Northeastern University - Cauldron Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Ofte (Jaulbron, 191F graduating class, four members of the original eight, who had started four years before. In the fall of 1913 the School moved into its present quarters in the new Association Building, starting out for the first time under favorable conditions of housing and equipment. At that time the enrollment was about one hundred and ten students. During that year it was de- cided to try a two-week alternation period in place of the single week, and this arrangement went into effect about the middle of the year. The longer period was found to be much better from the standpoint of employers and students, and so was adopted permanently and has been continued ever since. During this year, all night courses were given up, and the entire schedule of studies has since been carried on during the day. During the years of 1915 and 1916, the student body kept up its steady growth, and the present school year sees one hundred and sixty students enrolled in the various courses. The co-operating firms have been in- creased from the first four, to nearly forty, and whereas in the early years of the School, it taxed one ' s persuasive powers to the utmost to get a concern to even consider giving the plan a trial, at present, owing to the fine rec- ords made by the students in their work, we cannot supply enough men to fill the positions offered. In the School, the courses have been modified and added to, in pursuance of the policy that has predominated from the start, that our function was service to the young men, and that only by the best education that we could give, could such service be rendered properly. The standards, al- ways high, have been continuously raised, and the in- structing staff, steadily increasing in number and effi- ciency, has grown from the first four part-time instruc- tors to the present ten full-time and six part-time men, who are so ably working to bring the School to still higher efficiency and ideals. While the foregoing statements tell what the School has done, it is the graduates who are the only true measure of the work, and it is with the greatest pride that we look at the men who have gone into the world ' s work after their training with us and so ably demonstrated the value of our work to them. Although relatively few in number, being in all less than seventy-five, they are to be found scattered about the United States, in Canada, Porto Rico and the Philip- pines, some as electrical engineers, some designing drafts- men, others construction engineers, still others foremen, and yet others teachers, but, wherever they are found, they are showing the world that the School is doing its share to train men, not only to carry on the work of en- gineers, but to be men of high character and ideals, whose greatest satisfaction lies in the fact that they are per- forming their duties ably and conscientiously, and so are making the world better for their being in it. H. W. Geromanos.

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She (Eautormt, 191 7 schools in, or near Boston. At last in the fall of 1909 the courses opened with eight students ; two taking the Civil Engineering Course, who were assigned to the Boston and Albany Railroad Co., two taking the Mechan- ical Engineering Course, who were placed with the Boston Elevated Railway Co. ; three others taking the Mechan- ical Engineering Course, two of whom went to the Bos- ton and Maine Railroad Co.. while the third was em- ployed by the Boston Consolidated Gas Co., having as his alternate the eighth student who took the Chemical En- gineering Course. The men worked in pairs, alternating between the School and the employing firms at one week- intervals. At school they took Drawing, Chemistry. Physics, and English in the day, and Mathematics and Surveying in the evening. Thus the first year of work started with four students in school, who exchanged places with the other four at the close of each weekly period. There were in all, four instructors, who taught on a part-time basis, coming in only at the regular hours for each subject, either day, or evening. From the first the plan demonstrated its capacity for successful opera- tion. The students made excellent progress with the em- ploying firms, and at school showed the capacity for hard, intelligent work that is so essential an element of success. During this first year the Association Building on Boyl- ston Street was destroyed by fire, and the school work was omitted for a short period. Soon, however, we started again in temporary quarters at the Boston Young Men ' s Christian Union, and later were housed at Ashbur- ton Place. The headquarters of the students at this latter place was a small room about ten feet by six feet, on the top floor, which was just capable of holding four desks crowded closely together, with the four chairs for them, and a very small table for the instructor and one chair. The blackboard was about five feet by four feet in area. By the late spring of 1910 we got out a small printed prospectus of about sixteen pages, which was mailed to about one hundred high schools and, in addition, I visited many of the high schools to personally explain the work we were doing. In the fall of 1910, the courses opened with about thirty-eight students, two more part-time instructors, and several more firms employing the students. By the close of that year, it was demonstrated that the idea was not only entirely feasible, but met an absolute need in the community, that was cared for by no other agent. As a result, the Co-operative Courses were changed to the Co-Operative School of Engineering, with myself as Dean, and have since been continued on that plan. Thus in September, 1911, the School opened for the first time as a complete entity, with about sixty students, eight part-time instructors giving courses in the day, the evening work for the men reduced to only two subjects, and several more firms employing the students. Also an additional Course, Electrical Engineering, was added to the curriculum. 1912 and 1913 saw still further growth in the enrollment, and the spring of 1913 saw the first

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Gfte OJautorott, 191 7 (Eiuil Ipttgineering p f HE military engineers, who had to construct roads, ill fortifications, and other works essential to success ■ in war, were for a long time the only ones to whom the title of engineer applied. However, about the middle of the 18th century there began to arise a new class of engineers who concerned themselves with works which were not built by soldiers and which were not exclusively military in purpose. This class of engineers came to be known as Civil Engineers. All engineers were then known as either military engineers or civil engineers. Out of civil engineering, by a natural process of sub- divisions, have come the many other engineering profes- sions which will continue to be sub-divided as human knowledge progresses. Perhaps the first branch of en- gineering to be recognized as separate was Mechanical Engineering, which was soon followed by numerous other branches of engineering, so that Civil Engineering today is only one of many recognized branches of engineering. When the Co-Operative School of Engineering was founded in 1909, the Civil Engineering Department was not recognized as such as it had no equipment, no full time instructors, and only two students. The only strict- ly Civil Engineering subjects which were given were those offered by the Evening School of Engineering. However, the following year the enrollment had increased 16 Department to 14 and the Civil Engineering Department really had its beginning at this time. Mr. C. S. Ell, then a senior in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was engaged on a part time basis to give the Civil Engineering sub- jects in the first year, the work in the upper years being omitted. The equipment consisted of such surveying in- struments as could be rented for each exercise. At the beginning of the school year 1911-1912, the School purchased supplies consisting of a second-hand transit, stadia rod, tapes and pins and sufficient addi- tional equipment was rented to enable the Department to give all of the first and second year work in the curri- culum. In the fall of 1912 Mr. Ell was appointed as Head of the Civil Engineering Department, complete equipment for Elementary Surveying, Higher Survey- ing and Railroad work was secured and instruction was given in the first three years of the course. The department has continued to grow in enrollment so that this year there are 50 students enrolled. Several new members have been added to the Instructing Staff and the course has been revised and strengthened so that graduates will find no difficulty in competing with other Civil Engineers. The department has always been popu- lar with the students, as it has invariably enrolled a larger number than any other course in the School.