- Exhibit Text -

April 6, 2017 marks the 100-year anniversary of the United States' entry into World War I. This exhibit gives an overview of USU's involvement in the war effort during that time.

USU, then called the Agricultural College of Utah (ACU), played an important role in helping to prepare troops for WWI. One way the federal government involved the school in the war effort was by giving it funds to construct barracks. Such structures were usually temporary buildings made out of wood, but President Peterson persuaded government officials to build them out of brick. His argument was that they could later be transofrmed for classroom use. The Utah governor and legislature agreed and these buildings are still in use today, including the old Engineering Building (now called Ray B. West), the Plant Science Building (now Geology), and the Animal Science Building. These new additions to the college nearly doubled the size of campus. During this time, the campus ROTC was also transformed into the SATC (Student Army Training Corps), which trained students to later join the army. Both SATC and the 145th Field Artillery Unit, which was part of the Utah Guard, were quartered in buildings on campus.