After 34,000 votes from cougars, the winning Tartan design was unveiled Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, during Homecoming week in the office of WSU President Elson S. Floyd. Students from the Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles (AMDT), department faculty chair Karen Leonas and Butch, the university’s beloved mascot, made the announcement. The students presented Floyd with the first WSU tartan product: a necktie featuring the university’s crimson and gray colors in a traditional pattern of interlocking horizontal and vertical bands. Other tartan merchandise will be available, such as: scarves, muffs, serapes, totes, and lanyards. The winning tartan is registered with the International Tartan Registry, a Scotland-based agency that has indexed some 7,000 tartans created worldwide. Besides creation of a new WSU tradition and the pride-building aspects of the campaign, selection of a tartan will deliver a tangible benefit to students: a portion of the revenues generated by sales of tartan merchandise will support scholarships and enhance the student learning experience.
Uses and Purposes
The principal of this fund shall be used to provide scholarships and learning experiences for AMDT students.