Introduction

A team of Clydesdales mounted adjacent to the Women's Building, early 1900s.

If a Corvallis College student from 1868 was transported in time to the present day, he or she would have no recognition of the Oregon State University of today. Since 1868, OSU has been transformed from a small, church affiliated school in the remote Pacific northwest, offering a classical curriculum to a mostly K-12 student body, to a major research institution with internationally renowned programs. 

In 1868, at the time that Corvallis College was designated as the state's land grant institution, the school's enrollment consisted of just twenty-six collegiate level students - though dozens more were enrolled in the preparatory and primary departments. Recent years' enrollments for OSU have approached and now exceed 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students, including those taking online courses and others enrolled at the Cascades Campus in Bend. Those students represent every state in the nation plus more than 110 countries. 

In 1868 the college's infrastructure consisted of one building in downtown Corvallis, and its faculty totaled four in number. Today, OSU's main campus spans more than 400 acres, plus thousands more throughout the state that are used for research purposes. OSU has a presence in every Oregon county. The faculty consists of several hundred individuals engaged in teaching and research, hundreds more serving in key administrative roles, and thousands of additional staff providing support to students and faculty alike. 

The Chronological History of Oregon State University that is presented here highlights the events and people that have shaped this university since its 1868 land grant designation.