Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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Replacing cigar with chalk, Prof. Knight presents knouiedge well seasoned icith ex¬ perience gathered since his W.P.I. gradua¬ tion in ’07. After six years as an instructor “A.J.” became an assistant professor and in 1930 a full professor in Civil Engineering. Throughout his years with Tech, the per¬ sonality and exuberant zest with which he pursued his profession amazed all who came in contact with him. Often, while leading (or, better, dragging) students on far-flung field trips, he has been seen hop¬ ping over beams and climbing around crevices with such alacrity and agility that send even the most athletically inclined students away talking to themselves in sheer admiration. Again, on the cool Fall evenings when the chilly winds send stu¬ dents scurrying for Winter mackinaws, while making night observations on Polaris, robust “A.J.” usually appears on the scene in a suit-coat with his symbolic freshly lit cigar at a jaunty angle to pa¬ tiently teach his class. Upon his arrival, the Tech campus con¬ sisted of five buildings — Boynton Hall, Salisbury Hall, Washburn Laboratories, the Power Laboratory, and the Atwater Kent Laboratories. In 1917 Professor Knight was appointed Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds. In this capacity he has been instrumental in the design and erection of the Higgins Laboratories, Sanford Riley Hall, Alden Memorial, Earle Bridge, Kaven Hall, and most recently, the renovation of Boynton Hall. In addition, “A.J.” has been responsible for the care and landscaping of the forty-acre campus. Professor Knight has not confined him¬ self to teaching and supervision of build¬ ings and grounds in his years at W.P.I. Granted, either of these jobs would keep men half his age busy but “A.J.” has found time to be the Faculty Advisor on the Athletic Council, Timekeeper at most of our track meets, and attends regularly football, basketball, and baseball games. With his vast resource of k nowledge and experience, Professor Knight knows pre¬ cisely the position of the Tech student. Woe-be-unto the “Oh, we ' ve never had that before” students, as they all are treated with a dubious twinkle in his eye and a small grin. However, all students are met with an abundance of patience and understanding. Professor Knight holds the mutual re¬ spect and admiration of both students and faculty members alike. Truly, few men have done more or given more to their Alma Mater in the past half century than this man, Professor Arthur Julius Knight; and to him, this year book, the 1956 edition of the Peddler, is respectfully dedicated. Professor of Civil Engineering and Superin¬ tendent of Buildings and Grounds, “A.J.” is as integral to Tech as is Boynton Tower.

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‘Dedication PROFESSOR ARTHUR J. KNIGHT T HE 1956 edition of the PEDDLER is dedicated to a man who has been connected with Worcester Tech as an undergraduate and member of the faculty for over half a century. In his 50-odd years with the Institute, Professor Arthur J. Knight has distin¬ guished himself as an undergraduate student, engineer, professor, and a founder of a national fraternity on the Tech campus. Arthur Julius Knight was born in Wor¬ cester, Mass, in 1885. He attended Worces¬ ter schools from 1891 to 1903 when he graduated from South High School. In the Fall of 1903, Arthur Knight embarked on his Tech career and established a fine undergraduate record that manifested the propensity of future success. While at Tech, “Art,” as he was known to his classmates, was an excellent scholar, active in the year book publication of the Class of 1907 and President of the Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. To round out his extracurricu¬ lar activities, Arthur Knight was extremely interested in fraternities. He and several other students founded Mass. B Chapter, of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Through the dili¬ gent and industrious efforts of A. J. Knight, the birth and incubation stages of Sig Ep passed successfully and grew from this infant obscurity to the largest fraternity on the Tech campus. Other honors Arthur Knight received in later years were Skull and Sigma Xi, honor¬ ary scientific fraternity. After distinguishing himself in such a manner, “A.J.” graduated in 1907 and was employed by the Northern Pacific Railroad Company as a consulting engineer. In 1910 he returned to Tech and began the second phase of his Tech career that was to be still pursued vigorously fifty years later.

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0 ? necvond This Peddler is another chapter in the history of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, recording its life, its growth, its achievements, or you, the Students, who are Worcester Polytechnic Institute . WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE