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His tenure began auspiciously with the planning and construction of the Institute's first dormitory, named for R. Upon his retirement as a rear admiral, Earle returned home to become the sixth president of WPI. He was the only president to have attended WPI as a student, though an appointment to the Naval Academy ended his brief stay as an undergraduate. Earle, the architect who designed many WPI buildings, including Boynton Hall, and most of Worcester's major buildings of the era. Haynes, professor of economics and government and chairman of the faculty, served as interim president from 1923 to 1925. In addition, WPI awarded its first honorary degrees during his tenure. The Board of Trustees, for example, was expanded, and the president and executive committee of the board were given greater powers. An enthusiastic alumni body confirmed Hollis' viewpoint by providing the funds to build Alumni Field and Alumni Gymnasium.ĭuring times that tested the entire nation, Hollis introduced organizational changes that resulted in placing WPI on a more parallel course with other major educational institutions. Prior to his appointment at WPI, he was dean of the Harvard University School of Engineering.Īt WPI, he worked to enhance the role of athletics in the college experience. Naval Academy and spent 15 years on active Navy duty before beginning a second career in engineering education. Ira Hollis graduated first in his class at the U.S. Mendenhall's term also saw changes in WPI's physical plant, including the construction of a new building (now Stratton Hall) for mechanical engineering and the improvement of the Power Plant, which enabled it to provide heat to the campus and power to the shops, while also serving as a steam laboratory for students. In the showdown that followed, the commercial shops lived on, but with decreasing vitality, for some 50 years. Coast and Geodetic Survey, a position he filled with great distinction.Įarly in his tenure, Mendenhall faced head-on the controversy between those who supported the commercial operations of the Washburn Shops and those who felt them inappropriate on the WPI campus. Three years later he was tapped by President Benjamin Harrison to head the U.S. He had been president of Rose Polytechnic Institute, where he succeeded Rose's founding president, Charles O. Thomas Mendenhall knew of WPI and its educational philosophy long before he became its third president. And though sale of the products benefited the Institute, the proper role of the shops on campus would be hotly debated long after Thompson's departure. In the model factory known as the Washburn Shops, students were taught principles of manufacturing as they worked with journeymen tradesmen in producing commercial products.

It is not a place where boys can learn a trade, nor is it to be regarded as an easy road to knowledge.' On the advice of highly respected educators, the trustees chose Charles Thompson, the 31-year-old principal of Arlington (Mass.) High School, a Dartmouth College graduate, and a civil engineer.Īt the Institute's opening ceremonies, President Thompson gave life to the school's mission, saying it '.is intended to furnish an education based on the natural sciences, mathematics, and the modern languages. The Institute was like no other existing educational institution, and its idea of balancing the study of science with its practical application was a bold new concept.

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In selecting the first president of the Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science, as WPI was originally known, the Board of Trustees faced a momentous task.

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