 Under Brian C. Mitchell, who served as president from 1998 to 2004, the college again a growth in construction and an effort to improve relations with the neighboring communities.In 2004, Tori Haring-Smith became the first woman to serve as president of Washington & Jefferson, understanding an effort to improve the science curriculum and to construct the Swanson Science Center.Washington & Jefferson College traces its origin to three log cabin colleges established by three frontier clergymen in the 1780s