Archives West Finding Aid

Bruce McFadden (b. 1930) was born to Mary and Eugene McFadden in La Grande, Oregon. During his childhood he attended schools in Spokane, Washington, and in Altadena, California, where he graduated from high school. His attended junior college in Altadena, but transferred to Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where he graduated with honors in Chemistry in 1952. In 1956, he earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry (under the Division of Biochemistry) from UCLA. In the same year, he accepted an instructor position at Washington State College. By 1961, McFadden was tenured, and by 1966 was promoted to full professor.

In 1963, he established the first Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry within a Chemistry Department in the United States, and in 1970 he also established a doctoral program for biochemistry at WSU. Some of Professor McFadden's accomplishments include authoring 4 patents, writing approximately 200 articles, reviewing articles in 29 journals, presenting at national and international meetings, and grant applications for 9 agencies. His research grant awards totaled nearly $7 million. Dr. McFadden retired in 1997 and serves as a Professor Emeritus for the School of Molecular Biosciences at WSU (as of 2017).