Formally founded by the state legislature in 1989, the University of Washington, Bothell enrolled its first 126 students in 1990 using temporary office space in Canyon Park.

“To build a new campus within the framework of an already existing university, and to do so without a whole lot of resources, or time for planning, or a clear vision at the beginning of the ultimate goal, has not been easy,” said history professor Alan Wood, one of 13 staff members who helped teach those initial classes.

Wood went on to state that UW-Bothell’s early days were comparable to white-water rafting while building the raft at the same time.

Of those 13 original UW-Bothell faculty, six remain as the university caps off its 20th-anniversary celebration. The school hosted a public event, including music, food, speakers and the fifth annual Husky 5K Run at the campus May 15.

“If the last 20 years are any indicator, we look forward to a future filled with great enrollment and program growth and we look forward to continuing to grow our strong community partnerships,” UW-Bothell Chancellor Kenyon Chan said in a Reporter interview.

Chan added the school now boasts almost 3,000 current students and more than 8,000 alumni.

In recent comments to the Greater Bothell Chamber of Commerce, Chan bragged that the school received 1,700 applications for the 360 freshman spots open next year. He said that ratio compares more than favorably with the application rates of UW’s main Seattle campus.

But Chan also argued that UW-Bothell has an advantage in that students can receive a UW education in a far more intimate setting with far smaller class sizes.

“We have become a destination campus,” Chan said.

“This is just a great place to go to school,” said Janice Strappe, who was visiting the UW-Bothell campus with hopes of attending next year. She said she’d considered going to UW in Seattle, but decided on trying for the Bothell campus instead.

“It’s close to home and I can say I go to UW without having to drive into downtown.”

Looking back

If the school now has seen thousands of graduates, a timeline provided by the university says that in 1991 the first graduating class consisted of a grand total of three. The school didn’t formally hold a commencement ceremony until the following year, honoring 26 students.

Back when the school opened in Canyon Park, initial degree offerings were limited to a bachelor of arts in liberal studies. Beginning in 1991, the school began to add programs such as a bachelor of science in nursing and a master’s program in education. Even as the school began to grow, in 1994, the Washington legislature handed UW-Bothell a close neighbor in the form of Cascadia Community College.

When lawmakers chartered that school, they specified Cascadia be co-located with UW-Bothell. Two years later, the state purchased the former Boone Ranch in Bothell as the new home of both Cascadia and UW-Bothell. Ground was broken for both schools in 1998 and classes began on the new campuses two years later. Officials have said Cascadia was meant to be a feeder into the UW-Bothell’s two-year program. But all that changed somewhat in 2005 when Olympia legislators authorized the expansion of the UW-Bothell from a two-year branch to a full-fledged, four-year school.

Freshman classes began in 2006 with 130 students.

“I liked the idea of being a UW-Bothell pioneer,” said student Alan Li at the time he entered UW-Bothell’s initial freshman class. “It’s one of the reasons I came here. The ability to make a difference and to help grow the campus and myself was a tremendous opportunity.”

In 2009, Li said he was more than satisfied with his experience at UW-Bothell.

“I really love this place and I feel like my friends and I will leave here with more than an adequate arsenal of tools for us to make our mark on the world,” Li added.

Current events

If state legislators originally saw the two schools as partners, the idea of separating UW-Bothell and Cascadia entered into headlines last year. Estimated at $125 million to $150 million, the cost of moving Cascadia seemed to kill the notion for now.

“It seems to be a moot discussion at this point,” said Cascadia President William Christopher regarding the possibility of merging Cascadia into the campus of Lake Washington Technical College in Kirkland. It was an idea Christopher never supported.

While UW-Bothell officials have publicly stated they did not initiate discussions regarding moving Cascadia, UW-Bothell Director of Communications Elizabeth Fischtziur said those same officials see some positives coming out of a union of Cascadia and Washington Technical.

“We can foresee great benefits to all three institutions,” Fischtziur stated, including UW-Bothell in the mix.

UW-Bothell and Cascadia also made headlines last year when dozens of state and local officials gathered Sept. 18 to formally open the $52.3 million Interstate 405/State Route 522 ramp leading to the campuses.

“This (ramp) will allow students to attend college,” Chan said simply, describing it as literally a road to education.

The ramp was called for in an agreement with the city of Bothell. The roadway had to be in place before the UW-Bothell student population could rise above 3,000. During opening ceremonies, Chan and others said the added access to the campus could lead UW-Bothell to accommodate a student base of 10,000.

“This is a place that is getting noticed,” said Bothell Mayor Mark Lamb during the ribbon cutting ceremony. Prior to the ramp’s arrival, he and other city officials talked a lot about how the new ramp and southern entrance should cut down significantly on traffic cutting through downtown Bothell and using city side streets to reach the UW-Bothell and Cascadia campuses.

And finally last year, UW-Bothell launched its first on-campus housing. The school took over an existing apartment complex named, appropriately enough, Campus View. Accommodating roughly 44 students, the housing sold out.

As for 2010, Li and the rest of UW-Bothell’s first freshman class will see graduation. Fischtziur said those students were able to pick and choose from among seven academic programs encompassing some 40 majors, options or concentrations in everything from nursing to computer science.

In his comments to the Bothell Chamber, Chan said even with two decades of advancement behind the school, UW-Bothell still has plenty of opportunities for growth.

“In some ways, we’re still a baby university,” he said.