earlier, then-President Ernest Holland announces that WSC will reorganize into 5 colleges (Agriculture, Mechanical Arts and Engineering, Science and Arts, Veterinary Science, and Home Economics) and 4 schools (Mines, Education, Pharmacy, and Music and Applied Design), with deans as administrative heads.

The College of Home Economics is to be one of the first of its kind in the nation. However, World War I interrupts these plans, delaying implementation of the new structure to the 1919-1920 school year.