Our Crimson 50 series honors Cougs who have been making gifts to Washington State University for 50 years. Their enduring generosity has created lasting opportunities for students, faculty, and communities across Washington and beyond. Each Crimson 50 profile shares their journey—from first gift to most recent—and their reflections on philanthropy, WSU, and the indomitable Cougar spirit.
Their Story
Dick ’64 and Pam ’68 Bagnall’s Cougar story began at a party at Koinonia—a Campus Christian House at WSU Pullman, where a senior political science major met a freshman studying music education. Both were drawn to WSU for its welcoming campus and big opportunities. Dick was part of WSU’s first Honors Program class and paid his way by working summers alongside his father in a lumber mill. Pam also worked summers and was fortunate enough to receive scholarship support before graduating with Honors from the Honors College. After graduation, Dick worked for two years with the U.S. Forest Service before joining the U.S. Foreign Service, with Pam by his side, as they raised their family in Germany and later in Iran, where their daughter, Jill, was born. Dick went on to serve in the U.S. Customs Service and later taught at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, while Pam taught Algebra and Georgia state history at a nearby middle school. Their son Rick followed in their Cougar footsteps, graduating from WSU in 2004 with a degree in Chemistry. Now enjoying their golden years, the Bagnalls continue to give back with heart—creating opportunities for future Cougs to chase their dreams.
First Gift: $25 to the annual giving fund in 1965
Five Questions
Dick: The year I graduated, they asked. We were both raised in Christian homes, and giving back just came naturally. I appreciated my time at WSU. My education made a lot of things possible that otherwise wouldn’t have been, and we want to create that same opportunity for today’s students.
Pam: That we can still go back and talk to faculty in that same spirit as when we were students. It’s that same spirit—that small-college feel is still alive. The atmosphere really hasn’t changed between when we were students and when it was time for our kids to look at schools.
Pam: It’s a matter of giving back. I received a scholarship, and I think it’s important to pass that on.
Dick: We hope it will remain a place of quality education where professors continue to take the time to build strong connections with their students. When I was a student, I took a test and turned it in, only to find out from the professor that there was an entire second page to the test that I had missed. He could have just failed me, but instead, he knew me well enough to know I wouldn’t have just skipped a page and let me make it up. Not every professor would do a thing like that. I hope WSU will stay a place that offers that kind of relationship.
Pam: The Honors College. It has evolved so much since Dick was in the program, and what they are accomplishing is incredible.
Dick: The Liberal Arts. The Liberal Arts are so important, and I worry people don’t value them as much as they did.