Carnegie Mellon University - Thistle Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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A message from President Warner Carnegie Institute of Technology has been educating young men and women for fifty years. Although this is a relatively short period in the history of an enduring institution, it is long enough for substantial changes to take place both in the institution itself and in the society which it serves. I should like to give a very brief resume of how the educational program at Carnegie has evolved up to now and perhaps hazard a guess or two about the future. On October 16. 1905, a new educational institution in Pittsburgh first opened its doors. It was named the Carnegie Technical Schools, and comprised the School of Applied Science, School of Applied Design, School of Apprentices and Journeymen, and Margaret Morrison Carnegie School for Women. At the start these schools gave three-year programs of sub-collegiate level leading to a diploma. Courses were given to prepare men for work in the various branches of engineering, in architecture, and in the building and manufacturing trades, and to prepare women in such vocations as clothing design, foods, and office work. And evening courses were offered so that those who held jobs in the daytime could further their training. These programs were well suited to the needs of the community at the time. In five years enrollment jumped from 120 to 2224, and demand for education on a higher level became more insistent. To meet this need the three-year curricula were soon revamped into the standard four-year programs of college level. In 1912 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved the charter authorizing the institution to grant degrees and approving its new name, Carnegie Institute of Technology. From this point on, the stages in the development of education at Carnegie are less sharply distinguishable. A few milestones in the forward progress might be mentioned. As the bachelor's programs became more firmly established, graduate work was begun. The first master's degree was conferred in 1914, the first doctor's degree in 1920. Along with the development of graduate studies came the encouragement of research as an essential part of the school's activity. As advancing technology changed the industrial and social world, professional education at C.arnegie was adjusted to suit the changing times. The objective was shifted from giving the students the maximum of details and know-how, to developing an understanding of basic principles and experience in using them. And liberal studies, which had had a place in the programs from the beginning, were given an increased importance. They were organized into the four-year curricula in order to develop the humane values and a sense of social responsibility. The combination of liberal and technical studies in the several colleges is directed toward the education of the whole man and woman. It seeks to prepare our graduates to continue to learn throughout their lives, to rise in their professions according to their talents, to become active and responsible citizens in their community and nation—in short, to live full lives and to serve society. What is my prediction for the future of education at Carnegie Institute of I echnology ? Rather than attempt to forecast what will come, I prefer to suggest what in my opinion seems desirable. I believe that our educational objectives are sound and well conceived to fulfill the needs of students themselves and of society. I see no substantial revision of them in the future. But achieving them ever more effec- tively will continue to challenge the best efforts of faculty and administration. There will be a modest growth in the size of the enrollment, but I would hope for a continuing emphasis on quality, not on bigness. This institution has the potehtialities to become one of the greatest of its kind in the world, and it will do so if adequate resources are provided. Whatever else the future may bring about, one thing seems certain on the basis of the past. As the needs of the community and the nation change, our educational objectives will be adjusted to meet those needs. Just as the institution expects its graduates to serve society, so will Carnegie Institute of Technology serve. The past is prelude to tomorrow. 5

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President John C. Warner MacLachlin 4

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Dormer Hall Macl.achlin