1932
Founded by the Episcopal Church, Boise Junior College opens on Sept. 6; Idaho Episcopal Bishop Middleton Barnwell serves as first president
1934
Board of directors assumes management of BJC after Episcopal Church ends affiliation
BJC holds first commencement ceremony for 27 graduates
1936
Dr. Eugene Chaffee named president
1939
Boise voters approve creation of Boise Junior College District; BJC becomes a public institution
1940
Campus moves from original site at St. Margaret’s Hall to its present site formerly occupied by Boise Airport
Administration Building completed
1941
Assembly Hall (now Hemingway Western Studies Center) opens
1942
Original Student Union (now Communication Building) dedicated
1944
Aurelius “Buck” Buckner becomes BJC’s first African-American student-athlete
1946
Returning World War II veterans swell enrollment to 855 from a wartime low of 152
1948
BJC and eight other Idaho and Utah schools form Intermountain Collegiate Athletic Conference
1951
Morrison and Driscoll halls built
1953
Laura Moore Cunningham donates pipe organ to Hemingway Center
1954
Math/Geosciences Building completed
1956
Gymnasium (now Kinesiology Building) opens
1958
Coach Lyle Smith’s football team goes 10-0 and wins national junior college championship
1963
Library built
1965
School attains four-year status and becomes Boise College with implementation of baccalaureate degrees
1966
Liberal Arts Building completed
1967
Boise State Alumni Association forms
University enrollment reaches 5,000
Current Student Union and Chaffee Hall open
Dr. John Barnes replaces Dr. Eugene Chaffee as president
First baccalaureate degrees awarded
1968
Intercollegiate athletics begins competition at four-year level
Administrative reorganization creates four schools: Art and Sciences, Business and Public Administration, Education and Vocational-Techinical
Honors program established
1969
School moves into state system of higher education and is renamed Boise State College
1970
Boise State joins Big Sky Conference
Towers Hall, Business Building, Applied Technology Building and Bronco Stadium open
1971
University Park completed
1972
Additions to Library and Student Union completed
First master's degrees awarded
1974
Boise State gains university status and becomes Boise State University
University Heights completed
University Manor completed
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society establishes Boise State chapter
"Year in Spain" program in the Basque Country initiated
1975
Enrollment tops 10,000
1977
Science/Nursing Building opens
1978
Dr. John Keiser named fourth president
1979
Former student body president and future Hollywood director Michael Hoffman becomes Boise State’s first Rhodes Scholar
Education Building dedicated
1980
Football team wins I-AA national championship
English major and track athlete Karl Knapp becomes Boise State’s second Rhodes Scholar
1982
Pavilion (now Taco Bell Arena) opens
Jay Luo, 12, becomes the youngest college graduate in the nation
University celebrates 50th anniversary
1984
Morrison Center for the Performing Arts opens
1985
Five Boise State schools – Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, Health Sciences and Graduate – elevated to colleges
School of Social Sciences and Public Affairs created
1986
Simplot/Micron Technology Center and Canyon County Center open
Blue turf installed in Bronco Stadium
1987
Boise State Radio begins broadcasting National Public Radio programs
Boise State offers master’s in raptor biology, the only program of its kind in the U.S.
Tom Trusky, English professor, named one of top 10 professors in the nation by the Carnegie Foundation
1988
State Board of Education approves creation of College of Technology
1989
College of Technology Building (now Engineering/Technology Building) opens
Enrollment climbs to 12,586, the largest in the state
1990
First class of Asia University students arrives
Boise-based supermarket chain Albertsons gives $6 million to library expansion
First Martin Luther King Jr./Idaho Human Rights Celebration held
1991
Student Union expansion and renovation completed
President John Keiser dismissed by State Board of Education; Larry Selland named interim president
1992
First doctoral program, an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction, approved by State Board of Education
Campus School refurbished and reopens as Public Affairs/Arts West
1993
Enrollment passes 15,000
Dr. Charles Ruch named Boise State’s fifth president
1994
MBA program in Vietnam begins
Football team plays in Division I-AA national championship game
1995
State Board approves Boise State’s request to transfer control of undergraduate engineering programs in Boise
University Village completed
Library expanded, renovated and renamed Albertsons Library
Degree programs begin in Twin Falls
1996
College of Engineering enrolls first students
Boise State joins Division I-A athletic ranks as a member of the Big West Conference
1997
First doctorate degree awarded
Multipurpose Classroom Building opens
Bronco Stadium expansion completed
College of Technology divided into College of Engineering and Larry Selland College of Applied Technology
1998
Residential Honors College established
First Gene Harris Jazz Festival held
2000
Engineering Complex adds Harry W. Morrison Civil Engineering Building and Micron Engineering Center
2001
Boise State joins Western Athletic Conference
Enrollment passes 17,000
2002
Student Recreation Center and Appleton Tennis Center open
New university and athletics logos unveiled
2003
Technology and Entrepreneurial Center opens as first building on BSU West campus
Dr. Bob Kustra named Boise State’s sixth president
Enrollment passes 18,000
2004
Keiser, Taylor, University Suites, and University Square open
University awards first honorary doctorate to alum and filmmaker Michael Hoffman
2005
BSU West Academic Building opens
Debate and speech team wins national championship
2006
Caven-Williams Sports Complex opens
Football team goes 13-0 and wins Fiesta Bowl
2007
Micron Foundation contributes $12.5 million to new business building
Four-story Interactive Learning Center scheduled to open in August
Ada and Canyon county voters pass community college ballot initiative
Boise State celebrates its 75th anniversary
