Archives West Finding Aid

Wilson Martindale Compton was born in Wooster, Ohio and attended the College of Wooster and earned a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University as well as a law degree. In 1916, he married Helen Harrington, and later had four children together. Compton became President of the State College of Washington in 1945, and remained in that position until 1951. His presidency saw creation of the College Senate, a first Faculty Manual, and establishment by the faculty of general education requirements in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences for all students, as well as honors at graduation. In April of 1951, in the midst of difficult financial times due to state budget cuts, the Board of Regents ended the Compton presidency. After he left WSU, Compton was Director of the International Information Administration (IIA), the forerunner of the United States Information Agency (USIA), within the Department of State. He died in 1967.