ON the MOVE a Personal History of Michigan’S College of Engineering in Modern Times

ON THE MOVE A Personal History of Michigan’s College of Engineering in Modern Times

James J. Duderstadt Professor of Science and Engineering, Dean Emeritus, College of Engineering, President Emeritus, The University of Michigan i ii A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING iii

ON THE MOVE

A Personal History of The University of Michigan’s College of Engineering in Modern Times

James J. Duderstadt Dean Emeritus College of Engineering The University of Michigan iv A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

http://milproj.ummu.umich.edu v

On the Move Table of Contents

PREFACE vii PART I: PREHISTORIC TIMES

Chapter 1 The First Century: 1853 to 1945 1

Chapter 2 The Post War Decades: 1945 to 1970 19

Chapter 3 Decline, Fall, and Revolution: The 1970s 29

PART II: EMERGING FROM THE ASHES

Chapter 4 A Late Evening Phone Call 43

Chapter 5 Hitting the Ground Running: Year One 55

Chapter 6 Mr. Duderstadt and Mr. Vest Go to Lansing 85

Chapter 7 Moving into High Gear 95

PART III: MODERN TIMES

Chapter 8 The Invisible Hand 113

Chapter 9 Lessons for the Future 129

Appendices 143 vi A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING vii

Preface

The 2003-2004 academic year will mark distinguished private universities, the 150th anniversary of engineering places such as Harvard, Yale, or education at the University of Princeton, conveys an impression of Michigan. More precisely, the first history and tradition. The ancient ivy- classes in engineering met on January covered buildings; the statues, plaques, 20, 1854, and the first degree in and monuments attesting to important engineering was given to a Michigan people and events of the past—all student in 1856. Throughout the suggest that these institutions have ensuing years, the UM College of evolved slowly, over the centuries, Engineering has provided leadership in careful and methodical ways, to for engineering education, research, achieve their present forms. and practice for the nation and the In contrast, a visit to the campus world while contributing greatly to the of one of our great state universities progress of the University of Michigan. conveys more of a sense of dynamism When the College celebrated its first and impermanence. Most of the centennial in 1954, under the leadership buildings look new, even hastily of Dean George Granger Brown, a brief constructed, in order to accommodate history of the College was developed rapid growth. The icons of the public along with a film and convocation university tend to be their football to celebrate its achievements. Hence stadiums or the smokestacks of their it seems appropriate to look to the central power plants rather than their 150 year milestone as an opportunity ivy-covered buildings or monuments. to update this history by adding an In talking with campus leaders at analysis of the events of the past half- public universities, one gets little sense century. Yet here we have an unusual that the history of these institutions challenge, since many of the records of is valued or recognized. Perhaps this the College were apparently lost during is due to their egalitarian nature, its move from the Central Campus to or conversely, to the political (and its current North Campus site. politicized) process that structures Of course this should not be too their governance and all too frequently surprising, since the neglect of informs their choice of leadership. history has been an all too frequent The consequence is that the public shortcoming of public universities. university evolves through geological A visit to the campuses of one of our layers, each generation paving over viii A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

or obliterating the artifacts and staff to build substantial collections achievements of earlier students and of materials on this subject. Finally, faculty with a new layer of structures, from my earliest days as a scientist at programs, and practices. the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Yet the history of public higher I have been trained to keep careful education in America is just as rich and records of all of my experiences, significant as that of our elite private events, meetings, observations, and colleges and universities. One might plans in bound notebooks. Hence even even suggest that the complex and though much of the formal historical frequently ignored history of the public documentation of the recent history of university, tightly coupled as it is to the College may have been lost, I have the changing needs of our society, may accumulated several bookcases filled be more relevant to understanding the with carefully documented notebooks future of higher education in America on the evolution of the College of than the gradual, evolutionary changes Engineering from my own perspective experienced by private institutions. as I progressed through my various Such is certainly the case with the UM roles, from new faculty member to my College of Engineering, long regarded current position as University Professor as one of the world’s leading colleges of Science and Engineering. of engineering education and research, Our particular contribution to and yet all too often unaware of its own the history of the College will take remarkable history. two forms. First, Anne has created a In considering what contribution we pictorial narrative of the evolution might make to the sesquicentennial of the College of Engineering on the celebration of the College, my wife Central and then the North Campus of Anne and I decided that an effort to the University, animated by a series of fill in this historical record might be vignettes illustrating the remarkable both appropriate and valued. After people and events that shaped the life all, we have not only served (together) of the College. in my roles as Dean of Engineering Second, I have written a more (1981-1986), Provost and Vice President personal narrative of the history of the for Academic Affairs (1986-1988), and College of Engineering as I have seen President of the University (1988- it, experienced it, and digested it from 1996), but our tenure as a member of the multiple perspectives of a faculty the faculty and leader of the broader member (from the trenches) to dean (at campus community spans the majority ground zero) to provost and president of the past 50 years (1968 to present). (as an angel on high) to my current Furthermore, we have long shared appointment as a university-wide an interest in the evolution of the professor (as a ghost from the past). University campus and have worked Here it is important to add the caveat with both library and administrative that this narrative is not intended as PREFACE ix a rigorous history of the College in characterizing the contemporary modern times, but rather a fusion of multiversity, the disciplinary span of personal memoirs, observation, and most schools is sufficiently narrow conjecture. Furthermore, I should to allow deans to exert intellectual confess that I have succumbed to the leadership as well. Furthermore, the temptation of all former academic size of the faculty is usually sufficiently leaders by not only analyzing the small (several hundred, at most) to past but also attempting to address enable the development of personal the future, speculating a bit about the relationships in contrast to university- future of engineering education, and wide appointments that can involve being so bold as to offer some advice to responsibility for thousands of faculty both the College of Engineering and the members, students, and staff. Hence, University of Michigan concerning how in contrast to a university president to sustain Michigan’s 150 year tradition whose role is more akin to that of the of leadership in engineering education. mayor of a large city, a dean plays a There is yet another purpose to more pastoral role as the head of a this effort: that of providing through family (albeit a large and occasionally personal example an introduction cantankerous one). to the archaic academic profession My own experience as dean of of deaning. Among the menagerie of Michigan’s College of Engineering academic leadership positions, the was rather short-lived, since I had the role of dean is both one of the most privilege of serving for only five years important and most challenging, before being drafted into the roles particularly in large, complex, and of university provost and president. highly decentralized universities However, my longer tenure as a faculty such as the University of Michigan. member in the College (now in my Although university presidents and fourth decade) and my experience provosts can influence the quality of in recruiting, serving with, and the institution-wide environment for leading deans from other disciplines teaching and research, it is usually the provides a 360-degree perspective of dean who most directly impacts the this important university role. I hope quality and reputation of an academic these experiences will be of interest school or college. Deans are responsible and possibly even of use to others not only for recruiting, developing, and considering assignments (or even evaluating the faculties of their schools, careers) in academic administration. but beyond that, they must attract the resources and build the environments necessary for quality teaching and Ann Arbor, Michigan research. Spring, 2003 In sharp contrast to the challenge of leading the diverse array of disciplines x A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 1

Chapter 1

The First Century: 1850 to 1950

In March of 1968 I visited the since one of its faculty members had University of Michigan for the ﬁrst served on the selection committee time to be interviewed for the position for the Atomic Energy Commission of assistant professor of nuclear graduate fellowships and managed to engineering. Actually, at the time I was obtain an advance list of all the award more interested in staying in California, winners. The Department took the in a faculty position at either Caltech bold step of calling every winner on or UC-Berkeley. But my Caltech faculty the list and inviting them to visit the advisor asked me to interview at University, wining and dining them, Michigan as a personal favor, since he and eventually landing over two dozen had promised his colleagues on the AEC Fellows. A faculty position in Michigan faculty that he would send my area, neutron transport theory, along one of his recent Ph.D. graduates had become available when one of the as a potential faculty candidate. Department’s most prominent faculty As I was to learn later, March is members had left in a huff for another far from an ideal time to attempt to university after his colleagues had recruit faculty members to Michigan. called his annual bluff of threatening The weather is usually terrible—cold, to quit if he didn’t get his way. Hence, overcast, and wet. The streets and it was clear that if I came to Michigan, lawns have yet to recover from the I would have my pick of the very best beating they take from winter storms. graduate students in the nation. It is a time that gives rise to one of The facilities of the Department the University’s less desirable names, were also impressive, all located on “Good, Gray Michigan.” the North Campus of the University, Yet on my visit, I found a very and clustered about the Phoenix vibrant Department of Nuclear Laboratory and its nuclear reactor, Engineering, generally ranked along which provided superb experimental with MIT as the leading program facilities. During my brief visit that in the nation, with lots of energetic spring I saw only the evergreen young faculty, and even more expanse of the North Campus, the high energetic and enthusiastic graduate quality faculty, students, and facilities students. As I was to learn later, the of the Department, and the home of Department had scored a coup in the department chairman, before being Good, Gray Michigan graduate student recruiting that year, hustled to the airport for my ﬂight back 2 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

to California. The Michigan faculty facilities on the North Campus was just the Institute of Science and Technology members assured me that the rest of around the corner, only to find each complex, finally assigned to the College the College of Engineering would join time that the University simply had in the 1990s). Together with state- the Department of Nuclear Engineering higher priorities for facilities, funding, of-the-art laboratories, a world-class on the North Campus in a few years, and attention. computer system (the Computer Aided and if I decided to come to Michigan, Looking at the North Campus Engineering Network), and a library of I should definitely plan on finding a complex of the College of Engineering the 21st Century in the Media Union, house in north Ann Arbor. today, it is hard to imagine that the College of Engineering today It would be many years later, long after I (rather, Anne) had accepted these times ever existed. Stunning enjoys one of the finest environments the offer of a faculty position at new buildings such as the Electrical for engineering education and research Michigan, toiled in the vineyards of Engineering and Computer Science in the world. teaching and research, and become Laboratory, the François-Xavier Moreover, the College enjoys a level involved in faculty service activities Bagnoud Building, the Lurie of financial support unprecedented with the College of Engineering, Engineering Center and Carillon Tower, in its history, provided through a that I became aware of just how and the Media Union not only make combination of strong support from atypical was my experience in nuclear important architectural statements, but the University, research grants and engineering. During these latter they provide truly outstanding facilities contracts, and private giving. The years, my increasingly frequent visits for teaching and research. Even the quality of the faculty, students, and to the Central Campus to serve on older buildings of the College have programs of the College reflects various faculty committees of the been completely renovated (including these investments, and the College is College of Engineering revealed the deplorable state of affairs faced by its other departments and programs. As I trudged up the stairs to meetings in West Engineering and East Engineering, I could see the ruts worn deep into the stone steps of these ancient buildings by generations of students and faculty. The classrooms were dark and musty, with broken blinds, cracked blackboards, and a total absence of amenities such as chalk (a terribly important tool for a theoretician such as myself). The laboratories, such as they were, looked old, dilapidated, and makeshift. The faculty looked even more ancient, dispirited, and apathetic. They had been promised time and time again by engineering deans and university presidents that their move into new The College of Engineering, circa 2001 THE EARLY YEARS 3 generally ranked today among the top The Early Years in “civil engineering and drawing.”2 five engineering schools in the nation. However, the state legislature This remarkable transformation is The College of Engineering at the provided little funding for the early really the focus of this book: how it University of Michigan usually University, and instruction in science happened; the people, the events, the identifies its formation in January, 1854, and engineering lay dormant until sacrifices and the commitments that when the first classes in engineering the arrival of Henry Philip Tappan as made it possible. But to tell this story, were taught. However, to understand its president in 1852. Tappan was a and particularly, to set the stage for the better the history of the College and well-known philosopher, committed renaissance of the College in the 1980s, the important role it has played for the to building scholarly activity in the it is necessary to travel back in time nation and its university, it is useful University and providing for instruction to the last century, during the earliest to step back for a moment to consider in both science and technology. In years of the University and its College both the evolution of engineering his inaugural address he proposed of Engineering. education in the United States as well “a scientific course parallel to the For almost a century and a half, as the evolution of the University of classical course containing...civil the College of Engineering at the Michigan. engineering, astronomy with the use University of Michigan has provided The story of the evolution of of an observatory, and the application leadership in engineering education for engineering, from a military craft of chemistry and other sciences to the nation and the world through the associated with the technology of war agriculture and the industrial arts quality and innovation of its programs; to broader civilian applications such generally.” the teaching, research, and service as bridge construction, industrial Upon the recommendation of a faculty of its faculty; and the remarkable technology, and transportation, can member, Erastus O. Haven (later to achievements of its graduates. be found many places and need not become Tappan’s successor as president Excellence and leadership in higher be repeated here.1 Suffice it to note of the University), the regents appointed education over the decades can be that the United States lagged behind Alexander Winchell as professor traced to many factors: to outstanding Europe in the introduction of science of physics and civil engineering. faculty and students, to strong support and technology into the curriculum However, when Winchell arrived in and leadership, and, in the College’s of its colleges and universities. The January, 1854 to begin teaching, it soon case, to its presence within a great first American school to offer scientific became apparent that he was a misfit. university. instruction in engineering was His own training had been classical, The history of the College is a West Point in 1802, followed by the and his first “engineering course” at story of people and events, programs Rensselear Polytechnic Institute (1824), Michigan was, in reality, simply an and places, and commitment and Annapolis (1845), Harvard (1847) (later introduction to English composition achievement. Although the focus of spun off as MIT), Dartmouth (1851), for engineering students. Furthermore, this book is on the more recent past, a and Yale (1852), with Michigan’s first he had an abrasive personality and time of personal experience, it is useful courses in 1854. was soon involved in disputes both to provide a broader perspective by Actually, engineering education with the chair of Natural Sciences, 3 first summarizing the early history of might be dated even earlier at Silas Douglas, and with Tappan. engineering education at Michigan. Michigan, since the legislative charter After a year, Tappan concluded that for the University of Michigan adopted Haven had led him astray and that in 1837 provided for a professorship Winchell was not qualified to teach civil engineering. Although several 4 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

University of Michigan (1850) (painting by Cropsey)

of the Regents wanted to fire him, civil engineering offered through a Tappan finally found a position for department of engineering that was Winchell in Natural History (zoology, established in 1858 within the Literary geology, and botany). Winchell College. Following Wood’s departure continued to be a thorn in Tappan’s in 1872, the Department of Engineering side, and he eventually played a was led by three faculty members who role in conspiring with Haven and would guide its destiny for over three the Regents to undermine Tappan’s decades: Charles Greene, Joseph Davis, presidency.4 Winchell was succeeded and Charles Denison. Greene was a first by William Peck, a lieutenant professor of civil engineering, educated in the Topographical Engineers, and at Harvard and MIT, who would then in 1857 by DeVolson Wood, become the first dean of the College of who is regarded by many as the true Engineering in 1895. Davis was also a Alexander Winchell founder of engineering education at leading civil engineer who established Michigan. Wood proposed, designed, the University camp in surveying, and essentially taught single- named Camp Davis in his honor, and handedly a four-year curriculum in located first in northern Michigan and THE EARLY YEARS 5 later moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where it continues to exist today as the University’s geology camp.

A Surveying Class - 1863

instructor. Michigan became the first university in the United States to offer Camp Davis surveying camp real laboratory facilities and to require (Pellston, Michigan) laboratory courses for its students. In Denison was an instructor in fact, when the Chemical Laboratory engineering drawing and taught for was opened in 1856, it was the only over forty years at the University, such instructional facility in the nation. becoming one of the engineering Key in the rapid growth of faculty members most revered by engineering education at Michigan the students. A lifelong bachelor, his during the last decades of the 19th fashionable clothing earned him the Century was the interest and support of nickname, “Little Lord Chesterfield.”5 James Burrill Angell, who assumed the Engineering classes were first taught Plaques in the Engineering Archway honoring in several rooms of the South College Wood and Denison building previously used as student dormitories. Growth in the program finally persuaded then acting president Within a few years, additional Henry Frieze to recommend to the laboratory space was necessary, and in Regents that $2,555 be used for a 1885 a permanent brick Engineering modest engineering building to house Shop was built on the east side of laboratory facilities for mechanical the little building.7 This was quickly engineering—or more accurately, a enlarged in 1886, requiring the removal machine shop. A new faculty member, of Cooley’s “scientific blacksmith shop.” 6 Mortimer Cooley, was put in change It should be noted that most instruction of the project, and the first engineering in the few science and engineering The first engineering shop building was completed in 1882. programs taught in American (Cooley’s “scientific blacksmith shop”) – 1882 universities occurred primarily through lectures, supplemented only rarely by experiments performed entirely by the 6 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Ironically, both Greene and Land-Grant Act because of its provision Cooley were reluctant to separate of federal lands to the states for the the Department of Engineering establishment of public universities, from LS&A, since they believed that called for the encouragement of an engineer’s education should be instructional programs in “agriculture as broad as possible and that in a and the mechanic arts.” By 1880, there professional unit the tendency would were 85 engineering schools in the be to narrow it. This was an issue United States, and by 1918 this number that would return from time to time had grown to 126, 46 of which were in throughout the history of engineering land grant colleges.9 at Michigan, including my own tenure The Engineering Shops (1886) as dean. Despite Angell’s strong support, Michigan presidency in 1871. Angell it is also the case that engineering had once worked as a civil engineer at Michigan frequently had to in Boston and had even been offered struggle with facilities inadequate to a chair in civil engineering at Brown accommodate either its enrollment University, before becoming a professor or the rapidly evolving nature of of modern languages and literature. technology. Like the Literary College, President Angell was keenly interested it frequently had to make do with cast- in the growth and development of the off buildings such as that vacated by professional departments, recognizing the Dental College (one of the original The Engineering Building built on the old their worth to the state and to society professors’ houses on the campus) in Dental School – 1891 and providing them all the assistance 1891, the old powerplant (including within his power. its coalbunker) in 1897 to house It was during Angell’s tenure that highway and automotive engineering, the Department of Engineering was segments of the old University Hospital set off from the Literary College in Pavilion for the surveying department 1895. More speciﬁcally, in 1895 the and even a discarded elementary Regents resolved “that a school of school (the Tappan School adjacent Technology be organized, comprising to East Engineering) in 1923. Yet this the departments of Civil Engineering, pragmatic willingness to accept and Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical utilize second-hand space could also Engineering, and that Professor Charles be an asset, as the eventual move E. Greene be appointed Dean.”8 The of the College of Engineering to the new College of Engineering and University’s North Campus was to Architecture continued to grow during demonstrate in the 1980s. East Hall (the old Tappan Elementary School) Angell’s tenure, adding departments The late 19th century was a of chemical engineering, naval particularly active time for engineering architecture and marine engineering, education across the nation. The Morrill and architectural engineering. Act of 1863, sometimes known as the A NEW CENTURY 7

A New Century

The key player in the rapid progress of the College of Engineering during the early decades of the 20th Century was Mortimer Cooley, named as Greene’s successor as dean in 1903.

Schematic of West Engineering

This building would also be added to many times, ﬁrst to accommodate the naval towing tank in 1910 and then later to accommodate various other programs. Throughout most of the history of Dean Mortimer Cooley the University, the arch through West Engineering (named after Denison but East Engineering (1923) During Cooley’s tenure at Michigan commonly called “the Engineering both as faculty member and then Arch”) would become the symbol of and Aeronautical Engineering. This dean, enrollments in the College grew the College of Engineering. building was later expanded to from less than 30 to more than 1,800; Under Cooley, the College continued accommodate the rapidly growing the faculty grew from two instructors to expand with the construction of Department of Electrical Engineering. teaching several courses to more than East Engineering in 1923, built to Cooley’s remarkable energy 160 professors and staff teaching accommodate the departments of extended far beyond the University hundreds of courses, and from a Chemical Engineering, Metallurgy, campus. Since he served as mayor temporary shop of 1,720 square feet of Ann Arbor and in 1924 was the to over 500,000 square feet of well Democratic candidate for the United equipped buildings. States Senate, he was a well-known Cooley was an academic leader of presence throughout the community remarkable energy and vision. During and the state. Cooley also had strong his 24 years as dean, the College grew views about the nature of engineering considerably in strength and reputation education. It was noted earlier that he and its campus presence assumed the had initially opposed the separation of form that would characterize it until engineering from the Literary College, its move to the North Campus in the believing in the importance of a well- 1980s. The West Engineering Building West Engineering and the Engineering Arch rounded education. He also believed was completed in 1904. (1904) that engineering should become a 8 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

six-year curriculum, with the first two most of the University’s history, the years devoted to cultural subjects, and enrollment in chemical engineering the later years focused on professional generally outnumbered that in education similar to Medicine or Law. chemistry. Ironic indeed, therefore, (Perhaps it is not surprising that my that when both programs were finally own views of engineering education provided with new facilities in the are very similar to those of Cooley!) 1980s, Chemical Engineering shared After finally stepping down as dean space with Materials and Metallurgical at the age of 73, Cooley was succeeded Engineering in a modest $12 million by the chairman of naval architecture, building on the North Campus while Charles Sadler, who served for the The College of Engineering’s Central Campus Chemistry received a new chemical buildings (1940) next decade. After the two-year tenure sciences complex that was several times of Henry Anderson (of whom Cooley larger and worth $50 million. (This observed that “his health was such that The teaching, research, and service provides yet another demonstration he never should have taken the heavy activities of the College were conducted that the closer the proximity of an responsibilities which he shouldered through a growing constellation of academic unit to the president’s office, for so brief a time, and which without academic departments and programs, the more generously it is supported...) doubt greatly hastened his death”), each with a distinguished and in many Electrical Engineering grew rapidly the University recruited its first dean10 cases fascinating history. Fortunately, with the electrification of the nation from outside, Ivan Crawford, who most of these departments have and soon outgrew its space in the had served in similar roles at the chronicled their own history, available Physics Laboratory and later West Universities of Idaho and Kansas. through both written reports and Engineering. It also moved rapidly Although the College enrollments websites, so it is not necessary to into newly emerging areas such as continued to expand during the go into great detail here. But a few telecommunications. In fact, the first decades of Sadler, Anderson, and comments are necessary. campus radio station was operated Crawford, there was relatively little It has already been noted that by Electrical Engineering (and, at one new activity in either programmatic Civil Engineering and Mechanical point, had future MIT president Jerome development or building. To some Engineering played essentially the role Weisner as its engineer and future degree this is not surprising, since the of founders of the College, contributing CBS news reporter Mike Wallace as Great Depression and World War II had the first two deans (Greene and Cooley) its on-air talent!).11 In 1947, a major a major impact on both the University and enrolling its early students. They wing was added to East Engineering to and engineering education more were joined by Electrical Engineering accommodate the department. Yet with generally. But it is also the case that in 1888 and Chemical Engineering in the growth of the electronics industry Mortimer Cooley was simply a hard 1889. Although the University had and then computers, this department act to follow, and it was unlikely that introduced a chemistry curriculum was to continue its growth to the the extraordinary growth of the College in LS&A in 1884, it was discontinued point where today it comprises over during his tenure would soon repeat in 1896, and from then until 1916 30% of the enrollment of the College itself. when the chemistry degree was and spills out beyond the massive reinstated, all chemistry activity Electrical Engineering and Computer was in the Department of Chemical Science Building into several adjacent Engineering. In fact, throughout laboratories on the North Campus. A NEW CENTURY 9

Although Dean Cooley first arrived nation in nuclear engineering (1957), the leadership of Albert E. White, at Michigan as professor of “iron computer engineering (1959), and a faculty member in metallurgical shipbuilding,” the Department of integrated manufacturing (1986). engineering. This activity evolved Naval Architecture and Marine The College also had a number of into a major research organization, Engineering was not formed until more specialized programs reflecting the Engineering Research Institute, 1901. Cooley did have the foresight to both the nature of engineering conducting research for both industry provide for a 300-foot-long tank in the education and the needs and and the federal government in the basement of the new West Engineering opportunities of the moment. For years after WWII. However, eventually building where ship models could be example, since mechanical drawing the increasing bureaucracy associated towed and studied. The importance of played such a major role in engineering with federally sponsored research shipping in the Great Lakes stimulated practice, the College had a separate stimulated the University to launch its the rapid growth and prominence of Department of Engineering Drawing, own Division of Research Development the department. complete with blueprinting equipment and Administration, reporting to the Michigan launched the first program and numerous drawing rooms in West vice president for research, that took in aeronautical engineering in the Engineering. With the introduction of over all responsibilities for research nation in 1911, created by a European computer aided design, the department administration campus-wide in the engineer, Felix Pawlowski. Although was gradually phased out in the 1970s. 1950s. the courses were first taught in naval During the years of WWI, the College architecture, a separate department formed a Department of Military was formed in 1930. Throughout its Science and Tactics. It also mobilized its The Significance of history, the Department of Aeronautical resources in support of officer training Engineering (and later Aerospace during WWII. Since that time it has the College Engineering) has ranked among the played a major role in supporting top programs in the nation, graduating ROTC efforts on campus. To Engineering Education leaders of the aerospace industry such as Kelly Johnson (founder of the The University of Michigan’s College Lockheed Skunkworks and perhaps of Engineering has long provided the most famous designer in American leadership for engineering education. aviation), Willis Hawkins and Robert It was not only among the first Fuhrman (both CEOs of Lockheed), engineering programs in the United and George Skurla (CEO of Grumman). States, but throughout its century and A program in industrial engineering a half of existence, has also been one was first introduced in 1926, and of the largest (currently second in size later, following the introduction only to Purdue’s), most comprehensive, of operations research methods in and most innovative. The lists of World War II, expanded to become “firsts” is much too long to document Michigan training soldiers for World War I the Department of Industrial and here, but several examples illustrate. Operations Engineering. The College As we have noted, the College was continued to be an innovator Finally, during the 1920s, the a leader in the introduction of new throughout the 20th Century, College organized a Department engineering programs, including the introducing the first programs in the of Engineering Research under earliest programs in naval architecture 10 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

(1881), electrical engineering For example, Felix Pawloski offered (1890), chemical engineering (1898), the world’s first course in aeronautical aeronautical engineering (1914), nuclear engineering in 1916. Stephan engineering (1953), and computer Timoshenko essentially created the engineering (1965). The College has mathematical discipline of applied also pioneered the development mechanics in the 1930s by applying of unique facilities for engineering rigorous mathematical methods to education and research, such as the first engineering mechanics. William naval architecture towing tank (1904), Dow was a leader in electronics and the Willow Run Research Laboratories an early pioneer in plasma devices. (1946) (later the Environmental Homer Martin invented fluid catalytic Professor Emmett Leigh and his holography apparatus Research Institute of Michigan), the cracking, an indispensable step in Phoenix Laboratory and Ford Nuclear providing the aviation fuel essential Reactor (1951), the Michigan Terminal to Allied victory in WWII. Claude And, of course, no history of the System (MTS) time-sharing system Shannon developed the science College would be complete without (1963), the College’s Instructional of information theory, laying the mentioning the contributions of Television System and Chrysler Center foundation for digital communication. Professor A. D. Moore, one of the for Continuing Engineering Education, Donald Katz invented the methods pioneers of electrostatics, who served and the Computer Aided Engineering used today for storing natural gas in as a faculty member for almost half-a- Network (1983). underground storage fields. Ed Lesher century (continuing into his 90s to ride The contributions of faculty built and piloted planes that held the his bike to his laboratory in the early members to engineering education world’s distance records. morning hours). and research have been considerable. The College has long been known as the source of many of the major textbooks used for engineering education with prominent authors such as Stephan Timoshenko (applied mechanics), George Granger Brown (unit operations), Richard Sonntag and Gordon Van Wylen (thermodynamics), Joseph Shigley (design), Arnold Kuethe (aerodynamics), Lawrence Van Vlack Professor Edward Lesher and his experimental aircraft (materials), Brice Carnihan and James Wilkes (computers), Vic Streeter (fluid dynamics), and Glenn Knoll (nuclear Chihiro Kikuchi invented the ruby instrumentation), to mention only a maser, laying the foundation for few. today’s laser technology. Emmett Leith Faculty members and graduates of and Juris Upatnieks adapted radar the College have also made important technology to develop the first working contributions through their research. holograms. A.D. Moore THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COLLEGE 11

To the Nation, the State, and role in the development of programs the Community in mathematics, finally merging its mathematics curriculum with that of Faculty members of the College also LS&A in 1928. The University’s modern have made important contributions languages programs also trace their to their nation, the State of Michigan, beginning to instruction in the College and the City of Ann Arbor. Federal in German and French, later joining agencies, commissions, and advisory with the LS&A counterparts in 1929. bodies such as the National Science Public health can be traced to early Board, the Space Sciences Board, instruction offered by Engineering and and the National Science Foundation Medicine in public health engineering Dean Mortimer Cooley as Commencement have benefited from the many faculty and later a program leading to the Marshall members who have served in various degree of doctor of public health in roles. 1911. The College even participated served as the marshals for University Two members of the faculty have directly with the School of Forestry commencement exercises, beginning actually served as mayor of Ann Arbor: and Conservation in developing joint with Dean Cooley himself. Mortimer Cooley and A. D. Moore. programs in wood technology. And while engineering faculty Many others have served as city council The College of Engineering provided members were never tapped for members, county commissioners, and leadership for the University in many executive positions in the University school board members. other ways. It was the first academic (at least until I was selected as provost unit to establish a mentor system for and then later elected as president To the University first year students. Furthermore, it of the University), they did serve in adopted an honor code system, based key positions of faculty governance The College of Engineering has on the principle that “it is dishonorable such as the chair of the faculty Senate played a particularly important role for any student to receive credit for Assembly (Brymer Williams, Arch in the history of the University. From work which is not the result of his or Naylor, and Harris McClamroch) and its earliest days as the third degree her own effort.” This system derived the Board in Control of Intercollegiate program offered by the University its authority directly from the students, Athletics (George Springer, Dale Grimes, and Bruce Karnopp). (after LS&A and Medicine), it has who both investigated possible enrolled roughly one-quarter of the violations and prescribed sanctions. It University’s students. It has also continues to operate today as a model had a major impact on the evolution for student responsibility and integrity. of the academic programs of the The engineering faculty also served University. For example, both the the University in many other ways. programs in architecture and art During the early years, they operated first were developed within the and maintained the University power College (1906) and did not become plant (as well as the water treatment independent schools until 1931 and facilities of the City of Ann Arbor). For 1972, respectively. Similarly the most of the history of the University, College of Engineering played a major engineering faculty members have 12 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The Deans of the College of Engineering

Charles Greene (1895-1903) Table 1: The Deans of the College of Engineering Charles Greene was a civil engineer and a member of the faculty for 31 1895-1903 Charles Ezra Greene years. He became the ﬁrst dean of the 1903-1928 Mortimer Elwin Cooley Department of Engineering in 1895. 1927-1928 George Washington Patterson, Acting Dean During his tenure the College added 1928-1937 Herbert Charles Sadler the departments of marine engineering 1937-1939 Henry Clay Anderson and naval architecture and chemical 1940-1951 Ivan Charles Crawford engineering and the construction of the 1951-1957 George Granger Brown West Engineering was begun. 1957-1965 Stephen S. Attwood 1965-1972 Gordon Van Wylen 1972-1980 David V. Ragone 1980-1981 Hansford W. Farris, Acting Dean 1981-1986 James J. Duderstadt 1986-1989 Charles M. Vest 1989-1990 Daniel E. Atkins, III, Interim Dean 1990-1995 Peter M. Banks 1995-1996 Glen Knoll, Interim Dean 1996 - Stephen W. Director THE DEANS OF THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 13

Mortimer Cooley (Dean, 1903-1928) Charles Sadler (Dean, 1928-1937) Henry Clay Anderson (Dean, 1937-39)

Mortimer Cooley was a member of Charles Sadler was a naval architect Henry Anderson was a mechanical the faculty for 47 years, a mechanical and member of the faculty for 37 years, engineer who served the University for engineer trained at Annapolis. Under playing a major role in the design and 38 years. He served as dean for only his leadership East Engineering construction of the towing tank. He two years before stepping down for was built, East Hall was acquired, was dean during the Great Depression. health reasons. the departments of Aeronautical Despite continued enrollment growth Engineering and Engineering Research during this period, the College budget were started, and the Mentor System declined and further development of its and the Honor Code were instituted. campus stalled. The policy of selecting outstanding professional engineers for department heads was adopted. Cooley worked closely with Presidents Angell, Hutchins, and Burton to build the College during a time of dramatic enrollment growth and laid the foundation for the success of the College during the early half of the 20th Century. 14 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Ivan Crawford (Dean, 1940-1951) George Granger Brown (Dean, 1951-1957) Stephen Attwood (Dean, 1957-1965)

Ivan Crawford was the first dean of the George Granger Brown served on the Stephen Attwood became dean of the College from outside, a civil engineer Michigan faculty for over 37 years, College in 1957, after obtaining his B.S. and former dean at the Universities of as a leader in chemical engineering and M.S. from Michigan in 1918, then Idaho (14 years) and Kansas (3 years). He education and research (developing serving on the faculty and chairing the led the College during the war years the key textbook for Unit Operations), Department of Electrical Engineering and then during the early stages of then as chairman of the Department for five years. This was a time of growth as returning veterans enrolled of Chemical and Metallurgical status quo for the College, largely through the GI Bill. Engineering. As dean, he developed solidifying the accomplishments in the early plans for the engineering research, graduate education, and laboratories on the North Campus facilities launched under G. G. Brown. and was key in building industrial Attwood’s age and ill health limited his support of the College. He also was tenure as dean. instrumental in developing new programs such as science engineering and nuclear engineering. Although his tenure as dean was relatively short, he must be regarded as one of the most significant leaders of the College. THE DEANS OF THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 15

Gordon Van Wylen (Dean, 1965-1972) David Ragone (Dean, 1972-1980) James Johnson Duderstadt (Dean, 1981-1986)

Gordon Van Wylen served as faculty A former MIT graduate and faculty Since much of this book concerns my member and later chair of the member, David Ragone came to the period as dean, I’ll only mention here Department of Mechanical Engineering, College as its dean after a brief, two- that like Greene, Cooley, Sadler, and earning widespread recognition for year period as dean of engineering Brown, I had been a long-time faculty his work in thermodynamics and at Dartmouth. He was given the member of the College (although I authoring a widely used textbook assignment of leading a major private assumed the deanship at the age of on this subject. As dean, he led the fund-raising campaign to complete 37). Several of the milestones during College during a transition period the move of the College to the North my tenure as dean include moving from the high point of the space race Campus. Unfortunately, the campaign the College to the North Campus, to the days of student protests and was only a modest success, raising tripling its base budget, hiring 120 new hostility toward technology. Despite his only $8 million for facilities, an amount faculty, and boosting the rankings of its concerted efforts, the College was able inadequate to trigger the North academic programs. to make only modest progress toward Campus move. During the decade, completing its move to the North the University support of the College Campus. Van Wylen also presided over declined precipitously (the College lost a shift in College priorities away from 30% of its support, equivalent to the graduate education and research to loss of roughly 70 faculty members). undergraduate instruction. He stepped This led to a crisis situation by the down in 1972 to become president of time Ragone left to become president Hope College. of Case Western Reserve University in 1980. 16 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Charles Vest (Dean, 1986-1989) Peter Banks (Dean, 1990-1995) Stephen W. Director (Dean, 1996-present)

Charles Vest was also a long-standing Peter Banks came to Michigan from Steven Director came to the College faculty member in mechanical Stanford, where he had been a faculty from a position as dean of engineering engineering, serving ﬁrst as associate member in electrical engineering and at Carnegie Mellon University. dean and then as dean of the College. a national leader in remote sensing. Under his leadership, the rankings During his brief tenure before being He was instrumental in several major of the College have continued appointed as the University’s provost, efforts of the College, including the to climb, with the launch of new he completed the North Campus completion of the Lurie Engineering programs in biomedical engineering, move and recruited some of the Center and Lurie Tower. He left the nanotechnology, and environmental College’s leading faculty members. In College to become the president of the systems. 1990, he was named president of the Environmental Research Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Michigan. where he has served with great success for over a decade. EPILOGUE 17

Epilogue engineering education and research to required to insure the maintenance national priorities such as economic of a strong and adequate faculty for Despite the fact that during its first recovery from the Depression and teaching, to furnish facilities and century the College of Engineering national defense during the war years, laboratory equipment; to encourage enrolled roughly 25% to 30% of the the College of Engineering spent and foster graduate work; to encourage students attending the University these decades confined to budgets research in pure and applied sciences, and played an important role as a and facilities that were increasingly and to meet other needs of the College. source or catalyst for other University inadequate for either its enrollments The general plan was to create a board programs (e.g., architecture, art, and the technical needs of its programs. composed of alumni and faculty modern languages, chemistry, public Early in the history of the College members to secure endowments and health), the University rarely gave in 1872, as the University continued to to administer the funds acquired. Engineering priority for resources suffer from inadequate state support, However, once again, the dream was or facilities. Despite the demanding Interim President Henry Frieze ahead of its time, and the effort to raise needs of its technology-intensive suggested to DeVolson Wood that the endowment was not successful. programs, the College frequently had perhaps he should prepare a proposal to make do with cast-off facilities—e.g., to seek an endowment to support a Cooley’s scientific blacksmith shop, school of engineering, similar to that the power plant, the old Dental School, supporting the Sheffield Scientific the old University pavilion hospital, School at Yale. Wood’s proposal and Tappan Elementary School. sought an endowment of $500,000 Occasionally an energetic dean (e.g. for the purpose of establishing a Cooley) or sympathetic president school of technology. Unfortunately no donors came forward, nor did the (Angell, Burton) would break this Cooley Memorial Hall (proposed) state respond to the proposal. Hence pattern, but for the most part, the the College would continue to evolve College of Engineering, just as the However, good ideas keep coming slowly, constrained by the weak public Literary College, has languished in the back, and the College was to revisit support of the University. shadow of the more generously favored the theme of building private support Late in Cooley’s life, this dream professional schools such as Medicine, to augment state support again. In of an endowed school was revisited. Dentistry, and Law. the 1970s, Dean David Ragone led a The University, after giving much Yet there is a more disturbing trend major fund-raising campaign aimed thought to the problem created by in this history: the cyclic nature of at moving the College to its North the increasing inability of the state to University support of academic units Campus site. Unfortunately, the provide money to keep the College that frequently has little correlation campaign was launched during a of Engineering adequately funded, with either program needs or national national economic recession and only reached the conclusion that state funds priority. For example, despite the very moderately successful (resulting in must be supplemented by donated significant enrollment growth in the only one relatively modest building, funds from other sources. The Board College during the middle decades of the Dow Building). But private fund- of Regents therefore approved the the 20th Century, increasing from 1,400 raising became a critical element of creation of the Mortimer E. Cooley students in 1920 to over 4,000 students a far more ambitious and successful Foundation. Its objectives were to in 1950, and the clear importance of plan developed and executed in the supplement the regular funds as 18 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

1980s that aimed at building a strong and diversiﬁed base of state, private, federal, and tuition support for the College. As we will discuss in later chapters, this plan not only succeeded in moving the entire College of Engineering to the North Campus, but it increased its base support by several-fold during the 1980s, with a consequent increase in the quality of the College’s faculty, students, and programs. Sometimes it simply takes time to translate good ideas into action! 19

Chapter 2

The Post War Decades: 1945 to 1970

Like much of the rest of higher significant progress for the College. education, the fortunes and fate of He was followed by Gordon Van the College of Engineering were very Wylen, another strong faculty member much influenced by the ever-changing and chairman of the Department of nature of social issues and national Mechanical Engineering. However, the priorities following WWII. From the College continued to languish under GI Bill, the Cold War, the Nuclear Age, Van Wylen’s leadership, both because and the Space Race to the Great Society, of shifting University priorities, away Vietnam, student protests, and Earth from science and engineering and Day, social change was in the winds, into the social and health professions and higher education was blown along (dentistry, social work, education, with the rest of society. public health), and because of Van The College of Engineering grew Wylen’s own efforts to refocus the and flourished during the early part College on undergraduate education of this period, due in part to the and away from its traditional strengths importance of engineering education in graduate education and research. and research to national security, as well as to the forceful leadership of Dean George Granger Brown, a The Post-War Era distinguished faculty member and chair of the Department of Chemical After World War II, the nation was and Metallurgical Engineering. Yet this faced with the challenge of assimilating burst of momentum and growth was large numbers of young veterans who short-lived, as University priorities were returning from overseas with a shifted in the late 1950s, and Brown’s perspective different from any previous strong leadership was cut short by generation. They looked forward to a his premature death in 1957. Stephen life with more promise and opportunity Attwood, a senior faculty member, than even they or their parents had former chair of electrical engineering, expected just a decade earlier during and acting dean of the College, the Great Depression. Yet the American was named dean of engineering, economy simply could not absorb although he was already 62 at the the labor glut as the industrial war time. Although Attwood served in the machine was dismantled. In part to role for 8 years, it was not a time of 20 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

compensate the returning veterans who for higher education, the University government would sponsor research had interrupted their lives to serve the of Michigan established branch on the campuses in return for the nation, and in part to buy time to create campuses in Flint and Dearborn, first knowledge base necessary to address new jobs in a peacetime economy, appending upperclass programs to national priorities. The universities Congress enacted the GI Bill to provide the local community colleges, but then responded by creating strong incentives veterans with the opportunity for a later expanding these to four-year and for faculty to focus on research and college education, to repay a debt to eventually comprehensive campuses. graduate education in areas of national those who had defended the nation. In the decades following World War interest. The role of the federal Few legislative acts have had the II, the federal government extended government in university research and sweeping long-term effects on our this social contract to broaden the graduate education accelerated rapidly society as the GI Bill. Millions of opportunities for a college education following the launch of Sputnik with veterans, many without even a high through a series of other legislative the National Defense Education Act of school education, chose to attend actions such as the Higher Education 1958. With each escalation in the arms college simply because it was their Acts and federal financial aid programs race—the spread of nuclear weapons, only option following the war. The such as the Pell Grants. The intent Sputnik, ballistic missile technology— law of unintended consequences was was to use higher education to help the federal government increased its never better illustrated than in the eliminate class distinction and racial investment in campus-based research, results of this single act. Sleepy little discrimination by providing equal and the culture of the university shifted college villages became busy cities, educational opportunity to diverse further toward research and graduate construction boomed, classrooms individuals and groups, thereby education. A new form of institution were overcrowded, and once-tranquil enabling all citizens to enjoy the evolved, the research university that communities changed forever. Local benefits of a free society. During today has become the dominant species economies changed to meet the needs this period both public and private of the higher education ecosystem. of older students, and colleges took higher education expanded from Change continued, as the first of on a fresh face, albeit somewhat older the traditional role of educating the the baby boomers reached college and more mature. These older students elite for leadership roles to providing age in the early 1960s. The Higher brought a seriousness and commitment mass education, a trend perhaps best Education Act of 1965 gave the federal to higher education that was new captured by the belief of the Truman government the role of ensuring and creative. They challenged the Commission in 1948 that every high access and affordability through stodgy conservatism of the academy school graduate should have the nondiscrimination laws and student and prepared the way for change. opportunity for a college education. financial aid programs. Enrollments Just as with the Morrill Act, the GI The concern for national security did reached record numbers; faculty Bill represented an instance in which not subside in the wake of World War recruitment was a seller’s market; state social and political change stimulated II, as new adversaries appeared and appropriations were growing; and federal policy and investment with the Cold War smoldered. Drawing on higher education was widely regarded transforming impact on higher the experience of the war years, the as the sine qua non for success and education. federal government turned once again fulfillment. Yet again, society would The Ann Arbor campus boomed, to academic scientists for the science demand changes, as social unrest doubling in size, and then doubling and technology necessary for national and upheaval struck the campuses in yet again to over 30,000 students. To security. It offered the universities the late 1960s. Although causes were accommodate the expanding need a partnership in which the federal just—the civil rights movement and an RESPONDING TONATIONAL PRIORITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES 21 unpopular war in Vietnam—to much of who made the supreme sacrifice by and more noteworthy of your support. America, the campus protests appeared attempting to develop a project that In war or in peace, the atomic research as an attack on the establishment. would aid all mankind in living in a being done at the University of The social contract through which war-free world rather than to attempt Michigan will strengthen America.”2 the public granted autonomy to the to build “a mound of stone the purpose The Phoenix Project Laboratory was university in return for its neutrality of which might soon be forgotten.”1 constructed as one of the first buildings appeared to be undermined by the In May, 1948, the Regents adopted on the North Campus of the University. increasing political activism of many a resolution that “the University of faculty members, perhaps manifested Michigan create a War Memorial today by the public concern about Center to explore the ways and means political correctness on the campus. by which the potentialities of atomic Yet, throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and energy may become a beneficent 1970s, higher education flourished, influence in the life of man, to be sustained by strong social policies and known as the Phoenix Project of the public investment aimed at providing University of Michigan.” Under the educational access and opportunity to a leadership of University President growing population. Alexander Ruthven and Albert Lang, president of the General Electric Company, the Phoenix Campaign quickly grew into a well-organized national effort that raised $6.5 million The construction of the Phoenix Laboratory Responding to (upper left) for a research building, a research National Priorities and endowment, and thanks to a one- Although all programs in the million-dollar gift from the Ford Opportunities University were involved in the Motor Company, a nuclear reactor Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, (called the Ford Nuclear Reactor). It One of the most significant initiatives of the College of Engineering had a is noteworthy that the membership of the University following WWII was the particular responsibility to develop the fund-raising committee included Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project, both instructional and research three students who were all veterans of a major nuclear research laboratory programs in nuclear energy. A World War II. established by the University and professor of electrical engineering, Ruthven called the Phoenix project funded by private gifts as a memorial Henry Gomberg, was named as the “the most important undertaking in the to the 579 members of the Michigan first director of the Phoenix Project. University’s history.” The University family who had lost their lives in the It is interesting that the actual plans was paying tribute to the sacrifices war. Interestingly enough, it was a for the nuclear reactor in the Phoenix of its men and women during the student committee that pressed the Laboratory were classified during the war by accepting the momentous University to action on the matter and early phases of its construction, and responsibility of studying the peaceful urged the Regents to accept the idea the associated Department of Nuclear applications of atomic energy. Even of the Phoenix Project after it was first Engineering that would utilize the President Eisenhower highlighted the developed and approved by student facility was the first such program in importance of the Phoenix Project: government. The students sought to the United States. It is also important commemorate the memory of those “Few causes are more urgent today 22 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

to note that some 50 years later, the and guidance. Many of the faculty Phoenix Laboratory, the Ford Nuclear members of the College, particularly Reactor, and the Department of Nuclear from the Department of Electrical Engineering all continue to make Engineering, became actively involved significant contributions to nuclear in the Willow Run Laboratories’ Project energy research and application, Michigan, the effort to develop the including the first observation of technologies of radar, remote sensing, gravitationally induced quantum and satellite imaging. Michigan interference, seminal experiments engineers developed some of the most involving neutron scattering, and the important technologies of the 20th first demonstration of low-enrichment Century through this effort, including (non-weapons-grade) uranium maser and laser technology (Chihiro fuel for research reactors, a major Kikuchi), holography (Emmett Leith contribution to anti-proliferation and Juris Upatniek), and stealth efforts. The Phoenix Project enriched technology (Thomas Senior and Ted University life through the visits of Birdsall). The close collaborations distinguished scientists such as Robert between the College and the Willow Oppenheimer and Hans Bethe. It also The fission chain reaction in the Ford Nuclear Run Laboratories greatly benefited both provided support and facilities for Reactor organizations, providing state-of-the- the hundreds of nuclear engineers art research experiences for students and scientists who have studied and and faculty, while providing Willow trained in the Phoenix Laboratory. Run with access to top engineering and The Michigan Memorial Phoenix scientific talent. Project was recognized in 2001 by Unfortunately, reacting to the the American Nuclear Society as “a turbulent anti-war protests of the unique and pioneering atomic research 1960s, the University decided to spin program, as a permanent memorial to off the Willow Run Laboratories as the University’s soldiers who fought an independent research laboratory, and died in World War II, and as a renamed the Environmental Research symbol of the University of Michigan’s The Ford Nuclear Reactor in the Phoenix Laboratory of Michigan or ERIM. At commitment to the peaceful and Laboratory the same time it also applied major socially responsible use of science and restrictions to the ability of faculty and technology.”3 The College of Engineering played an students to participate in classified important role in other areas of national research, which quickly led to the security during the post-war decades. demise of such work on campus and Following World War II, the University greatly inhibited collaboration between developed laboratories at the site of the College and ERIM. As an aside, I the old Willow Run bomber plant to have long believed that this decision to conduct research on the technologies place the Willow Run Laboratories at of radar, infrared, acoustics, seismic, arm’s length was not a wise decision information processing, and navigation on the University’s part. One need RESPONDING TO NATIONAL PRIORITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES 23 only look at the impact of other major engineering graduates, leading to the national research laboratories on the establishment of the first University quality of science and engineering of Michigan Alumni chapter in outer programs at other top universities— space! e.g., Lincoln Laboratory at MIT, the The College of Engineering also Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and played a major role in the development Lawrence Livermore Laboratory at UC- and application of digital computing. Berkeley, Argonne National Laboratory The close relationship between the at the University of Chicago, and the College and the Ford Motor Company NASA Ames Research Laboratory at through operation of the Ford Nuclear Upper atmosphere balloon experiments Stanford—to realize that something Reactor in the Phoenix Laboratory important was lost in severing the enabled students and faculty of the University’s relationship with the The Department of Atmospheric College to use the computers at the Willow Run Laboratories. and Space Science associated with the Ford Scientific Laboratory. Several The College of Engineering also Space Physics Research Laboratory faculty members had been involved played an important role in the nation’s became one of the world leaders in the early development of the digital space program. Its aeronautical in space and planetary sciences computer, including Arthur Burks who engineering program had long been (although as a predominantly science participated in the development of a national leader, and as the space department, it sometimes was neither the ENIAC computer (and arranged program began to develop in the well understood nor appreciated by the for 10% of it to be on permanent 1950s, the College renamed it the College leadership at the time). display in the College’s Electrical Department of Aerospace Engineering The College’s strong reputation Engineering and Computer Science and added a number of new fields in aerospace engineering and space Laboratory). Furthermore, faculty such as rocket propulsion, orbital science not only attracted significant members from chemical (Donald mechanics, and space science. A major funding from NASA but also the Katz), aerospace (Robert Howe), NASA laboratory in space physics was training responsibilities for a number electrical, and computer engineering established, with extensive capabilities of astronauts, including Jim McDivitt played important roles in developing in upper atmosphere research and and Jack Lousma. In fact, the entire specialized computers at Willow Run satellite instrumentation. The College three-man crew of the Apollo 15 and elsewhere. conducted numerous tests with first moon mission consisted of Michigan By the end of the 1950s, one could high-altitude balloons and then rocket well make the case that the College launches. In fact, the University of Engineering was a world leader in acquired property on the Keweenaw many of the most exotic areas of high Peninsula in upper Michigan for the technology: nuclear energy, aerospace purpose of launching satellites into engineering, space science, and polar Earth orbit. computer engineering. Its graduates spread out to provide leadership in these fields across the nation, around the world, and even into outer space! Yet, what about those technologies Apollo 15: The Michigan Mission to the Moon of most direct relevance to Michigan 24 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

industry, e.g., automotive engineering There may be another explanation high-tech areas of research, and the and manufacturing engineering? for the College’s tendency to focus College responded by developing Ironically, Michigan’s efforts in on high technology rather than the both programs and excellence in kind, these more traditional areas actually needs of its backyard industry. The perhaps to the neglect of the needs of deteriorated during the decades automotive and manufacturing local industry. following the war. Although the industries of the 1950s and 1960s were College built important facilities such based far more on in-house practical as the Automotive Laboratory on experience than scientific research. The North Campus the North Campus with its array of Furthermore, they provided far less sophisticated automobile engine test support for university-based programs As the University faced growing cells, it was not generally regarded than rapidly growing industries in enrollments in the years following the as a national leader. In numerous areas such as electronics, computers, war, it soon realized that its central discussions with technology leaders in and aerospace. Finally, most support campus site was simply too confined my role as dean of engineering during for graduate education and research by the surrounding city of Ann Arbor the 1980s, it became apparent that the came from the federal government, to accommodate significant growth. College had decided to focus its efforts through agencies such as the Atomic The Regents agreed in the late 1940s on rather conventional, even mundane, Energy Commission, the National to acquire 300 acres of farmland across areas of research such as dynamometer Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Huron River from the University testing and conventional combustion the Department of Defense, and the Hospital, just in case the University experiments, while other programs National Science Foundation. The needed the room to expand, although such as MIT and UC-Berkeley moved national security needs of the nation there were no immediate academic into very novel, science-based areas drove major investments in these objectives for the use of this space. that would catch the wave created by pollution control requirements in the 1970s. While Michigan continued to hire rather traditional mechanical engineering faculty, MIT was hiring experts in areas of statistical mechanics, physical chemistry, and computer simulation. Similarly, in the area of manufacturing, Michigan focused on areas such as machine tool development and mechanical design rather than the emerging areas of numerically controlled machines and CAD/CAM. This stood in sharp contrast with the College’s leading- edge activities in high-tech areas such as aerospace, electronics, and nuclear energy. The farmland lying north of the University’s Ann Arbor Campus THE NORTH CAMPUS 25

The noted Finnish architect, Eero Central Campus, and extending to the Saarinen (director of the Cranbrook northeast of Ann Arbor. Institute and son of the former During the 1950s and 1960s the University faculty member, Eliel University built a number of large Saarinen) was retained in 1951 to student dormitories and married develop a master plan for the site. It student housing complexes on the should be noted that Saarinen had North Campus. However, for most of this period, the Department of Nuclear recently completed the design for the Early development of the North Campus (the General Motors Technical Center in Cooley Laboratory in the foreground) Engineering was the only academic Warren, Michigan, and his design for program located entirely on the North Campus, because of the proximity of the University’s North Campus bears conducted), the Phoenix Laboratory the Phoenix Laboratory. a striking resemblance to this earlier (1955), the Automotive Laboratory Although the College of Engineering project. (1957), the windtunnel and a small was the ﬁrst major University academic laboratory for Aerospace Engineering unit earmarked for moving to the (1957), and the Fluids Laboratory North Campus, this objective was (1958) (later renamed the G. G. Brown soon set aside in preference to other Laboratory). priorities. First, the School of Music was given a major new complex on the North Campus (1964) (its building designed by Eero Saarinen himself),

The original Saarinen master plan for the North Campus

Although there were some early thoughts given to relocating The Cooley Electronics Laboratory (1951) the School of Education, Natural Resources, Music, and Fine Arts to As enrollments continued to expand, the North Campus, the construction the University launched a series of Saarinen’s School of Music of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix planning exercises that considered Project soon repurposed the site for the relocation of additional academic engineering research and eventually programs to the North Campus. followed soon afterwards by the the entire College of Engineering. One plan even envisioned growth of School of Architecture and Design The ﬁrst buildings were the Mortimer the University to perhaps as many (and later in 1974, the School of Art Cooley Electronics Laboratory (1951) as 100,000 students, with the North when it separated from Architecture). (where much of the classiﬁed research Campus becoming one of a chain The North Campus Commons (now associated with Willow Run was of campuses, similar in size to the renamed the Pierpont Commons) 26 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The Schools of Architecture and Art

The Highway Safety Research Institute The North Campus (1970) (1965) and the Chrysler Center for Continuing Engineering Education (1971) soon followed. The University The Schools of Architecture, Art, and also located other major research These latter two research institutes Music are clearly visible, along with the facilities on the North Campus, are of interest, since both were strongly Institute for Science and Technology. including the Cyclotron Laboratory opposed by the College of Engineering. And where is Engineering? This can (Physics), the Institute of Science and They, along with the Phoenix be seen in yet another photograph, Technology (1963) (another Saarinen Laboratory, which also fell under taken at about the same time, which building), and the Highway Safety University authority, represented an shows only four small buildings: the Research Institute (1965). effort by the University’s vice-president for research to build major research Cooley Electronics Laboratory, the programs competing directly with Automotive Laboratory, the G. G. the College for both state and federal Brown Laboratory, and a small building funding. In each case, they led to for Aerospace Engineering. signiﬁcant weakening of the programs in the College associated with these areas. Perhaps the best illustration that the University had largely turned away from its early plans to move the College of Engineering to the North Campus The Institute of Science and Technology is provided by the photograph, taken during the late 1960s.

Engineering Buildings on the North Campus SHIFTING UNIVERSITY PRIORITIES 27

Shifting University Priorities

A recurrent theme of this book suggests that the priority given the needs of the College of Engineering waxed and waned not only with national priorities but as well by both University leadership and College leadership. The postwar years erosion in the support of the College began in the 1960s and accelerated into the 1970s. To be sure, this was a time when our nation was shifting from the Cold War and the space race as priorities to the Great Society and a range of social programs such as Medicare. The University responded by emphasizing academic programs in areas such as Education (recruiting as dean Wilbur Cohen, former head of the U. S. Department of The replacement University hospital Health, Education, and Welfare, who proceeded to double the size of the school), Social Work (moving it from sciences began to suffer from benign and sustaining its reputation. G. G. Detroit and expanding it significantly), neglect (and, perhaps in some cases, Brown led the early effort to move the Dentistry (building the largest dental outright malice of forethought, by some College to the North Campus, and school in the nation), and Public members of the central administration). perhaps more significantly, established Health. Similar commitments were But one cannot lay all of the blame Michigan Engineering as a leader made in the social sciences, particularly on the University for the plight of the in research and graduate education. through the Institute for Social College. One of the first responsibilities Unfortunately, his successors (just as Research. Additional commitments of a dean of a school or college is to Cooley’s successors) were less able in were made in the 1970s to develop gain both the attention and support their efforts to sustain this momentum expensive graduate programs in of the leaders of the University, and and University priority, and the College Nursing and Pharmacy. And most through them, open up opportunities suffered as a consequence. significantly for Engineering’s goal for state, federal, and private support. of moving to the North Campus, the Mortimer Cooley had done this at University decided to approach the the turn of the century, working state for a $180 million appropriation with Presidents Angell, Hutchins, for a replacement University hospital. and Burton to build much of the Both engineering and the physical College’s Central Campus complex 28 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 29

Chapter 3

Decline, Fall, and Revolution: The 1970s

The 1970s were a difficult period for 20% during the decade, the University engineering education in general actually cut its instructional budget and the College of Engineering in by almost one-third. Furthermore, the particular. The end of the space race, long-awaited move of the College out an unpopular war in Vietnam, and an of its decaying facilities in West and emerging environmental movement East Engineering and into new facilities all converged to undermine public on the North Campus stalled in the face confidence in technology. While of other University priorities (including the image of Ph.D. scientists and major new buildings on the North engineers driving taxicabs was a Campus for the Schools of Music, Art, myth, it was nevertheless true that Architecture and Urban Planning, and public perception ran against careers even for research units such as the in science and engineering. The Great Institute of Science and Technology). Society commitments of the 1960s Put more bluntly, the College had not propelled national priorities away from only ceased to be a priority for the investments in science and engineering University, but it had dropped off the and into health care and social services. State Street radarscope entirely. The College of Engineering felt these I will return later to discuss the shifting national priorities both through decline and fall of the College of the decline in federal research support Engineering during the 1970s, and in student interest in engineering considering its antecedents, probable careers in the early 1970s (although causes, and consequences. But first it the corresponding enrollment drop is useful to take a detour for a brief was modest and brief). But even more biographical memoir, since this was significant was the continuation of precisely the period when Anne and the 1960s trend that saw University I moved to Ann Arbor to begin my support of the College decline still academic career as a new Assistant further. In fact, during the 1970s, the Professor of Nuclear Engineering. College of Engineering would rank last among all academic units in the change in funding from the University. Although the College experienced surging enrollments during the latter years of the 1970s, growing by almost 30 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The Path to Ann Arbor later to recruit me to Missouri (where I would have not only been on a team My path to Ann Arbor led from a with our current Michigan football small farm town in Missouri to Yale coach, Lloyd Carr, but likely trampled University in the East, then back to a in the dust). top-secret nuclear research laboratory So, sight-unseen, my parents put in the mountains of New Mexico, me on a TWA Constellation the next then on to Pasadena, and finally back September—my first airplane trip. I across the country again to Michigan. flew to New York (again a first) and Both Anne and I had grown up in managed to find my way to Grand Carrollton, Missouri, a small farm Central Station to take the train up to town (population 4,000) located about New Haven to enroll at Yale and to 70 miles northeast of Kansas City. start freshman football practice. The Carrollton was located on the Missouri old saying, “You can take the boy out River, in the heart of some of the richest of the country but not the country out farmland in the world. Most of its of the boy!” certainly applied in my residents were involved in farming in case. Despite the prep-school, blue- blood nature of Yale at that time, it had one way or another. Anne was raised Yale University on a farm. Although my father was relatively little impact on my social a highway paving contractor, my sophistication, although it certainly grandfather and other relatives all had of acceptance were long, I also applied farming backgrounds. to several other schools, including Northwestern and Michigan. During Yale University the application process, I learned that blue-blood schools like Yale and In a strange twist of fate, rather than Harvard were located in New England following in the Missouri traditions rather than England (where I had of my family, I headed east for college always thought they belonged with to Yale University—lured in part Oxford and Cambridge), so I decided to play football. This requires some on a whim to apply to Yale, knowing explanation. When I graduated from absolutely nothing whatsoever about Carrollton High School, few in my it. Surprise, surprise, when not only town had ever considered going out of did I receive an early acceptance to Yale state to college—in fact, I was the first (and also Stanford, as it turned out), student from Carrollton ever to take but I also received a telegram (the first the SATs. Largely at the encouragement I had ever seen) from the Yale football of my family, I decided to apply to coach encouraging me to attend and several of the more popular national play football. The thought of playing universities, with a particular interest football at an exotic institution like Yale in Stanford (rather, in California). was just too enticing, although one However, since I suspected the odds of Dan Devine’s coaches also called Yale’s Old Number 71 THE PATH TO ANN ARBOR 31 shook my academic confidence to we stopped off in New Mexico, where top-secret program intended to develop the ground. However, after a shaky I had a summer appointment as a and test rocket engines powered by start, I managed to adjust to both the visiting research physicist at the Los nuclear fission reactors. During the intellectual and social rigors of Old Alamos Scientific Laboratory. mid-1960s, it was felt that after the Blue—although football lasted only successful completion of the Apollo two years. In 1964, I graduated summa Los Alamos program to land a man on the moon, cum laude in electrical engineering a manned mission to the planet Mars and accepted an Atomic Energy In the mid-1960s, atomic energy was would follow rapidly, perhaps as early Commission fellowship to attend still shrouded in top-secret security. as 1980. Many scientists believed that graduate school at Caltech (turning In fact, I was required to qualify for chemical rockets were inadequate for down Stanford for the second time, an A.E.C. “Q” (top-secret) security manned planetary missions because which was later to become a regular clearance even to receive an Atomic of the radiation exposure associated occurrence as I rose up the academic Energy Commission Fellowship. with extended space flight. Hence ladder). Needless to say, security was an even the nation had launched a major A bit of explanation about higher priority at Los Alamos, where program to develop nuclear rockets my undergraduate education is the town adjacent to the Laboratory for future interplanetary missions at appropriate here: A Yale “engineering” housing the families of lab employees Los Alamos. The Rover Program was degree is a bit of an oxymoron. In fact, had only been opened to the public quite successful in designing, building, all undergraduates at Yale were not a few years earlier. In fact, families and static-testing a sequence of nuclear only required to take a broad liberal of visiting scientists lived in WW II rocket engines at the Nevada test arts major, but also required to select a vintage barracks dating from the days site—the Kiwi engine rated at 1,000 minor area of concentration in addition of the Manhattan Project. megawatts, the Phoebus engine to their major. Since the minor and major concentrations had to be in different areas, I selected psychology as my minor area, with a specialization in child psychology. Many years later I would realize the fortuitous nature of this minor concentration since this training was of critical importance in my various roles in academic administration—not so much for understanding students, but rather for understanding the faculty (stimulus, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (1964) Our Los Alamos apartment response, reward, reinforcement...). So leaving Yale, the Ivy League, and Even though we spent only a rated at 5,000 megawatts (five times the East Coast behind, I headed west, summer at Los Alamos, it proved to the power of today’s nuclear power stopping in Missouri where Anne and I be one of those formative experiences plants), and eventually the NERVA were married, following her graduation with important later consequences. I rocket engine (for Nuclear Energy for from the University of Missouri, and worked in a technical group supporting Rocket Vehicle Applications). I worked then heading for California. But first the Rover nuclear rocket program, a on the test programs for these nuclear 32 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

rocket engines, acquiring in the process I left the Laboratory. This routine the Rose Bowl, when the skies were a strong interest both in nuclear power of recording my work—and my blue and the San Gabriel Mountains and spaceflight. thoughts—in bound notebooks became ringing the city stood out sharp and a habit that continued throughout my research as a faculty member and then later as an academic administrator. Today our bookshelves are filled with these notebooks, accumulating at a rate of several each year. There was another consequence of the Los Alamos work. During the 1960s, as the United States became more heavily involved in the Vietnam war, the conditions for deferment California Institute of Technology The Phoebus Nuclear Rocket Engine from the draft became more and more restrictive. Because I held a Q security clearance and had had access to classified nuclear technology at Los Alamos, I received a deferment from the military draft because of critical skills and sensitive knowledge. In fact, after another summer research assignment in 1971 at the AEC’s other nuclear weapons laboratory at Livermore, I found that even my international travel became tightly Thomas Laboratory at Caltech restricted.

Caltech clear. It was quite a contrast when we arrived in late August in the midst After our summer experience at of a smog alert that continued for Los Alamos, Anne and I returned weeks, blotting out the mountains and to Missouri to pile the rest of our trapping the heat. belongings in our VW, and then off Although Pasadena was an The NERVA nuclear rocket we went again across the country important chapter in our family to Pasadena where I had an A.E.C. history—Anne’s early career in Since nuclear rocket development fellowship for graduate study at management and merchandising, my was classified as a secret project, I was Caltech. Like many others, we had M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, the birth of required to record all of my work in formed our image of Pasadena and the two Duderstadt daughters, Susan bound notebooks, which were then Caltech from the television broadcasts and Kathy—it spanned a remarkably locked in a safe each evening when of the Tournament of Roses Parade and short period of only four years. Part of THE PATH TO ANN ARBOR 33 the reason was the Vietnam War. The three years, my dissertation advisors particularly enthusiastic about visiting threat of the draft always lurking in the suggested that I might want to spend Michigan to explore the opportunity, background provided strong an additional year as a postdoctoral particularly in the late winter cold. I fellow, broadening my research interests. This was also the traditional path toward a faculty position at Caltech. With this possibility in mind, I applied for and won a prestigious A.E.C. Postdoctoral Fellowship for the year 1968, with a generous stipend of $1,000 per month, roughly three times that of my graduate student support. We felt so flush that we rented a small house right across the street The Duderstadts’ Pasadena house from Caltech with wonderful gardens (including two large avocado trees that would periodically rain fruit on the Jim’s Caltech commencement roof of the house). Ironically, this house is used today by Caltech as the office for its university treasurer. Although I was interested in completing my postdoctoral appointment before considering more permanent employment, with remaining on the faculty at Caltech a definite possibility, I agreed to two job Our daughters in Pasadena (1968) interviews at the request of my Caltech faculty advisors: UC-Berkeley and motivation for graduate students to Michigan. The Berkeley interview was (1968) The UM Department of Nuclear Engineering complete their degrees as rapidly hosted by the chair of their Department as possible. But it was also a time of of Nuclear Engineering, Hans Mark, ample job opportunities, with the space who was later to become Secretary of agreed to do so as a favor to my thesis and defense programs in high gear, and the Air Force and then President of the advisor, who portrayed Ann Arbor as universities continuing to expand their University of Texas. “nirvana,” although not on the gray, faculties. The Michigan interview was more drizzling day in March when I visited. I took advantage of Caltech’s highly problematic. To be sure, Michigan’s However, Anne had grown weary interdisciplinary character by earning Department of Nuclear Engineering of the smog and traffic of Southern my degrees in subjects spanning was not only the first such program California and longed to return to a range of topics in physics and established in this country, but also it the Midwest. While I was flying back mathematics. Since I had managed ranked among the top such programs to California after the interview, the to complete my M.S. and Ph.D. in in the world. Despite this, I was not department chairman called Anne 34 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

and told her they were going to make an offer. By the time I arrived back in Pasadena, Anne had already made up her mind. The Duderstadts were headed to Michigan.

On to Michigan

Although we had accepted Michigan’s The Phoenix Memorial Laboratory Lecturing in nuclear engineering offer in spring, 1968, I still had to associate, and then full professor of finish the year at Caltech as an A.E.C. (a Santa Ana condition) and boarded nuclear engineering. My Department of Postdoctoral Fellow. In November I a plane for Michigan. We arrived in a Nuclear Engineering was ideally suited was able to stop by Michigan on my sub-zero blizzard and moved into the to the generalist approach of a Caltech way to Washington to receive the Mark Northwood IV housing complex on education. It was small, research- Mills Prize for the outstanding Ph.D. the University of Michigan’s North intensive, highly interdisciplinary, and dissertation in nuclear science. While in Campus. almost totally focused on graduate Ann Arbor I learned that the University Interestingly enough, during education. Its reputation allowed it to was just completing some new the same week another new staff attract both outstanding faculty and housing units for married students, member arrived at the University: Bo graduate students of unusual breadth and that new faculty members were Schembechler. I would later joke with and ability. Hence, it was well suited occasionally permitted to rent some Bo that the personnel department must to my roving intellectual interests, first of these townhouse apartments until have mixed the assignments for the two in nuclear systems analysis, then to they found more permanent residences. of us; I suggested that perhaps Bo was nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, This seemed like the simplest solution supposed to teach nuclear engineering, on to laser-driven thermonuclear to the housing question, and so, and I had been hired to coach football. fusion, next to supercomputers, and in December, 1968, we loaded our For the next decade, I climbed the so on. In the early stages, most of my furniture and our VW onto a moving usual academic ladder, progressing work was highly theoretical, requiring van in the 90 degree heat in Pasadena through the ranks as assistant, only a blackboard and chalk. However my interests later evolved into using very large computers (so-called supercomputers) to simulate highly complex phenomena such as nuclear fission and thermonuclear fusion. Throughout this period I usually had five or six Ph.D. students working with me of comparable age who became closer friends than most of my faculty colleagues. Northwood IV apartments (1969) ON TO MICHIGAN 35

In 1971 we returned to California, to discuss my research with several Both the quality and quantity of my first for a brief period where I served Michigan colleagues with offices across research and teaching were sufficient as a visiting faculty member at the hall who had served as consultants to propel me rapidly through the Caltech and then for several months to KMS Fusion. academic ranks, with promotion to as a Visiting Research Physicist at While many university faculty Associate Professor in 1972 and to the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. members focus on teaching only a few full Professor in 1975. I soon began to The Livermore experience was courses closely related to their area realize, however, that the traditional interesting from several perspectives. of expertise, I rarely taught the same faculty role, while enjoyable for the I was working in the top-secret Q course twice in a row. As a result, I not moment, would probably not hold my Division, a group trying to develop only ended up teaching most of the attention for the longer term. Indeed, I the new technology of laser-driven undergraduate and graduate always had great envy and admiration for my more senior colleagues who had been able to maintain both scholarly interest and momentum through the several decades of their careers. Perhaps it was my field of theoretical physics and mathematics that frequently led to burnout at an early age, or perhaps it was just a character flaw. Whatever the reason, I soon found my concentration and attention beginning to wander to other activities in the University as I began to be drawn into faculty service and eventually administrative activities. Fortunately, even though my traditional faculty career as a teacher and scholar only spanned the As an author decade of 1970s, my research activities As a researcher and publications, Ph.D. production courses offered by our department, (supervising 22 Ph.D.s), and writing thermonuclear fusion. Ironically, but I designed and developed many of (six textbooks and 60 research papers) a small company in Ann Arbor, KMS them. I enjoyed creating new courses built sufficient scholarly reputation to Fusion, was also trying to develop and curricula, including one of the be recognized in later years with several this technology, in direct competition first courses taught at the University of the nation’s top awards, including with the A.E.C. scientists at Livermore on microcomputers, then the Apple the E. O. Lawrence Award of the U. S. and Los Alamos. The classified and II! Since I usually produced copious Department of Energy (the nation’s competitive nature of the work led lecture notes for each of these courses, top award for nuclear research), the to some bizarre situations in the it was natural that I would soon be Arthur Holly Compton Prize of the subsequent months. For example, on drawn to writing textbooks to expand American Nuclear Award (the top one occasion I found myself forbidden my pedagogical efforts. award for teaching in nuclear energy), 36 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

the College of Engineering. All of these experiences would serve me well as I moved into leadership roles during the 1980s.

The Decline and Fall of the College of Engineering

As I noted earlier, the College of Engineering had already entered a state of decline during the 1960s, as it apparently lost favor with a University administration committed to Great Society themes (e.g., the health professions, social services, and K-12 education) rather than science and technology. The erosion in University support became even more serious Receiving the National Medal of Technology from President Bush (1991) in the 1970s. While the rest of the University experienced a compound and the National Engineer of the Year Nuclear Engineering. I had developed growth of +7% per year during this award from the National Society of a keen sense for not only being able decade, the College of Engineering was Professional Engineers. Finally, in to recognize excellence, but knowing cut at an average rate of -2% per year. 1991 I was honored with the National first hand the commitment it takes to During this decade, the instructional Medal of Technology (the nation’s top achieve it. Second, both my education faculty of the College dropped from award for career-long achievement in and scholarly career had been in 302 to 232 full-time-equivalent (FTE) engineering and technology), presented environments characterized by unusual faculty. Yet these cuts were in the face by President Bush in a White House intellectual breadth and creativity of a 44% growth in enrollments during Rose Garden Ceremony. with exceptionally strong scientific this decade, driving instructional loads There were several key features foundations. Although occasionally from 12 FYES/FTE in 1970 to 17.5 of this first phase of my career that I would later hear the complaint that FYES/FTE in 1980. Put another way, would have an impact later on my “Duderstadt is a physicist, not an the College effectively lost 30% of its role as an academic leader. Perhaps engineer,” in truth I was fortunate University support during the 1970s, most significant was that both my in being able to span both pure and leading to what would later be called educational experiences and later my applied scientific fields. And finally, my “the Engineering Gap” of roughly 70 faculty career had been associated with career had been spent in institutions faculty positions or an effective funding institutions that were clearly among with exceptionally strong programs gap of $7 million per year, relative to the very best in the world—Yale, in research and graduate education, other campus units. Caltech, and the UM Department of a focus that had been lost in much of THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 37

How might one explain such attention to the impact of its budget instead on undergraduate education. devastating erosion in University decisions, since it continued to fund For example, Ph.D. production in support? Certainly it was not due units such as the Schools of Education, the College dropped in half over the to any weakness in state support, Dentistry, and Natural Resources decade, from 115 per year in 1972 to since throughout the 1970s, state at generous levels even as their 51 per year in 1980 (and fell far behind appropriations continued to increase at enrollments dropped precipitously peer institutions such as Illinois, an adequate pace. In part some of the throughout the 1970s. Although there Purdue, MIT, and Stanford that were blame must rest with the University was a perception that enrollments in graduating 150 to 200 Ph.D.s per administration, which made the health the College dropped dramatically, year). Although the faculty had grown sciences a clear priority. Schools such thereby triggering the budget cuts, substantially during the 1960s, many as Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, in reality engineering enrollments of the new professors had been hired Pharmacy, and Public Health were dropped only very slightly (less than primarily for their instructional skills funded year after year with generous 8%) between 1970 and 1972-roughly rather than their scholarly abilities. increases. The School of Dentistry the same enrollment dip experienced Furthermore, during the 1960s and benefited from the state funding of a by most other academic units during continuing into the 1970s, the College new, massive complex (ironically at this period. Furthermore, Engineering invested heavily in building its own just that moment when the impact of enrollments then began to steadily Department of Humanities, with fluoride began to reduce the needs for climb throughout the remainder of instruction not only in areas such as dental care). Medicine also was in a the decade, swelling over 44% to 5,600 technical communication (rhetoric) favored position, with a new hospital students, while the enrollments of other but also in literature, history, and rising to the top of the University’s well-funded schools such as Education philosophy. Engineering students priority list for state capital outlay and Dentistry dropped by as much as were required to take their humanities dollars. Nursing and Pharmacy a factor of two or more. Whether the courses from this department rather received substantial budget increases University made a conscious effort to than enrolling in the courses offered to fund new graduate programs, while reduce the funding for Engineering (as by the University’s College of additional funds were shifted to Public some believe) or whether the central Literature, Science, and Arts. In fact, Health to compensate for the loss of administration was simply asleep at the Department of Humanities was the federal support. the wheel is a debatable issue. But only academic unit in UM Engineering To some degree, the shift in the result was that the College of to experience growth during the 1970s, University priorities away from Engineering suffered serious declines growing by 20% to 30 faculty members science and engineering and into the in faculty morale, research productivity, by 1980 (and making it one of the health sciences was an understandable and reputation as a consequence of its largest departments in the College). reflection of shifting national priorities, neglect. Finally, the leadership of the College with the end of the Apollo space Yet, here, it is important to was simply not an effective advocate program, the withdrawal from an understand that the College of during the decades of the 1960s and unpopular war in Vietnam, the Engineering was also partly a victim 1970s. Whether because of their environmental movement, and a of its own behavior. The impact of lack of awareness of the serious of decade of student protest targeting this shift in University priorities was the situation, their temperament, or areas such as defense research. But compounded by an internal shift in their inadequate effort in making the it is also the case that the University College priorities away from research case for the College, Deans Stephen administration was simply not paying and graduate education to focus Attwood, Gordon Van Wylen, and 38 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

David Ragone were unable to persuade million match from state funds to Campus programs had been quite the University’s central administration build a four-building complex that modest, and the isolation on the North to provide adequate funding for the would be sufficient to move all of the Campus was a necessary inconvenience College during their tenures. departments to the North Campus. for obtaining higher quality space.1 The College faced other challenges In this four-building plan, the largest Ragone was smooth, worldly, and during the 1970s, foremost among them building, Engineering Building I, some would even say charming— their urgent need for adequate facilities would house Mechanical Engineering valuable attributes for successful fund- for its research and teaching activities. and Applied Mechanics, Civil raising. With Buildings I, II, III, and IV For all effective purposes, the North Engineering, Industrial and Operations on the drawing boards, and a major Campus move was stalled, dead in the Engineering, Humanities, and the fund-raising campaign in the works, water. College administration. Engineering there was optimism that the College Building II (the only building which would finally complete its three-decade was actually built as the Dow long quest to move to the North The North Campus Move Building) would contain Chemical and Campus by the end of the 1970s. In fact, Metallurgical Engineering. Engineering when I was hired by the University, When Dean Gordon Van Wylen Building III would be for Electrical and both the dean and other faculty told resigned to accept the presidency Computer Engineering and Nuclear me to be sure to find a house near the of Hope College, the University of Engineering, and Engineering Building North Campus so I would not have Michigan, after a brief search, named IV would be for Naval Architecture to drive too far to work. Being more David Ragone, the dean of engineering (with a possible new towing tank on pragmatic souls, Anne and I decided to at Dartmouth, to be the next dean of the the North Campus). ignore this advice and bought a home College. Ragone had been a consultant Here it should be acknowledged on the south side of Ann Arbor near the to Chrysler on automobile emissions that there was considerable sentiment best schools. control where he had become friends within the College against completing Ragone immediately hired a team with George Heubner, a Chrysler vice- the North Campus move. Although of expensive fund-raising consultants president and husband of Gertrude the deteriorating quality of space who began to identify prospects for Heubner, a University Regent. Heubner in West and East Engineering was a the upcoming fund-raising campaign brought Ragone to the attention of major concern, many faculty members President Robben Fleming and Vice believed it important to remain President Allen Smith, and after a brief in renovated space on the Central search, he was named dean. Campus close to their colleagues in Ragone was given the mandate to LS&A (particularly physics, chemistry, launch a major fund-raising campaign and mathematics). Furthermore, many that would be key to completing the faculty members and students enjoyed move of the College to the North the ambiance of the South University Campus. The University offered the area and worried about the detached, following deal: if the College would sterile character of the North Campus. raise $12 million in private support Ragone and his colleagues in the for the North Campus complex (out College administration dismissed these of a $20 million total campaign goal), concerns, arguing that the interaction Jim Knott and Dave Ragone announcing the University would seek a $18 between the College and other Central the Campaign THE NORTH CAMPUS MOVE 39 aimed at raising a total of $20 million, The Towsleys had long been among The trials and tribulations of the of which $12 million would be the the University’s most generous donors, North Campus move were made even College’s share of the North Campus and after Ragone’s visit, they contacted more difficult by the decision of the move. A retired General Motors the Dow family and arranged for a $5 central administration to bump the executive, Jim Knott, agreed to chair the million gift to fund the construction of Replacement Hospital Project ahead campaign volunteer effort. Yet, despite a new building on the North Campus of Engineering in priority for state the initial optimism, the campaign was for Chemical and Metallurgical funding, essentially backing away from largely a bust. Part of the difficulty was Engineering (so-called Building II their earlier commitment to Ragone. that the campaign was launched just in the original plan). In return, the Although the State Legislature passed as the nation was entering a recession building was named the Herbert H. a resolution in 1977 stating that it triggered by the OPEC oil embargo Dow Laboratory. This would turn would fund 60% of the $30 million and the rise in energy prices. But it out to be essentially the only major project when the College had raised also soon became clear that Ragone accomplishment of the decade-long its $12 million, the University pushed really did not enjoy fund-raising, and it fund-raising effort. Although the this aside and sought instead a state became increasingly hard to get him to College claimed raising $20 million, contribution of $180 million toward solicit gifts from donors. His personal only $8.6 million was for construction, the $300 million hospital construction commitments to various corporate and over $3 million was in deferred project (a project second in magnitude boards and advisory committees kept gifts (e.g., future bequests). Less than only to the Mackinac Bridge in the him away from campus for extended $3 million was raised for endowment, state’s history). Not surprisingly, this periods. Hence he appointed a probably the most urgent need of the mammoth request not only sidetracked long-time faculty colleague, Maury College. the Engineering North Campus projects Sinnott, to serve as associate dean for but effectively eliminated all state administration and delegated to him support for University capital projects the operational responsibilities for the for almost a decade. With inflation dean’s office. rapidly eroding the funds raised Although the campaign was launched during the Campaign, the College with a flourish, the deepening recession decided to direct the entire amount and the wanderings of the dean soon (and then some) to the construction slowed activity to a crawl. After several of the Dow building (Building II) and years it soon became apparent that only defer indefinitely any further effort a miracle would save the fund-raising to continue with the rest of the four- effort from embarrassment. But one building project. of the true angels of the University, Hence the College approached Dr. Harry Towsley, came to the rescue. the 1980s with only a very modest The business manager of the College, beachhead on the North Campus: Harold Harger, suggested that Ragone several research buildings, the Phoenix drop by to see Dr. Towsley, hat in hand, Laboratory and Institute for Science to talk about the faltering campaign. and Technology (both of which really Towsley’s wife, Margaret, was the reported to the Vice President for granddaughter of Herbert H. Dow, the Provost Billy Frye breaks ground for the Research), a modest concrete block Dow Building while Dean Ragone watches on, founder of the Dow Chemical Company. in the best of Chaplinesque styles… building for Aerospace Engineering, 40 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

another small building for the water Revolution College only compounded this sense resources program (hopefully named of detachment, since the blunt style Engineering Building 1-A), and the As instructional loads soared and the of the dean’s administrators and their construction site for the Dow building. faculty struggled with inadequate abrasive defense of the status quo laboratories and classrooms and further isolated the dean’s ofﬁce from the inconvenience of Central the concerns of the faculty. Campus-North Campus split, the One by one, the College’s most research activity and reputation of outstanding junior faculty members the College declined, and faculty began to look elsewhere. Yet even as morale plummeted. Particularly this attrition accelerated, the leadership frustrated were younger faculty at of the College seemed unconcerned. the assistant professor and associate Typical was the experience of professor level who increasingly William Powers, the rising star of the viewed the inadequate environment Aerospace Department, who when for teaching and research as harmful he visited Ragone to point out the to their careers. Beyond the burden vast discrepancy between a recent offer from Ford and his current The Aerospace Building of inadequate facilities and crushing teaching loads, they also had to compensation in the College, was struggle against an apathetic cadre of simply told, “Well, I would take the senior faculty, many of whom were Ford job if I were you.” And so Powers quite inactive in research, and yet did, eventually becoming Ford’s vice resisted any change. The absence of president for research and director of rewards and incentives that recognized the Ford Scientiﬁc Laboratory! excellence and achievement rather than The discouragement of the junior simply age and rank was particularly faculty did not begin with Ragone and frustrating. the 1970s, but actually can be traced The leadership of the College back to the 1960s and the earlier tenure contributed to the low morale of junior of Van Wylen. In interviews with many faculty. Ragone’s extensive travel soon faculty members, it became clear that Engineering Building 1-A convinced the faculty that he would the lack of encouragement and support be an absentee dean, with little direct of junior faculty had been a problem It is perhaps ironic that the activities involvement in College or University in the College for many years. Both the of my own department and my own activities. Ragone once observed that College administration and several of teaching and research were conducted “In any political system, especially the department chairs were portrayed entirely on the North Campus. In fact, I around universities, power belong to as quite discouraging to junior faculty, drove into Central Campus only a few those who take it.” Unfortunately for especially in some of the larger times each year for various committee the College, he chose not to follow this departments where faculty attrition meetings, at least until I began to be advice. was particularly high. drawn into University service activities Ragone’s decision to delegate to From this perspective, the isolation in the late 1970s. his associate dean most decisions of my own department, Nuclear involving detailed activities in the Engineering, and its activities on the REVOLUTION 41

North Campus, far from the rest of the that he expected to be announced that The State of the College, College and the dean, was a distinct weekend as the next president of Case advantage, since most of our faculty, Western Reserve University and would Circa 1980 including its senior members, were be gone within a few months. Needless quite active in research and graduate to say, the meeting unraveled after that. By 1980, two decades of inadequate education. But even here it is worth (We later learned that several of our University support and weak noting that the malaise in the College colleagues had been contacted by the leadership had taken their toll. As and the absence of recognition for CWRU presidential search committee noted earlier, University support achievement and excellence took its about Ragone and had given him rave had declined by over 30%, creating toll. Each year across the College, reviews, primarily to make certain that a funding gap amounting to roughly senior faculty members were paid he was soon on his way.) 70 faculty positions (or $7 million in more and more, while junior faculty Any near-term hopes of relief General Fund budget, compared to members fell farther and farther from Ragone’s departure were soon an existing budget of $10 million). behind. It was clear that senior faculty dashed when the University appointed The North Campus move was stalled had benefited not only from the more Hansford Farris as interim dean. in midstream, with only two small generous University support of the Although Farris was well respected, he departments completely on North College in the 1950s and early 1960s, was close to retirement and unlikely Campus (nuclear engineering and but also from a salary program that to challenge the status quo, leaving aeronautical engineering), and many tended to reward years in rank rather Sinnott in place to continue to run the faculty were forced to commute back than productivity and achievement. College. However, even as the search and forth between their research labs By the late 1970s, the situation had for a new dean was launched, the new and their classrooms. An apathetic become so desperate that a small provost of the University, Billy E. Frye, and ineffective College administration group of the most active younger had the wisdom also to appoint an had largely ignored the plummeting faculty finally agreed that something external review committee to assess the morale of the faculty, and many of must be done. This group, consisting state of the College. This committee’s our most outstanding junior faculty primarily of younger professors at the work provided strong evidence of just members had left for more rewarding, peak of their academic careers (and how far the College had declined in the appreciative, and supportive including Charles Vest, Scott Fogler, quality of its environment for education environments. The College leadership Dave Sonstegaard, John Meyers, and, and research and how damaging that had compounded these difficulties of course, me), were appalled by the had been to its reputation. first in the 1960s by hiring a large absence of leadership, by a dean’s office number of faculty who were active that seemed unable (or uninterested) in only in teaching and then later shifting the decline of the College and the loss resources into a growing Department of of some of its most valuable younger Humanities at the expense of our core faculty. We decided to address the disciplinary programs. matter head-on by meeting directly The decimation of the junior faculty with Ragone. The meeting was a ranks, the source of our next generation bizarre one, in Ragone’s large office of faculty, was compounded by a large in West Engineering. Before we could cadre of senior faculty, inactive in get very far into our bill of particulars, scholarship or sponsored research, that Ragone informed us in confidence not only resisted change but thwarted 42 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

attempts to achieve excellence. In reward excellence, but moreover many cases this “impacted wisdom actively discouraged innovation group” had not only lost the capacity to and entrepreneurial behavior; and recognize excellence—the best people the legacy of two decades of unwise and programs across the nation—but decisions tending to emphasize areas actually felt threatened and resisted of little relevance to excellence in attempts to hire people better than the core of engineering education they were. The College had fallen and scholarship (e.g., humanities far behind other leading engineering instruction in Engineering rather than schools in the standard measures of LS&A). quality: its sponsored research volume Put more bluntly, two decades of per faculty member had dropped to benign neglect by the University of only a fraction of those of leading Michigan’s central administration institutions; its Ph.D. production had had driven the decline and fall of the dropped to only 25% of that of peer College to the point where it no longer engineering schools. Its representation had the capacity to achieve excellence. in national organizations such as the It had lost not simply the will, but National Academy of Engineering was even the understanding and desire to essentially nonexistent. attract, retain, and develop outstanding The challenges facing the College faculty. Bold action was necessary if were formidable. Engineering the College was to reclaim its historical education was facing a new era in legacy for leadership in engineering which major curriculum changes education. would be necessary to accommodate new ﬁelds such as manufacturing engineering, robotics, bioengineering, and microelectronics as well as new tools such as computers and networks. The competition for the best faculty and students would be severe. And yet beyond this, the College faced the unique challenges of inadequate University support: a stalled move to the North Campus trapping its programs in woefully inadequate facilities and dividing its faculty; an aging faculty that had lost the capacity to regenerate and improve itself; a frustrated and increasingly restive junior faculty; a culture that not only failed to recognize and 43

Chapter 4

A Late Evening Phone Call

Late one evening in the spring of Perhaps because of the naiveté and 1981, our phone rang. It was Billy E. brash conﬁdence of youth, I quickly Frye, provost of the University, with a accepted Frye’s offer. After all, for the request: “Jim, I would like to ask you last several years I had been one of to accept an appointment as dean of a number of junior faculty members the College of Engineering…” Both complaining loud and bitterly about Anne and I were surprised (perhaps the deplorable state of the College. shocked is a more apt description). Now my bet had been called. I had To be sure, both of us had been quite been challenged with an opportunity to active in University affairs for a decade. actually do something about it. I had served on, been elected to, and Yet, although a relatively unknown chaired numerous University-wide quantity to the College of Engineering committees. Anne had also been quite and clearly inexperienced as an active as a leader in various University- administrator, in other ways I was wide organizations such as the Faculty exceptionally well prepared for this Women’s Club. role. In fact, during the late 1970s I had Yet we were taken back by the worked closely with the leadership request to become dean of an academic of the University across a broad unit with over 300 faculty and staff, array of complex issues, acquiring 6,000 students, and a budget of $20 both experience and knowledge and million. My administrative experience building important relationships that was essentially zero. I had never been would prove invaluable in the years to a department chairman. In fact, I did come. not even have my own secretary, and I had never supervised anybody other than Ph.D. students. Furthermore, I A Brief Career as a Campus was only thirty-seven and relatively unknown inside the College. After Politician all, I had spent my academic career at Michigan entirely on the North Most faculty members are loath to Campus, separated from the bulk of become involved in University service College activities and faculty on the activities. After all, we are attracted Central Campus. to academic careers because of a love for teaching and scholarship, not 44 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

administration and bureaucracy. Yet I research universities. Of course I and it was through these meetings also realized early that most scholars had been quite actively involved that we began to understand the real in my particular areas of theoretical in department activities, chairing nature of Ragone’s leadership. I also physics and abstract mathematics our curriculum, reactor safety, and had the opportunity to develop an had relatively short productive department review committees. But unusually broad understanding of the careers–typically only a decade or by the mid-1970s I had graduated to instructional activities of the College of two–before they lost the creativity that College-wide activities, first chairing Engineering across the full spectrum frequently accompanies youth and fell the College’s Curriculum Committee of its programs. It was through this into the ruts that had trapped their and then serving on several department experience that I also became better predecessors. Most of my best research review committees (including acquainted with the faculty of the was already behind me, at least in mechanical engineering, mathematics, College, since as chairman of the my current fields of interest. Hence and naval architecture). Curriculum Committee, I would have my choice was to either broaden my Like most younger faculty to appear at each faculty meeting to academic interests (which I did, into members, I tended to approach each propose a series of motions associated areas such as computer simulation), assignment with an activist agenda. with our instructional programs. None shift into other areas of scholarly For example, when I chaired the of these were particularly memorable, interest (which I also did, into writing curriculum committee for the College except for the time that I had to make textbooks), or explore other careers, of Engineering, we eliminated half the presentation the day after breaking including entering the dreaded swamp of the courses in the College catalog my ankle in a challenge basketball of academic administration. on the grounds that they were game with our undergraduates. rarely taught. Not surprisingly, the College of Engineering Activities resistance to such actions was intense University-Wide Activities as senior faculty members fought Actually, although I did have some tooth and nail against any changes. My involvement with broader interest in academic administration, Yet the committee was insistent that University-wide issues began with it was largely closed off to me. My “truth in advertising” demanded that my election to the Executive Board department was a small one, and we the catalog reflect what was really of the Rackham School of Graduate already benefited from a relatively taught, not what advertised a faculty Studies. Here I should note that the young and effective chairman in member’s past efforts or future wishes. Rackham Executive Board, whose Glenn Knoll. (In fact I had chaired the In much the same spirit, my efforts on members are elected by the entire search committee that resulted in his the mathematics committee to insist faculty of the University, is one of appointment, after Dean Ragone had that mathematics courses should be the very few faculty bodies with real first called me to note that although taught by mathematicians rather than executive powers, in the sense that it is I was probably qualified to also be by engineering faculty eventually charged with making actual decisions a candidate, at age 35 I was still too led to a strengthening of the applied rather than simply offering advice. The young. Little did he suspect that two mathematics program at Michigan. creation of new graduate programs, years later I would move into his office These early experiences also gave the closure of old programs, the instead.) me my first taste of interacting with awarding of fellowships and faculty The alternative was to become more more senior academic administrators. research grants, and the evaluation actively involved in the myriad faculty Each term we would invite the dean to of the quality of various graduate service activities that characterize meet with the Curriculum Committee, programs were typical responsibilities A BRIEF CAREER AS A CAMPUS POLITICIAN 45 of this board, which would meet for an budget officer of the University, the committee, including the policies for afternoon each week with the Dean of AAAC could get into almost anything discontinuing academic programs, the 1 the Graduate School, Alfred Sussman. having to do with the University. evaluation of faculty teaching, more I look back on this experience When I first joined the AAAC, general faculty evaluation, and several as one of the more intellectually Frank Rhodes was Vice President budget-related issues. Although the stimulating and rewarding of my for Academic Affairs, but in 1976 committee responded to any requests faculty service activities, since many he left to accept the presidency at from the provost, it also had the 2 of the University’s most distinguished Cornell University . After a brief mandate to generate its own issues for faculty members were elected to serve period, during which the dean of study. on the Rackham Executive Board, the Rackham Graduate School, Al It was in this spirit that the AAAC and the issues it considered were Sussman, served as Interim Vice launched a major study to evaluate the both fascinating and consequential. President, Harold Shapiro was quality of the research environment on It stimulated me to think more appointed to succeed Rhodes. Shapiro campus, including controversial issues broadly about the University and had been chairman of the Economics such as indirect cost recovery and higher education, while developing Department, but more key to his new cost-sharing as well as administrative both a better understanding of and role was the fact that he had served and technical support of research relationships with academic programs as chairman of the University’s and faculty incentives for generating across the University. Because of the Budget Priorities Committee, a joint sponsored funding. This entire study executive nature of our activities, faculty-administration committee with was a bit sensitive since it overlapped we frequently met with deans and responsibilities for strategic budget several vice-presidential areas. department chairs from various planning. Furthermore, Shapiro had Although we had strong support academic units. Here I should also note long led the effort to analyze economic from the provost, we were somewhat that I served on this body through two models of the Michigan economy, threatening to both the vice presidential important transitions, first as Harold and hence he was well aware of the areas of research and finance. Shapiro succeeded Frank Rhodes as challenges that the state would face Nevertheless we plowed ahead, provost of the University, and then later in the years ahead. However I should stirring up considerable interest, and as Shapiro succeeded Robben Fleming also note that he was optimistic–at least releasing a hard-hitting report warning as president of the University. when meeting with the AAAC–that the University that it needed to move But I had an even better ringside seat any decline in state funding of the quickly to address the deteriorating of the provost’s office, since I was asked University would be short-lived, and state of the research environment before to serve on and later chair the faculty that the 1980s would be a decade it lost both top faculty and research advisory committee to the provost. The of strong state support (thereby funding. This was an issue that I would Academic Affairs Advisory Committee demonstrating once again that the state continue to keep front-and-center (AAAC) was a committee of the of the economy is as unpredictable as both during my tenure as dean of University’s Senate Assembly (the the weather). engineering and eventually as provost faculty senate), charged with advising After a year as a member of the and president. In fact, I believe that it the provost and undertaking studies AAAC, I was asked to chair the was largely because of the persistence on various issues of concern to the committee, which I did for the next and effectiveness of this effort that Office of Academic Affairs. Since the two years, bridging the transition from we were able not only to improve the provost at Michigan was not only the Rhodes to Shapiro. During this period research environment on campus, chief academic officer but also the chief a broad array of issues came before our but also to propel Michigan during 46 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

the 1980s up the ladder from eighth My final service assignment as a I was the only internal candidate, to eventually first in the nation in faculty member occurred just prior to with Bill Brown, president of ERIM sponsored research activities, a position being selected as dean of engineering. (and a former professor of electrical of leadership that the university was Two years before I had been elected as engineering at Michigan) and able to maintain throughout the 1990s. a member of the Senate Assembly, the Robert White, chairman of electrical After three years on the AAAC University’s faculty governance. The engineering at Stanford, the external (overlapping somewhat with my month prior to my selection as dean, I candidates. It was natural to assume service on the Rackham Executive had been nominated for membership at this point that the University Board), I was asked to serve on the on the Senate Assembly Committee administration would go outside, and Budget Priorities Committee (BPC). on University Affairs (SACUA), the White seemed like the logical choice. This joint faculty-administrative executive body for faculty governance. As a finalist, I went through the committee was to play a particularly At the time I would probably have usual process of interviews with Bill important role as the University viewed my career as a faculty politician Frye and finally with the Regents. entered a period of financial stress as just about complete had I been able (Here my only memory is that while during the late 1970s and early 1980s to serve on SACUA and eventually be the Regents were courteous, they were with the weakening of the Michigan elected as its chair–the chair of faculty not particularly attentive. In fact, I economy. Although the BPC reported governance at the University. However, can recall that one Regent spent the to the provost, it advised all of the fate was to intervene in the form of entire interview reading the sports executive officers of the University Bill Frye’s phone call in March of 1981 pages of the Michigan Daily, perhaps on budget strategies. It was delegated offering me the position of dean. prophetic of my future dealings with executive authority during the years the University Regents as president.) of economic retrenchment, reviewing At this point, the search moved into academic and administrative units for The Selection of a New the deliberation phase, and I put any major budget reductions including thought of it aside, assuming that possible discontinuance. In fact, I was Dean of Engineering they would never appoint someone as asked to chair one such review for young or inexperienced as I was. the University Extension Service, a Aside from a brief meeting with Yet looking back over these various committee that included hard-nosed the external review committee, my roles, assignments, and responsibilities, administrators such as Gil Whitaker, involvement with the search for Dave it is clear that my experience, Dean of the School of Business Ragone’s successor was quite limited. knowledge, and contacts went far Administration, Tom Dunn, chair of Although I vaguely remember brief beyond those of most faculty members. Chemistry, Judy Bardwick, associate meetings with the search committee, I Although most of my teaching and dean of LS&A, and Ken Warner, a naturally assumed that the committee research activities were confined senior professor of Public Health. would view as the leading internal to the Siberia of the University’s Ironically, the student member of the candidates several of the chairs of our North Campus, my service activities review committee was Brad Canale, major departments (e.g., electrical spanned essentially all aspects of both then one of the leaders of student engineering, mechanical engineering, the College of Engineering and the government and later to become the industrial engineering). Therefore University of Michigan more generally. College of Engineering’s director of I was a bit surprised as the search At the College level, my service as development. approached its endgame phase when chair of the Curriculum Committee I learned through the grapevine that and then on several department THE SELECTION OF A NEW DEAN OF ENGINEERING 47 review committees gave me both a search committee was Bill Richart, one broad understanding of the academic of the College’s most distinguished programs as well as relationships with faculty members. Although he had no the various department chairs and idea who I was at the time, his wife, deans of the College. Betty, had worked closely with Anne in Of even more importance was my leadership roles in the Faculty Women’s service on perhaps the four most Club. When Bill asked Betty if she had important faculty bodies in the ever heard of this guy Duderstadt, she University: the Rackham Executive responded, “Well I don’t know him but Board, the Academic Affairs Advisory I sure know his wife Anne. She’d make Committee, and Budget Priorities a really great dean’s wife. Put him on Committee, and the Senate Assembly. the list!” And he did. These bodies not only exposed me to a very broad array of academic, financial, policy, and political issues across the University, but also gave me Meeting My New Bosses valuable experience in leading groups of faculty from diverse disciplines and The day after Bill Frye’s phone call backgrounds as committee chairman. Should I become dean? offering me the position of dean of Furthermore, during the five years I engineering, I met with him to discuss spent in these activities, I was able to details concerning the appointment. develop direct personal relationships But first I met with Harold Shapiro for with most of the leadership of the an hour or so at the President’s House. University, including President Harold His assessment of the weakened Shapiro, Provost Billy Frye, most of the state of the College agreed with other executive officers, and many of mine. He stressed the importance of the deans. Perhaps equally important “breaking out of the blocks fast” to were the relationships developed with deal with many of these issues, since key administrative staff in the offices he believed them to be quite critical. of the president, provost, research, He encouraged experimentation and finance, and state relations. innovation, noting that he was willing Hence, in retrospect, perhaps it is not to support unusual efforts for a single so surprising that Bill Frye made that academic unit that might be more late night phone call in March, 1981. problematic for the entire University. Yet I doubt that even Bill suspected the He cautioned that at a time of serious depth of my experience, knowledge, budgetary constraint for the University, and networking in university affairs. proposals to the central administration But he would soon find this out. would be most effective if they Actually, Anne has a far more logical included some degree of cost-sharing explanation for my selection as dean. by the College. He wanted to be kept The chairman of the faculty dean The new dean’s team in the loop on major issues, and we 48 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

that he was now my new boss, since support. Frye noted his desire to deans reported to the provost. We provide the College with relief from the began by discussing the usual details 6% cut then levied across all academic of my appointment, since in our brief units to respond to the financial conversation the night before, there had emergency triggered by declining state not been an opportunity to consider support, but noted that this might matters such as term of appointment, prove difficult. (As it turns out, we compensation, and the needs for agreed later that we would take the full resources. Most senior appointments 6% cut like all other academic units, but involve such negotiations, in which then Frye would give us the funds back the candidate tries to negotiate both to use for our own priorities.) the best possible personal situation Frye acknowledged that the as well as resources for the unit to be College was underfunded, but he led. In fact, one of the most important was uncertain of the magnitude, responsibilities of a dean, provost, suggesting it might be “as much as and president is to conduct these $1 million/year in base support.” negotiations successfully and land the (We were later to demonstrate that candidate, much like a big fish on a the real “engineering gap” was closer President Harold Shapiro light fishing line. However, I threw an to $7 million/year, or roughly 50% unusual twist into this first meeting of the current budget of the College. by ignoring the normal negotiation As challenging as this estimate was, protocols that characterize academic it was the target for budget growth leadership appointments. When and restoration that we were to set, Frye had made his offer of the dean’s achieve, and exceed over the next position, I responded immediately several years.) In discussing the current with, “Yes, I’ll do it.” As he raised the state of the College, Frye raised his possibility of negotiating the details, concern about the conscious effort by I simply said, “Bill, I trust you, and I the College over the past decade to know you will help later when I need stress undergraduate instruction at the it.” This approach threw Billy Frye off expense of graduate education and balance, but as he was later to learn, I research, an action that seemed to be would indeed be back…many, many in contrast with peer institutions. He times. was aware of the precipitous decline Our discussion then turned to the in Ph.D. productivity and sponsored task at hand. Frye asked me to come research support during the decade Provost Billy Frye (in 1992) back with a draft of a long-range and believed one of my first priorities budget plan by fall, identifying goals should be to change the course of the agreed to meet together with Bill Frye and objectives, what the College could College back to stressing research and later in the term. do on its own, what support it needed graduate education. We also agreed The meeting with Bill Frye was from the University, and possible that we needed to differentiate more more extensive for the obvious reason sources and estimates of outside among faculty roles, lightening the LISTENING AND LEARNING 49 instructional load on those who were Listening and Learning a chance and turn the reins of power most active in research. over to “the young Turks.” I could see We discussed the starting date for Thus read the memorandum circulated the smiles on their faces. my appointment as dean. Although to the faculty on the following Monday. After a brief introduction by Frye, the current interim dean, Bill Farris, There was an unusually large turnout I made some remarks to the faculty, wanted to serve until July, both Frye for a College faculty meeting, in part intending both to reassure them and I wanted to get on with it, so because there was great curiosity as well as to let them know clearly we set May 1 as the start date. Frye about whom Frye had selected. When and from the outset that my highest echoed Shapiro’s encouragement to I walked in the room with Frye, I priority would be “the achievement of start off with a bang—but he added the suspect that there were many in the excellence, in education, scholarship, modifier “carefully.” room who had no idea who I was, even and research, and in the professional Finally, we agreed to keep my though I had been a member of the achievements of our faculty and selection as dean confidential until I College faculty for twelve years. But to students.” I acknowledged the current was introduced at a special meeting of many others, particularly among the challenges of the College: inadequate the College of Engineering faculty the junior faculty, there was the immediate funding, decaying physical facilities, following week. recognition that Frye was going to take obsolete equipment, and an overloaded faculty. I also suggested that as a College we had occasionally been more concerned with secondary goals such as the North Campus move or improving instructional efficiency than with the quality of our research March 16, 1981 and instructional programs. I went on MEMORANDUM to note a theme that I would sound again and again, first as dean, then as TO: College of Engineering Faculty provost, and finally as president: “The FROM: Hansford W. Farris key to excellence lies with people, RE: Special Meeting of the Faculty with their abilities, their attitudes, and their commitment. Hence I believe the On behalf of Vice President Billy E. Frye, we are calling a special most appropriate role for the College meeting of the Faculty of the College of Engineering with regard administration is to attract outstanding to the search for an individual to serve the College as Dean of faculty and students; provide the Engineering. Your attendance will be appreciated. environment, encouragement, and The meeting will be held in the usual place, Room 311 West support needed to push to the limits Engineering, and near the usual time, 3:00 on Tuesday, March 17, of their talents and dreams; and then 1981. We regret the necessity for such short notice. get out of their way!” I pledged to work with the faculty to build an environment that not only allowed for excellence, creativity, and innovation, but actively stimulated, rewarded, and, indeed, demanded such efforts. 50 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

My remarks assured them that I intended to be a full-time dean, receptive and responsive to student and faculty needs and concerns and totally dedicated to working with them on behalf of the College. I concluded by stating my intent to open up new lines of communication with the faculty, to learn of their needs and concerns and to seek their advice and suggestions. (The complete text of this first speech to the faculty is provided in an appendix.) And listen I did, spending the next several weeks before formally assuming the position of dean by visiting every member of the faculty and administration who would meet with me, asking questions, and listening to their concerns and their The Dean’s Office in West Engineering aspirations in an effort to learn about the College and begin to develop a strategy. I was particularly interested I remember well my first visits to the in meeting with the current leadership dean’s office in the College, trudging of the College, the department chairs up stairs in West Engineering that were and my predecessor as dean to learn as so old that they had ruts worn in them much as I could. I realized that I probably from a century of students and faculty. would not agree with much that I heard, The sense of an old, musty, decaying but at least I would understand where building was almost overpowering, as they were coming from. was the gigantic paneled office of the To this end, I first began to meet dean, originally designed by Mortimer regularly with the interim dean, Bill Cooley, and serving each dean since his Farris, since he was a veteran who had time. I would note that this is the only spent most of his career in the College. office I had ever seen with seven—I I also met regularly with the business counted them—seven doors. It was manager of the College, Harold rumored that these doors had served Harger, who was really the source of well the previous dean, Dave Ragone, continuity in the College, the keeper of when he had to avoid faculty and its corporate history, and, as we were to students. But in reality, these doors, appreciate later, the wise old hand that like the large, walk-in safe in the office, kept those of us who were young Turks were relics of an age long past. It did from flying off the edge. not take long to realize that getting Interim Dean Hansford Farris (on left) the College out of these quarters, truly MAKING THE CASE 51

Victorian both in age and design, with these individuals. I naturally an absentee dean, a central University 3 would be an immediate priority. assumed that associate deans served administration that had beaten them In many ways the administration at the pleasure of each new dean of down, and a faculty with low morale of the College was equally Victorian engineering, so during my ﬁrst meeting and high apathy, it was hard to be in character. The two mainstays with each, I thanked them profusely for open and optimistic. Over the years were Harold Harger and the dean’s their service and offered to assist them the College had pulled apart from executive secretary, Elaine Harden, in their return to the faculty in any the rest of the University, teaching two longtime administrators who had way that I could prior to the beginning within the College many subjects served engineering deans reaching of the fall term. As I was to learn more appropriate for LS&A such as back to the years of G. G. Brown and later, it was not general practice that humanities, writing, and mathematics; Stephen Attwood, and who were there would be a complete turnover establishing its own alumni association deeply loyal and committed to the in associate deans with each new separate from the University’s; and College. However there was a much administration, but my ignorance of the even refusing to transfer the records larger staff of more questionable value, traditions of academic administration of the College over to the central largely recruited by Dave Ragone and immediately opened up positions into University archives. his colleagues, for an array of activities which I could recruit several of my My predecessor’s frequent absence ranging from fund-raising to corporate young colleagues: Chuck Vest, Dan from campus and tendency to recruiting to personal speech-writing. Atkins, and Scott Fogler. over-delegate had created another And there were two associate deans, As I met with each member of the administrative challenge. Like most of Maury Sinnott and Joe Eisley, who had College administration, it rapidly the University’s schools and colleges, assumed the thankless task of running became clear that they could be the College of Engineering had an the College in the dean’s absence. characterized as highly defensive, Executive Committee, comprised of Here, I might note that my naiveté territorial, and distrustful of any and four faculty members elected by the proved particularly valuable in dealing all comers. And little wonder. With College faculty, who were charged with working with the dean on key policy matters. Since the faculty tended to elect its most senior and distinguished faculty to this body, it was a particularly valuable source of wisdom and advice. Yet the dean’s absence had allowed the Executive Committee to evolve into a management committee rather than an advisory body. It tended to delve into all matter of administrative detail, much to the consternation of the department chairs who believed (and rightly so) that they reported to the dean and not the College Executive Committee. They Harold Harger Elaine Harden were particularly incensed that the Executive Committee had recently 52 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

taken a far more aggressive role in opinion of peer organizations such rank-and-file faculty of the College as promotion and tenure decisions, as the Big 10 Deans Council and the well as student leaders and key alumni. reversing department decisions and Engineering Deans Institute effectively Although there was considerable recommendations on a large number of cut the College off from contact with diversity concerning faculty attitudes, faculty members–although it was also peer institutions. The chairmen were the feelings of frustration, alienation clear that the standards for promotion concerned that many important from the dean’s office, and pessimism had eroded quite considerably in strategic issues such as College about the future of the College were several departments. Nevertheless, it computing needs, technology transfer, consistent with those I had heard became apparent that without strong and strengthening relationships with from academic leaders. The sense leadership by the dean, the Executive the science departments in LS&A were of frustration was particularly acute Committee had filled the vacuum by simply being ignored by an absentee among the junior and mid-career becoming involved in many of the dean and a defend-the-status-quo-fort faculty, who saw few incentives for management details of the College. It administration. their achievements, continued erosion would be a challenge to get it refocused Despite my decision to replace the in the quality of the environment on its proper role concerning policy associate deans, I believed it important presented by the College for their issues. to keep the department chairmen research and teaching, and serious The inappropriate involvement of in place to sustain the continuity of questions about whether it was in their the College Executive Committee in our academic programs. Besides, the best interests to remain at Michigan. the detailed operations of the College general quality of the chairmen was Although there were many highly was only one of many concerns that I high, due in part to the strong role that productive and distinguished senior heard from the department chairmen their department faculties had played faculty, there were many others in the as I met with each one, going in in their selection. Yet, there were senior ranks who had long since lost each case to their office for extended problems, and here too, my naivete their scholarly momentum and were discussions. The chairs felt isolated may have had a practical benefit. In largely going through the motions, from the College administration, meeting with the department chairs, teaching the same courses in the same with little input to key decisions that two of the most powerful chairmen, way that they had taught for years, affected their departments. They also who had also been candidates for the and earning top dollar in a College were very cynical about Ragone’s effort dean’s position, attempted the usual compensation program that rewarded on behalf of the College, suspecting power play by threatening me that years in rank rather than achievement that much of the deterioration in they would step down if they didn’t and excellence. University support of Engineering get their way. I had been warned about Students, too, displayed a similar had occurred because Ragone was not this possibility (and had confirmed that sense of apathy toward the College. inclined to make a serious case to the their resignation would be no great loss Little wonder, since their classes and central administration for adequate for the College). Hence I thanked them laboratories were burdened by the support. They viewed Sinnott largely for their service and asked them for inadequate space available in West as someone Ragone had put in place to help in searching for their successors, Engineering and East Engineering make sure nothing happened while he leaving each of them a bit stunned as I and the frustration and apathy of the was out of town. It was clear that the left their offices. faculty frequently propagated into the dean’s office had never had a plan or My listening and learning went curriculum. Engineering is a difficult an objective, beyond the fund-raising far beyond College administrators to and demanding major in the best of campaign objectives. The dean’s low include a significant fraction of the circumstances, and when facilities are THE PLAN 53 poor and the faculty is unhappy, it can be burdensome indeed. This was compounded by the loss of student class identity, as students were herded from one part of the curriculum to the next, without any sense of belonging to a professional school or a graduating class identity. There were also challenges beyond the campus. While many alumni had fond memories of their College years, the preoccupation of the fund-raising efforts of the 1970s, coupled with the failure to make any significant progress on the move to the North Campus, left them discouraged and disengaged. So too, industry sensed that the College had slipped during the 1960s and 1970s, was no longer at the cutting edge in key areas, and was falling further and further behind key competitors such as Illinois, Purdue, Stanford, and MIT. Clearly our work was cut out for us! 54 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 55

Chapter 5

Hitting the Ground Running

Suffice it to say that during the six enrollments during the 1970s in the weeks between my selection as dean face of year after year of budget cuts and my first day in the dean’s office, imposed by the central administration my cram course on faculty, student, (averaging a 2% reduction in base and external perspectives had revealed budget each year through the 1970s), a situation even more critical than I the College had been forced to had first imagined. Two decades of cannibalize its ability to meet other declining University support and needs. It cut 18 technical support ineffective College leadership had staff and eliminated entirely the taken a serious toll on the quality of the discretionary current account funds it academic programs of the College and provided to the departments. It raided the morale of faculty and students. salary programs in order to maintain I remember well one of my early instructional staff, with the largest discussions with Harold Harger, the impact on junior faculty. And yet it long-time College business manager, still lost the equivalent of 70 faculty as I tried to understand just how the positions through these budget cuts. decline and fall of the College could Of course, part of the problem arose have occurred. Harger had a conspiracy from the very effort of the College theory: He believed that the University to optimize its operations within administration had intentionally driven the constraint of whatever budget it the College to the brink—whether was given by the University—an all- because they believed it overfunded, too-natural tendency for engineers or because they preferred to fund accustomed to making the best of any other priorities such as Dentistry and situation. Unlike LS&A, which built its Medicine, or perhaps because they budget during the 1970s by consistently became irritated with earlier College overrunning accounts each year only leaders (an earlier administrator had to be bailed out at year-end by the referred to G. G. Brown, the College provost, the College made whatever dean of the 1950s, as “the Great God cuts were necessary to stay within Brown”). But whether from malice of the budget parameters given to it by forethought or simply benign neglect, the provost, to the detriment of its the damage had been done. academic programs. To meet the instructional needs Another consequence of inadequate imposed by rapidly growing support was the relative dearth of 56 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

junior faculty hiring during the doesn’t need to worry.” The only state enrollments) to increase tuition 1970s. By 1980, over 200 College problem was that people stopped revenues. Next, it launched a major faculty members were at the full buying cars by the pound and instead University-wide fund-raising effort that professor rank—tenured, at the top began to focus on quality. The entire would culminate in a major campaign of the pay scale, and, in many cases, domestic automobile industry went destined to raise over $300 million relatively inactive in research. Of into the tank and drove the nation into during the 1980s. Finally, it launched a course, the best of our faculty were recession. program of cost containment, program highly mobile and subject to raids The old saying that “When the nation review, and reallocation (unfortunately from other universities and industry gets a cold, Detroit gets pneumonia!” referred to as the “smaller but better” because of the deteriorating research had become true once again, as a strategy) to protect University environment. But many other faculty national recession threw Michigan priorities. As I noted in Chapter 4, the members, who had been hired to effectively into a depression in which provost had lead responsibility for this meet growing instructional needs tax revenues dwindled even as the program, with the Budget Priorities during the 1960s, did not have strong welfare rolls expanded. Inflation was Committee serving as the key strategic research interests or capability. In rampant, exploding to double-digit support group. many cases, these instructional faculty levels. The University of Michigan The College would have to cope members had fallen far behind in their had already experienced a series of with this environment of financial rapidly evolving technical disciplines. executive order budget cuts in its state exigency in its effort to make the case Although outdated, they were tenured, appropriations and was expecting for increased University support. As a in many cases outspoken squeaky still further cuts on top of inadequate clear sign of his understanding of our wheels, and imposed an increasingly appropriations for several years to plight, Bill Frye had already offered heavy burden on the shrinking number come. During this five-year period to help by returning to the College of faculty members attempting to the University would lose effectively as flexible dollars the 6% budget cut sustain the momentum of the College’s 30% of its state support, with serious levied on all academic units. But in graduate and research programs. implications for its academic programs. future years the political environment Yet achieving relief from the This was compounded by the of shared hardship would require us University administration would be demographic changes in the number to participate in the Five-Year Plan to a formidable challenge in the face of of high school graduates associated reallocate 10% of all academic budgets, the financial crisis looming before the with the post-WWII baby boom and even as we benefited from budget institution in the early 1980s. Harold bust cycle. In particular, the number growth fueled by this very reallocation. Shapiro’s prediction of economic of high school graduates in Michigan Getting ahead of my story a bit, we prosperity for the decade had collapsed would decline by over 25% by the mid- were eventually able to eliminate under the weight of rising energy 1990s. This predicted decline eroded roughly $3 million of the $7 million prices and a domestic automobile the political urgency to protect higher Engineering Gap in annual support industry increasingly vulnerable to education from the deep cuts sweeping through University reallocation in competition from Japan. I remember other state services. response to our desperate appeals, well a visit to General Motors where a Harold Shapiro launched a three- even in this difficult budget climate. senior GM executive boasted “As long pronged strategy to cope with But to eliminate the remaining funding as we can put a car on the showroom declining state support: First, the gap and to begin to build funding to floor for fewer dollars per pound than University ramped up tuition levels more competitive levels, we would anybody else in the world, America (and more quietly increased out-of- eventually have to turn to the state THE TEAM 57 for direct line item support (which we College decisions that had tended to decision to turn to the same group of were fortunate to achieve through the be made (if at all) by the deans or the junior faculty who had joined with me state’s Research Excellence Fund to be Executive Committee. I established in earlier efforts to push the College discussed in the next chapter). the Chairmen’s Advisory Committee, to a more aggressive and enlightened a new body designed to provide both commitment to faculty quality and a forum and mechanism for chairmen achievement. The first member of this The Team involvement in College-wide issues. team was obvious: Chuck Vest. Both When I first formed this group, I Chuck and I had joined the faculty at proposed that it meet weekly with the Immediately after being named as the about the same time (although Chuck deans for the first two months as we new Dean of Engineering, I turned my had received his Ph.D. at Michigan assembled the strategic plan for the attention to building the leadership in Mechanical Engineering while I College. Afterwards it would meet team that would work with me in came from Caltech), worked up the every two weeks. Although College rebuilding the College. Since engineers promotion ladder side-by-side, and rules prescribed a Standing Committee are trained to work naturally in teams, even shared the College’s award for that included deans, chairmen, and I sought an administrative structure outstanding junior faculty achievement other staff, this group was so large that that would draw many of the College’s (the Class of ‘39E Award). Chuck had two-way communication was very most energetic and talented faculty also been a member of the dean search difficult, hence the need for the new into leadership roles. I quickly settled committee and was well aware of the chairmen’s committee. on a structure patterned after the challenges faced by the College. Of It was important for the Executive executive-legislative-judicial branch course it did not take a rocket scientist Committee to resume its appropriate organization of the federal government. (or rather, a nuclear rocket scientist) to role in policy matters and withdraw More specifically, I viewed the College realize that Chuck had extraordinary from direct involvement in deans (the dean, associate deans, leadership skills. He was later to management issues. I felt that if business manager) as the executive succeed me as both dean of engineering we could challenge the Executive branch, with executive responsibilities and later as provost. He was lured Committee with substantive policy for leading and managing the college. I away from Michigan to become roles—and demonstrate competence viewed the chairmen as comprising the in handling management issues—it legislative branch, akin to the Congress, would quickly retreat to its appropriate representing the interests of their role. Here I would note, however, departments as key constituencies. that after I left as dean, the Executive Finally, the College Executive Committee would occasionally lapse Committee was, in effect, the judiciary once again into management details equivalent to the Supreme Court, with when not appropriately led from key responsibility for policy approval the dean’s office—a tendency not as well as the final authority on key particularly surprising considering the decisions such as faculty promotion strength of the senior faculty members and tenure. usually elected to this body. My meetings with the chairmen My most immediate concern was confirmed my suspicion that they had building the team that would comprise not been adequately involved in key Chuck Vest (with the Towsley family at the Dow the dean’s office. It was an easy Building dedication) 58 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

president of MIT in the early 1990s, of the University’s new School of a distinguished senior member and where he has served for many years Information. Beyond that, Dan was former chair of the Department of as one of the true leaders of American probably the most creative and original Industrial and Operations Engineering, higher education. Chuck agreed to thinker on our team, frequently coming who headed up our manufacturing accept the assignment of associate up with novel ways to solve very science and engineering efforts. But dean for academic affairs—in effect, complex problems. it is worth noting here that all of the the second-in-command in the college The third member of the team was members of our original deans team administration. Scott Fogler, long recognized as one of were exceptionally young—all under the real national leaders in chemical the age of 40, and all at the peak of engineering education (and yet another their academic careers. Yet they were member of the young faculty who led willing to commit the time and effort, the revolution in the College during at the almost certain sacriﬁce of their the late 1970s). Scott agreed to accept scholarly momentum, to rebuild the the position of associate dean for College. educational affairs. After serving in this The concept of leadership team was role for several years, he returned to extended to include the department become chairman of the Department of chairs and the College Executive Chemical Engineering. Committee. The chairs along with the deans comprised the Chairmen’s Advisory Council, which met weekly or biweekly to consider college-wide issues such as resource acquisition, budget priorities, space allocation, and Dan Atkins major strategic initiatives. We operated this as a principals only-no substitutes The second key appointment was meeting where we could have a very Dan Atkins, a young professor of candid discussion of important issues computer engineering, whom we facing the College such as junior brought into a new position of associate faculty development, the research dean of research. Dan not only had environment, and fund-raising. In a extensive experience in attracting similar way the deans met weekly with sponsored research support from the the College Executive Committee on federal government and industry, Scott Fogler policy matters such as promotion and but he also was at the cutting edge tenure, and program evaluation. These in computer technology, an area Over the next several years we were meetings were not only valuable in we realized would become of great to attract others into administrative tapping the wisdom and experience importance to the College. Once again, roles in the College: Lynn Conway, of some very capable people, but Dan’s leadership and entrepreneurial a nationally recognized computer they were important in keeping the skills were evident, and after a brief scientist from Xerox Palo Alto Research College leadership united as we period as interim dean of the College, Center, who headed up our new moved forward with a very aggressive he was to become the founding dean initiatives effort, and Walt Hancock, transformation agenda. THE PLAN 59

The Plan eliminating the engineering funding “gap”, a special salary program to Although Bill Frye had asked me to retain our best faculty, completing come back with a detailed plan for the the North Campus move, seeking a College by early fall, I began to work component of the College’s indirect on this project almost immediately. In cost recovery to improve the research fact, within several weeks (mid-April, environment). Throughout the 1981- two weeks before I would begin my 1982 academic year we met with key appointment as dean), we already had elements of the central administration developed a detailed first draft of the on each of these issues, including plan. We continued to polish and revise a major presentation of the plan to the plan as I conducted my series of the entire Executive Officer team in listening-and-learning discussions November, a presentation concerning throughout the spring. Hence by the the North Campus move to the Plant time I formally moved into the dean’s The First Plan for the College Submitted to the Extension Committee (the Executive Executive Officers in 1981 office on May 1, we already had a Officers sitting as a committee to reasonably clear sense of where we consider capital facilities) in January, needed to head. planning.” Hence I believed it essential a presentation to the Budget Priorities Although I was quite inexperienced to give highest priority first to the Committee on the Engineering as an administrator, I was determined development of just such a plan. Gap, and a presentation to the to keep my focus on the developing Beginning with our initial draft, we Central Operating Committee of the plan and not become chained to the worked closely with the deans and University’s fund-raising campaign in-out basket and manipulated by the chairs throughout the summer of concerning the College’s development agendas that others would attempt to 1981, with the target of completing needs. force upon us. In particular, I fought the first version of such a plan by Key in engaging faculty and against the natural tendency to begin early fall. As it happens (and as it maintaining the momentum of the work immediately on the various usually happened), we came in ahead planning process were a series of ad and sundry matters that inevitably of schedule, completing the plan in hoc faculty committees (so-called pile up during the interim period early August and submitting it to “hit-and-run” committees) to flesh characterizing a change in leadership. the University Executive Officers on out specific elements of the plan. If these items had waited for the many August 18. We circulated complete Topics considered by these committees months of the dean search, they could copies of the plan and all of the included: certainly wait a few more weeks until supporting materials to the entire the new administration was firmly faculty of the College in January, Faculty recruiting established. after we had completed the early Faculty development The External Review Committee rounds of discussion with the central Programmatic review and for the College had made specific administration to make certain we were reallocation mention in their 1980 report of the on the right track. The research environment absence of planning in the College: “We The plan was accompanied by an Graduate programs saw no evidence of a comprehensive array of memoranda to key University College equipment and technical long-range plan or of any formalized leaders on specific topics (e.g., support 60 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Development and fund-raising 1. To achieve excellence in education, Primary research staff scholarship and research, and in the 2. To increase very substantially the The College computing environment professional activities of our faculty quality and quantity of research The possible transition of the College and students. performed by the College. to a School of Engineering 2. To establish an environment within 3. To shift the focus of the instructional the College that not only allowed for programs of the College more These committees provided valuable excellence, creativity, and innovation, toward upperclass/graduate-level insight and guidance in the further but actively stimulated, rewarded, education. evolution of the plan. They also and demanded such qualities. 4. To rapidly and dramatically improve engaged a very large number of faculty 3. To seek and obtain the resources and enlarge the graduate programs members in the development of the necessary to support such an of the College, particularly at the plan, an activity that was essential for environment. Ph.D. level. its support in later months. 5. To complete the move of the College Here it should be stressed that I The general guidelines for the effort to the North Campus within a three always viewed the strategic plan for were identified as follows: year period. the College as an organic document 6. To rebuild the equipment inventories that would continue to evolve as our 1. The College must keep as its and support staff lost through understanding of issues improved, as primary objective the achievement budget cuts over the past decade. we achieved some of our early goals, of excellence in its research and 7. To greatly strengthen the College’s and as we identified new goals and instructional programs. relationships with industry. priorities. In this sense, the plan was 2. It must strive to maintain the 8. To establish an aggressive fund- important as much as a process to flexibility to respond to changing raising program aimed at securing engage faculty, friends of the College, needs and priorities. support from both corporate and and the University administration as it 3. It must be prepared to shift resources private donors. was as a specific document. In fact, the when necessary, possibly reducing 9. To restore a level of base funding planning document evolved through or even eliminating some programs for the College commensurate with many versions, with each new version and activities in order to improve our aspirations for quality and accompanied by new charts and tables or initiate others. In such decisions, achievement. measuring progress and success (or it must keep in mind the important failure) developed and distributed each criteria of quality, centrality, and Here I might note at the outset fall. As the plan evolved, it became cost-effectiveness. that many of these goals were very quite a large document, with several ambitious, more along the line of hundred pages of narrative, supporting We laid out a series of very specific what the business world would call documentation, and accompanying goals for the 1980s: strategic intent or stretch goals intended proposals. as much to drive major change in the Since the plan played such a 1. To improve the quality, College as to set the direction for our critical role in our efforts to rebuild achievements, and reputation efforts. Yet, as ambitious as they were, the College, it seems appropriate to of the faculty of the College by describe some of its key elements. The we were not only able to achieve all of implementing policies concerning plan began with three simple goals that them by the mid-1980s, but we actually hiring, promotion, tenure, and salary remained consistent through the five overshot our original goals in many that strongly emphasized excellence. years of my tenure as dean: respects. For example, the move of the THE PLAN 61 entire College of Engineering to the 2. Implementing a more flexible staffing before our deans’ team would move North Campus was completed in three policy that placed primary emphasis into the action phase, we were already years, with additional capital facilities on faculty quality and programmatic considering some very bold initiatives. added over the next decade that would needs rather than instructional load. For example, we seriously considered give the College what some peers the possibility of moving immediately today regard as the leading engineering 3. The implementation of special salary to double the salaries of all of our campus in the nation. Although we programs that recognized both merit assistant professors, reflecting our set as an initial target the elimination and market pressures, particularly belief that they represented the future of the $7 million Engineering Gap in among junior faculty. of the College and yet had been the University support, we managed to most disadvantaged by the College increase the College’s General Fund 4. Implementing differential salary programs. (Within two years budget from $13.2 million in 1980 to instructional load models that we had actually achieved this goal.) $34 million in 1985, almost a three- recognized the diversity of faculty We priced out the cost of providing fold increase. Doctorate production activities in research and graduate every faculty member with a computer went from 51 Ph.D.s per year in education. terminal or microcomputer (estimated 1980 to 150 Ph.D.s in 1986. And the then at roughly $1 million) to stimulate College’s reputation, as measured by 5. Implementing strong merit-based computer literacy in the College. the rankings of its various academic incentive programs that rewarded (Within two years we had provided programs, rose rapidly from eighth in faculty with discretionary resources all faculty with a personal computer, the nation to fifth in the nation today for achieving important College encouraging them to keep it at home (with most of its programs ranked goals such as Ph.D. production and so that their families could also use among the top five nationally). A more sponsored research funding. it.) We launched a process to examine thorough discussion of results will be the possibility of a major co-operative provided after describing the execution 6. Establishing strong lines of education program for the College of the plan in this and the next two communication between the deans’ (thereby anticipating somewhat the chapters. office and key faculty constituencies later request by General Motors that Each of these specific goals (particularly our top scholars and the College assume responsibility for was broken down into a series of our junior faculty). the General Motors Institute in Flint). specific actions accompanied by the As a final example, we considered the identification of metrics that would tell Even in its earliest drafts, the strategic possibility of negotiating the ability to us whether we were succeeding. For plan we developed for the College attach a surcharge to the tuition paid example, under the general objective of was over 50 pages long (single-spaced) by engineering students that would improving the quality of faculty, there with over one hundred specific flow directly to the College to support was a broad range of strategic and actions and sub-objectives. These were the more costly instruction associated tactical actions, such as: accompanied by an array of decision with engineering education. (This charts, identifying the key decisions would soon become the mechanism we 1. Developing and publicizing a necessary for execution of the plan at used to finance the Computer Aided rigorous policy for promotion the College, the University, and also the Engineering Network.) and tenure review that placed state and federal levels. The notes from these early planning heavy emphasis on research and Also interesting is that even in this discussions contain pages and pages scholarship. very early stage of planning, long of ideas and proposals and possible 62 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

actions. As I will discuss later, many Engineering and Metallurgical our planning activities, our success in of these were quite “out of the box” Engineering, that had formerly been rebuilding the College would depend (some possibly even beyond the together but by now had drifted far heavily on making the case to the lunatic fringe) and reflected the energy, apart intellectually. They were also central administration for support of creativity, and perhaps naiveté of our going to pass along the remainder of the College. very young leadership team. the cuts across-the-board to the various It is important here to understand Of course, not all of the early effort academic departments. We were the organization of the University’s was devoted to the brainstorming skeptical about this plan and wanted to administration. At the top of the process associated with strategic explore other alternatives including the hierarchy was the president, in this planning. Much of it was also aimed at possible discontinuance of some units. case Harold Shapiro, serving as chief more mundane, yet nevertheless very But the development and execution executive officer of the University. important, administrative matters. For of the strategic plan came first. And Although the president spent much example, we believed it very important key in this effort would be making the of his time on external activities to immediately put in place a fair and case to the central administration of such as fund-raising and state and transparent process for allocating the University that they needed to take resources to the departments that bold action to address the urgent needs would provide them with as much of the College. control and flexibility as possible. We were determined to bring to an end the allocation of resources through Making the Case individual negotiations between the deans and the department chairs (in One of the lessons learned over the smoke-filled back rooms), instead years and stressed in this book is that preferring to work directly with the the College of Engineering thrives Chairmen’s Advisory Committee most when it has strong relationships and the Executive Committee to with the University in general and the develop rational allocation principles central administration in particular. with strong incentives for resource It is when it turns its back on “State generation and wise expenditures. Street” (the term long used to describe We also faced the near-term the president, provost, and other challenge of deciding just how we executive officers of the University) and would handle the 6% base cut to be tries to go its own way, ignoring the levied against all academic units in President Harold Shapiro important role it has played over the the year ahead (although Frye had years as a key element of the University committed to giving us these funds community, that it is most at risk. federal relations, he nevertheless was back for other purposes as his first Although I was unaware of the earlier the final authority in all University step toward restoring the General history of the College, I had spent matters and managed the process of Fund support of the College.) Our much of the past five years heavily seeking approval of major initiatives predecessors had proposed to take involved in central administration by the Board of Regents, when this the part of the cuts from a forced activities. I realized immediately that was necessary. The provost and vice- merger of two departments, Chemical president for academic affairs—Billy no matter how visionary and energetic MAKING THE CASE 63

Frye in our case—was just as critical, operations (Kennedy). As dean, I made to see the entire forest beyond the trees since as both chief academic officer and it a point to interact frequently with that distracted many others. He was chief budget officer, he was not only at each of these executive officers, seeking an invaluable source of wisdom and the key decision point on most issues to build a relationship of mutual trust advice throughout both our planning affecting the College, but he also held and respect. activities and our efforts to make the the purse strings. However, almost as significant case for University support along a Although other executive officers was a cadre of key staff reporting to number of fronts. such as the vice-president and chief each vice-president, with whom I and Since the success of such efforts is as financial officer (Jim Brinkerhoff), the the rest of my team would interact dependent upon the nature of people vice-president for research (Charles frequently both on lesser matters and as it is upon the rationale (or truth Overberger), the vice-president for to tee up major proposals and decisions and justice) of the argument, it was development (Jon Cosovich), and the for their bosses. Michigan was important that we spun our case in the fortunate in being able to attract some right way. I had learned from years truly extraordinary individuals into of experience that academic leaders these administrative roles, including such as Bill Frye were more interested several who were considered among in intellectual arguments than data the very best in higher education, presentations. (Harold Shapiro was and we soon developed a great sense an exception, but even he made sure of respect for their experience and that the data did not obscure the judgment. Of particular note here were substance of what an issue meant to Susan Lipschutz in the president’s the University.) I also had learned office; Bob Holbrook and Bob Sauve that consistency and persistence were in the provost’s office; Ralph Nichols sometimes more important than highly and Keith Molin in the vp-government refined presentations. Hence we made relations office; Paul Spradlin, Chandler it a point to interact as frequently as Mathews, and Norman Herbert in the possible with both the president and business and finance office; and Joe provost and their staffs on a key set of Provost Billy Frye (receiving an honorary Roberson in the development office. issues, all carefully chosen as what we degree in 1992) But perhaps the key person in believed to be the key decision points. our early effort to make the case for The first issue had to do with the vice-president for government relations Engineering was Allen Spivey, one University’s base budget support of (Dick Kennedy) were not in direct of the most distinguished faculty the College, currently at a level of $13.2 line-reporting roles with the schools members in our School of Business million (1980). Although both Shapiro and colleges of the University, they Administration, who was on leave to and Frye believed the College to be were key players in many issues of the provost with the special assignment seriously underfunded, they were great importance to the College. Such of heading up the University-wide uncertain as to the amount. It took issues included the North Campus planning effort as it navigated through only a few weeks for our new deans’ move (Brinkerhoff), the research the storm of state budget cuts to find team to establish the magnitude of environment (Overberger), private its “smaller but better” landfall. Spivey the Engineering Gap as roughly $7 fund-raising (Cosovich), and seeking had a keen sense of the nature of the million, or about 30% of the target state support for buildings and University, writ large, and he was able goal of $20 million in base support. 64 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Needless to say, this estimate was Advisory Committee: the environment Aerospace Engineering) were then far beyond anything that Frye had for sponsored research on campus. located on the North Campus. Many suspected, and we were worried that Beyond reducing the centralized faculty members were wasting hours in a time of serious financial stress for bureaucracy of the office of the vice every week commuting back and the University, putting such a proposal president for research, the College forth between campuses to conduct on the table might freeze up the system sought a new process for allocating their research. Yet in surveys of the and be rejected. Hence we instead the roughly 35% of the overhead paid engineering faculty, the overwhelming decided to pursue an approach that by the federal government that was majority felt that the decision to more gradually moved the central currently being distributed across move to North Campus had been a administration to this conclusion, step the University to support research mistake. They were concerned that the by step. activities. Although the research grants move would separate them from the To this end, we began our lobbying and contracts awarded faculty of the sciences and key professional schools effort by addressing very immediate College generated roughly $9 million on the Central Campus. Furthermore needs, the first among them being per year of overhead, none of this was there was a belief that if adequate the vulnerability of many of our best returned to the College to support investment had been made in their faculty to raids from other institutions research activities (including that Central Campus facilities, no move and industry because of inadequate component earmarked as overhead would have been necessary. Although salaries (arising not only from at the department level). We urged we both sympathized and to some inadequate University support but also the University to allocate these funds extent agreed with these views, we also from mismanagement of salary dollars to academic units based on the level believed that it was too late to reverse by our predecessors who stressed of their research activity (with an the decision. The College was stalled in faculty seniority over merit). In this implication of several millions of midstream, and it needed to complete case, extensive documentation was dollars a year flowing directly to the the move before it sank still further in necessary to make our case, and we College). quality. Therefore we decided we had put together not only a comparison of The third issue we posed to the to develop a creative plan to complete College salaries with peer universities, Executive Officers was the North the move and then exert maximum but as well a list of recruiting offers that Campus move. Here I should admit pressure on the central administration our key faculty had received in recent that we were ambivalent. Although to gain their support of this plan. months. the University had decided to relocate Finally, although we were concerned As I will discuss later, we were the College from its Central Campus that the magnitude of the Engineering successful in making this case, and facilities in West and East Engineering Gap was beyond the level that could Frye provided us with $500,000 of in 1950, and taken some initial steps be dealt with (or even imagined) by the special salary market adjustment in this direction by building several University, we nevertheless believed funds in FY1981-82 and an additional research buildings during the 1950s and that we needed to make every effort to adjustment of $450,000 in FY 1982-83. 1960s, the momentum of the move had convince the central administration that We continued to benefit from salary largely stalled during the 1970s (in large even during difficult financial times, it programs higher than the University part because the University pushed simply had to make progress toward average for the next several years. the College aside as a priority for state this target, no matter how long it took The second issue continued a battle funding in favor of the Replacement to actually achieve it. We continued I had been fighting for several years Hospital Project). Only two academic to build our case for a dramatic as chair of the Academic Affairs units (Nuclear Engineering and increase in University support and THE PLAN 65 kept strong pressure on the president, our first version of the plan to the allocate funds identified as research provost, and their staffs to persuade University, Chuck Vest and I met with incentives or special salary programs. them to continue to chip away at the Bill Frye to stress that: Of course, he stressed that use of these Engineering Gap. new funds, like the rest of our budget, Following Shapiro’s advice, we “Our team is now together. We have was under our control, and if we made certain that each proposal to high enthusiasm and high hopes. We chose to use them for a special salary the University was accompanied know where we want to go; we have program or research incentives, then, of by a strong statement of College the plans for getting there, and we have course (wink) that was our prerogative. commitment, participation, and taken the first steps in this direction. sacrifice. For example, in making But we need your help at this point to the case for additional support, we go further.” The Engineering Gap agreed to launch major program reviews of a number of College “We will leave behind a stamped, self- Of course, from a resource point activities for possible elimination addressed envelope for your response, of view, the elimination of the and fund-reallocation, ranging from although we also accept Visa or Engineering Gap—that is, the discontinuing major but obsolete MasterCard.” restoration of adequate funding for facilities such as “the foundry” the College—was our highest priority. (the process metallurgy lab) to Actually, Frye was very responsive, Earlier in this book we discussed discontinuing an entire department even in these first months of our the magnitude of the underfunding, (the Department of Humanities). In tenure, providing relief from the 6% cut estimated at $7 million of base funding presenting plans for the North Campus and substantial resources for a special or roughly 70 FTE faculty positions. move, we immediately sacrificed market salary program, launching We also suggested possible causes the grandiose plans developed by the University process necessary to for the erosion in University support the Ragone administration for four evaluate and execute our plans for of the College occurring during the major new buildings, and instead an expedited North Campus move, 1970s and 1980s. We documented for proposed a series of reassignments and even responding positively the executive officers the negative and modifications of existing facilities to our proposals for sponsored impact of the Engineering Gap to the that not only substantially reduced research incentives-with considerable University: 1) the degree to which our the price tag of the move, but reduced opposition from the vice president for research and instructional programs the number of new facilities to one research. (More on this later.) Although were handicapped by deteriorating (the so-called Engineering Building I). Frye was clearly on our side, he physical facilities, the campus split, We eventually went even further and occasionally asked our help either in and a badly overloaded faculty; 2) the actually offered the University a $2 modifying our proposals or working low faculty morale and apathy in the million loan from College discretionary behind the scenes to gain broader College; 3) the serious deterioration accounts to get the move started! support among some of his Executive in research and graduate programs; Although we were firm in the Officer colleagues. For example, while and 4) the major turnover which had pressure we applied to the central he believed it politically acceptable to occurred in faculty (including loss of administration, we were rarely strident. allocate new resources to the College many junior faculty). Most seriously, Rather, we always tried to take an justified by the crushing instructional we stressed to the provost the degree optimistic approach. For example, in burden posed by our exceptionally to which the faculty and staff of the late summer of 1981, after submitting high enrollments, he was reluctant to College had been beaten down by a 66 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

decade of neglect by the University. colleges. (An example here: How does programs, particularly at the graduate They had lost the degree of intensity one compare the support of Medicine level. We had to act rapidly to retain and drive necessary to achieve with the support of Art?) our strongest junior faculty and to excellence. As I indicated earlier, we were begin the effort to recruit outstanding willing to settle for progress through senior faculty. a series of small steps, as long as the This would be a very considerable vector of support from State Street challenge. In many parts of the pointed toward eventual elimination College, the faculty had lost the ability of the Engineering Gap. And for a time not only to achieve excellence, but we made good progress, with base even to recognize it. Indeed, in some budget increments of $1 to $2 million departments, they were actually each year. But we also realized that it threatened by excellence, to the degree was likely that the University would that they resisted bringing in new eventually run out of the capacity to faculty better than they were. meet our needs, and we would need There were some actions we could alternative plans (e.g., differential take immediately. I began the practice tuition or special state support). of meeting with the faculty of each department every academic year, both to hear their concerns and suggestions, and, in large part, to give them a pep One of our typical charts portraying the The Faculty Challenge talk, to boost their spirits. The entire Engineering Gap deans’ team made a special effort to One of our most immediate challenges open lines of communication with concerned the state of the faculty. A Harold Shapiro and Bill Frye junior faculty, and we would meet decade of eroding support had left each term with this cadre. We also accepted the seriousness of the our faculty as worn as the stairs in old alerted the department chairs that Engineering Gap and its impact on West Engineering. Many of our best we would be measuring their own the College. They also committed to faculty had become frustrated and performance (including their merit taking action to address it. Yet they had left for greener pastures. Others salary adjustments) by their success in believed it important to build support were on the brink. We realized we had developing their junior faculty. among a broader campus constituency to act rapidly to change the faculty We significantly strengthened the if restoration of support was to occur, culture. We had to convince our faculty requirements for promotion and and here they needed our help. It members that excellence mattered once tenure, although in such a way that was clear that the usual quantitative again and give them confidence that we provided early feedback (and arguments that we, as scientists or the College would not only support occasional warning) to junior faculty engineers, tended to use to document their efforts but reward them. We so that they could assess their progress. our case were not always compelling to needed to shift the priorities of the Actually, this particular effort was people who thought more qualitatively. College rapidly away from focusing made much easier by the role that There was also sensitivity about the simply on measures of instructional Harold Shapiro and then Bill Frye had argument of equity, since there was productivity and instead to the quality played in strengthening the provost’s always difficulty in cross-comparing of our research and educational role in tenure and promotion decisions, the support of various schools and THE FACULTY CHALLENGE 67 which had placed all of the University’s In each of the first two years we gave merit salary increase program in the schools and colleges on alert that substantial market salary increases, College for the next several years at mediocrity would not be tolerated. beyond the normal University merit a level several percent higher than Our most significant near-term program, to all assistant and associate other academic units), we shifted action, however, was to completely professors and to selected full to an entirely merit-based reward overhaul the faculty reward system professors of particular merit. When structure. Each year, working with the in the College. For years, faculty we began the program in FY1981-82, department chairs, the deans and the compensation had been determined the average assistant and associate College Executive Committee would primarily by time in rank. Full professor salaries were $22,000 and grade the achievements of each of the professors always made more than $30,000, respectively. In the first year, 300 faculty members of the College. We associate professors; all associate we gave each assistant professor a would then provide raises based on professors made more than assistant raise of $7,000; each associate professor this absolute measure of achievement. professors, and so on. Faculty members received $7,500; and selected full Here I should note that we provided who had been in rank the longest were professors received $8,000, on top of half of the raise in percentage increases paid the most—unless, of course, they the usual merit program. In the second and half in absolute amount, to prevent were administrators, in which case they year we made similar adjustments of faculty of comparable achievement were paid at the top of the scale. $5,000, $5,500, and $6,000 respectively, from drawing further apart simply In the course of two years we turned again superimposed on the normal because of base salary (e.g., to prevent this practice completely topsy-turvy, in merit program. The consequence the rich from becoming even richer). such a way that compensation became was that in two years we essentially There was an interesting wrinkle to primarily determined by productivity, doubled the average assistant professor this new approach to faculty salaries. achievement, and excellence. The salary to $38,000 and the associate The State of Michigan’s Freedom complete restructuring of the College professor salary to $50,000. Since of Information Law opened up our salary program was one of our boldest only those full professors with strong salary books to anyone who wished steps and deserves some attention achievement received the special to see them. Each December, just here. We began by making an appeal market adjustment, the College before the Christmas holidays, the to the provost, Bill Frye, explaining faculty salary scale was completely Michigan Daily would publish a special that unless we took bold action we restructured so that compensation insert listing the salaries and raises were likely to lose some of our very became strongly correlated with merit of every faculty and staff member in best faculty to outside offers. We and achievement. Of course, this led the University. Many of our faculty provided extensive documentation to considerable compression, in the members actually kept spreadsheets both of salary comparisons with peers sense that associate and even some of their own salary relative to their as well as specific offers received from assistant professors passed inactive colleagues. Both department chairmen other institutions. In response, Frye full professors in salary. But it also sent and even the deans would occasionally provided us with a $500,000 base out the clear message that we intended be challenged by faculty who believed budget increment over and above the to strongly reward excellence and their salary was inappropriate. Hence University-wide salary program for achievement. we knew that we would always each of two years that we could use Since we did not have the additional be held accountable for our salary for special salary programs to address funds to award in a special market decisions, and we made certain we had market needs. salary program in later years (although accurate documentation to support our Bill Frye continued to fund the general recommendations. 68 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

There were three additional elements rapidly enough if we could only recruit and research, we nevertheless believed of our effort to strengthen the faculty. new faculty on additional budget we had no choice but to bring this 30- The first was a budget allocation dollars. Faculty turnover had to be part year saga to an end by completing the matter: We adopted the policy that of the strategy. We simply had to find move as rapidly as possible. Although whenever a department released an a way to encourage the retirement or very few of our faculty and programs untenured faculty member, the position resignation of inactive faculty members had actually been moved to the North would revert to the department (to that no longer could keep pace with Campus site, the commitments had remove any incentive to keep mediocre the College’s new expectations for been made long ago, and we saw no performers). On the other hand, excellence and achievement. Of possibility that they could be reversed positions that opened up because of course, the massive restructuring of at this late date. faculty resignations or retirements the College salary structure stimulated After a thorough review of the reverted to the College for reallocation some of these changes, since less active existing plan to move the College into based on programmatic need. faculty members saw their salaries four new buildings, funded from state Second, we discarded the use of rapidly bypassed by more active and private sources, we concluded enrollment or instructional load in junior faculty. But we also explored that in the current budget climate, this determining where to allocate new other mechanisms, offering inactive plan was clearly both impractical and hunting licenses. We responded to faculty financial incentives to take unworkable. The College’s fund-raising enrollment fluctuations by allocating early retirement or assisting with efforts of the 1970s had demonstrated dollars for hiring flexible instructional outplacement services. We tried to be as how difficult it was to raise gifts staff (e.g., adjunct faculty or graduate compassionate as possible, since many for buildings, with only a relatively teaching assistants), not new of these individuals had been hired and modest building for the Departments permanent faculty. Permanent faculty had served the College during much of Chemical Engineering and Materials positions were allocated, in part, different times when achievement was and Metallurgical Engineering as the according to programmatic needs of the not so highly valued, particularly in result (the Herbert H. Dow Building, departments.1 I say, in part, because in research and graduate education. But then under construction and scheduled later years we moved to what we called we were determined to transform the for completion in late 1982). a “Target of Opportunity” program in College, and over a five-year period which ten or so new faculty positions roughly 120 new faculty members would be withheld by the College joined the College, even though our administration and then awarded to total faculty headcount remained at the very best candidates identified by 300. the faculty, regardless of area. In this way we conveyed to the faculty our interest in hiring outstanding faculty, The North Campus Move regardless of rank or disciplinary area. (Later, when I was serving as provost Although we viewed the effort to and then president, I used the same move the College of Engineering to The Herbert H. Dow Building target-of-opportunity approach in the North Campus as a frustrating minority faculty hiring.) distraction from what should have Finally, we realized that we would been the College’s highest priorities Furthermore, the impact of the simply be unable to improve the faculty of seeking excellence in its teaching Replacement Hospital Project on THE NORTH CAMPUS MOVE 69 the state’s capacity to fund new construction in higher education would be long lasting and likely prevent major new construction until the state’s economy improved. Therefore we proposed a far more modest plan, based on the reassignment and renovation of several existing North Campus buildings: The Stearns Building used for Engineering Adding a floor of offices to GG Brown Lab Placement • A small North Campus building housing the University’s research • An unused fraternity building administration would be reassigned adjacent to the North Campus, the and renovated to accommodate Stearns Building, would be used to the Department of Industrial and house the Engineering placement Operations Engineering (while offices. research administration would be moved to the West Engineering building).

The entrance to Civil Engineering in the high bay of GG Brown Lab

The old cyclotron laboratory on the North Campus

Industrial and Operations Engineering • The Department of Naval (formerly Research Administration) Architecture and Marine Engineering was moved into a small building adjacent to the old cyclotron • G. G. Brown Laboratory would be The Instructional Center in the Dow Building laboratory. extensively renovated, adding a third floor for offices and renovating its • The College administration would high bay research wing area so that it • The College would build a library and move temporarily into the Chrysler could accommodate the Departments instructional center (with additional Center for Continuing Education of Mechanical Engineering and Civil classrooms) in the excavated, but (compressing the deans offices and Engineering. uncompleted basement of the Dow our staffs into about one-third the Building space that we had been using in West Engineering). 70 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Chuck Vest preparing to move to the North Campus The new Dean’s Office (in the Chrysler Center) A bit of a contrast in size from West Engineering Executing these actions would result in the relocation of all of the also release to the University all of the that the College had reached the crisis College, with the exception of Electrical College’s Central Campus space, with point where it was no longer capable and Computer Engineering to the the exception of the naval architecture of handling its exploding enrollments North Campus, within 18 months. towing tank in the basement of West while maintaining even marginally We proposed that the University Engineering. adequate programs in antiquated elevate to its highest priority the state We were invited to make a facilities on the Central Campus. capital outlay request to Lansing for presentation on our plan to the We also noted that the recent ABET Engineering Building I, which would Executive Officers in January, 1982, accreditation visit had expressed their be used to house this very large as they sat as the Plant Extension amazement that quality students and department. That is, we proposed Committee. Chuck Vest made the faculty could be attracted to learn and that the earlier state commitment of presentation, and I then summed work in such dismal facilities. $18 million (appropriately scaled for up the case by stating that a positive Normally such a complex plan inflation) be used for a single building. response by the University to our would take many months of Although this plan required some proposal could finally bring to an negotiation before a University modest expenditure by the University end the agony posed by the College’s decision. But two factors quickly for the necessary renovations as well as division across two campuses for put this plan on the fast track. First, the reassignment of space belonging to the past 30 years and its struggle to just two weeks earlier on Christmas other units, we believed it to be a very conduct its research and instructional Eve, an arsonist had burned to the pragmatic and efficient approach to programs in physical facilities which ground the University’s Economics completing the North Campus move in were clearly inadequate for quality Building, adjacent to West Engineering. a relatively short time period. It would engineering education. We stressed Ironically I had been taking an early THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT 71

Christmas morning jog over to the building should be identified as his University’s budget, roughly 35% of Central Campus when I noticed the highest priority, but the North Campus this recovery was reinvested in research smoke, and jogged over to find Bob move train was now rolling, and if we activities, both to cover cost-sharing Holbrook, associate vice president for could keep it on schedule (and on the and overruns as well as to support new academic affairs and also a faculty track), we anticipated that the entire research development. However this member in economics, amidst a group College would finally complete its allocation was largely at the whims of firemen and police, watching his move by early 1986. of the vice president for research and office go up in flames. This event put was not correlated with the success of great pressure to find new quarters a unit in generating research funding. for the Economics facility, and our The Research Environment Furthermore, over the past decade, proposed rapid departure from East the College had received none of these and West Engineering could provide One of the most difficult battles we funds, despite the fact that it generated just such an opportunity. had to fight involved changing the roughly 30% of the overhead paid to Second, we were fully prepared for University’s policies on sponsored the University ($8 million in 1980). the expected early reaction from Bill research funding. My earlier AAAC Hence our proposal was a simple Frye when he moaned that he just committee on research incentives one: allocate the 35% of indirect cost did not know where he could find had documented the deteriorating recovery based on the volume of a the funds for these projects in the environment for sponsored research unit’s sponsored research activity, face of other budget pressures. We on campus, increasingly burdened by minus its overruns, cost-sharing, and immediately responded with an offer the bureaucracies of the office of the underrecovery, and then allow the to lend the University $2 million from vice president for research, inadequate academic units to utilize these funds the College’s discretionary funds to support for sponsored research project in such a way as to create maximum get the projects started. Frye quickly development and management, the incentives for sponsored research responded, “You’ve got a deal!” And plight of primary research staff, and activities. we were off and running. (I should the absence of strong incentives to Although this made perfect sense also note that some months later Frye generate sponsored research funding. (at least to us) and was the practice mysteriously found $2 million in his Among many recommendations, one adopted by many other universities, own accounts, so we never actually had that stood out as most controversial our proposal was very strongly to transfer the funds for the loan.) and yet probably most significant resisted by the vice president for Within two months Dick Kennedy was the recommendation that the research (Charles Overberger) who and his state relations officer Ralph University return to academic units and viewed such action as a clear threat Nichols were able to ignite the state principal investigators some portion to his power base. After a great deal capital outlay process for Engineering of the indirect cost or overhead they of effort, we were able to persuade Building I, getting language into recovered from federal agencies, in Harold Shapiro, Bill Frye, and even the state budget bill for $500,000 of proportion to the amount of sponsored Jim Brinkerhoff that our proposal planning funds to begin the project. research conducted by the unit. made sense. But they were also leery There were still many hurdles to Of course we knew that this of triggering a battle among the overcome in getting final legislative overhead, in theory at least, was Executive Officers since Overberger approval of what was to be a $30 recovered to pay past overhead costs so strongly opposed this proposal. million state-funded project, including in conducting federally sponsored Allen Spivey was an important ally persuading the governor that this research. But we also knew that in the on this matter, since he believed quite 72 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

strongly it was supportable both on over Overberger) with Shapiro’s help. sharing or overruns). For individual the grounds of strengthening research In subsequent discussions, Frye faculty, we also added funds indexed incentives and decentralizing control agreed that we could use the entire to Ph.D. production and graduate of these resources to the unit level amount for any purpose, so we student support. Each faculty member where they would do the most good. responded that we would use the participating in sponsored research He also kept us apprised of debate entire amount as research incentives was provided with an account among the Executive Officers. (As to stimulate, develop, and sustain containing the discretionary funds he put it, “Great battles are being sponsored research. We also were able allocated through this program, under fought” on our behalf!) In the end, to reach an agreement, in principle, their complete control. This program however, Shapiro finally decided that that after two years this support would continues to the present day, although the risk of alienating Overberger was continue to increase and be correlated we modified it slightly during my too great to implement the proposal with the volume of our sponsored last year as dean by agreeing to pick on a University-wide basis, and he research activities. Hence, although for up in addition the tuition support of left it to Bill Frye to find another less political reasons we could not publicly all graduate students supported on direct response to our proposal using label these funds as “the return of 35% research grants. Engineering as a special case. of our indirect costs” to use as research The final issue involving the research At first Frye decided to commit $1 incentives, we achieved essentially the environment involved the plight of million of additional base funding to same objective. research scientists, faculty members the College over three years, with the However, because of the political whose entire appointment consisted understanding that we could use it sensitivity of the vice president for of research supported by sponsored for any purpose we chose, including research and perhaps other deans research grants and contracts. In the providing research incentives to our to Frye’s very unusual commitment past these faculty members, many of departments and faculty. (Even this to Engineering, he asked us to keep whom were quite distinguished, had was controversial, since Overberger this action at a low profile. He also been treated much like second-class strongly opposed any relief for the suggested that it would be helpful citizens, without the opportunity to College.) Spivey then pulled out of if the College could continue its supervise graduate students or to his pocket a series of charts he had efforts to bite the bullet and reallocate have any employment security in the compiled demonstrating that while the internal resources to highest priorities, event that a grant was not renewed. compound growth rate in University as they were asking other units to We modified these policies (with the support for academic units ranged do. The Department of Humanities help of the Graduate School) and from 7% to 10% per year throughout was the obvious candidate for such created a fund that could be used to the 1970s, the College had actually been considerations. (More on this topic in a provide support for a limited period, cut 2% per year, even as its enrollments moment.) depending on years of service, in the were growing by 44%. After seeing We immediately began to develop event of the loss of grant funding. We these data, Frye agreed to raise the policies for the allocation of these also modified completely the standards commitment to $2 million over three resources. We decided that the entire and process for promotion, to bring it years, and then after further thought he amount should go back to both the in parallel with instructional faculty, front-loaded the commitment to a $2 departments and individual faculty thereby providing both higher visibility million base increase over two years. as discretionary funds indexed to and prestige to research scientists. Frye was able to push this commitment their actual indirect cost recovery Again, most of these practices and through the Executive Officers (and on research grants (minus any cost- policies remain in place today. AND IF THIS WEREN’T ENOUGH... 73

And As If This Was Not The Robotics Institute (The Industrial world-class center in robotics research Technology Institute) in Ann Arbor, funded with an initial Enough... investment of $200 million for the first Within a week after my selection as 10 years, and then evolving to a self- Although most of the first six months of dean (and even before I formally began supporting status after this. The hope my tenure as dean focused on strategic my appointment), Harold Shapiro was that a major research park would internal priorities—e.g., building the called to ask me to lead an effort to form about this institute, resulting team, developing the plan, making the respond to a major state initiative to in numerous spinoff companies and case, and dealing with our most critical build a “world-class research institute technology transfer to Michigan priorities—a number of other important on robotics and industrial automation” industry. issues arose as opportunities and in Ann Arbor. He suggested that the Of course, as with any public challenges with serious implications startup costs for the robotics institute initiative of this magnitude, politics for the future of the College. Some of would be roughly $50 million with quickly entered, with lots of lobbying these were rather surprising external annual operating costs of $15 M/year, to change the location to Detroit, opportunities such as the state effort to funded jointly from state sources and or to establish additional centers of build a robotics research center in Ann private foundations and corporations. excellence in other parts of the state Arbor (later to become the Industrial He asked me to lead a team of (East Lansing, Midland, Grand Rapids, Technology Institute) and a proposal Michigan engineering faculty to the Upper Pennisula). Although from General Motors for the College to develop both a plan and a proposal for Shapiro and others managed to take over the General Motors Institute such an institute. convince the group that such an as a “branch campus” in Flint. Some Clearly this was a BIG deal, so I effort would only survive if located involved internal matters, such as immediately pulled together a small adjacent to a world-class research the launch of a series of reviews for team of faculty leaders including university with strong capabilities possible program discontinuance of George Haddad, Don Chaffin, Dick in engineering (i.e., the University of academic units such as the Department Volz, and Ken Ludema to scope out the Michigan), there was great resistance of Humanities. Several of our activities task. from many members of the Task really involved leftover matters, such The origin for the concept went back Force to any close relationship with as rebuilding the development (fund- to a High Tech Task Force, established the University. These members were raising) activities of the College and by Governor Milliken, and consisting adamant that the robotics institute be merging them into the planning for of a number of leaders of higher formed independent of the University, the University-wide Campaign for education, business, and industry both because of concern that the Michigan, and preparing for the major (including Harold Shapiro) with the politics would kill the effort if this were accreditation review of the College’s charge of developing a technology- perceived to benefit the University academic programs by ABET (the based strategy for strengthening and too greatly, and because of their Accreditation Board on Engineering diversifying the Michigan economy. skepticism that the University culture and Technology) scheduled for fall After several meetings the group and administration would scuddle the of 1981. And much of our effort was focused on industrial automation effort and attempt to grab the funding directed to beginning to modify the as a key area for investment (and for themselves. culture of the College to create once later added to this two more areas of Yet, as good soldiers, our team in again a sense of optimism, excitement, focus in biotechnology and advanced the College moved ahead to develop and commitment to excellence. materials). The intent was to establish a a plan. As it turns out, we already 74 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

had formed within the College a the College made it very unattractive closely related activity known as the for faculty participation, and despite Center for Research on Integrated strong encouragement on our part, the Manufacturing (CRIM), which spanned faculty soon began to back away. a number of areas such as robotics, Throughout the 1980s, the College industrial automation, CAD/CAM, was to make every effort to make and management information systems. ITI a success. I served on its board of Therefore the technical and financial directors and assisted in the recruiting plan for the robotics institute was of a permanent director. The Kellogg straightforward enough. As the Foundation made a $40 million gift to funding was assembled (including $20 the effort, joined by the Dow and the million from the state and $50 million Upjohn Foundations at $10 million The Industrial Technology Institute from Michigan private foundations), each. The University provided ITI with As a parenthetical note, although a faculty member from electrical a site on the North Campus, adjacent the College played a key role in engineering, Arch Naylor, was to the College, for a modern glass helping to design and build ITI, we selected as the startup director, and and steel laboratory building, and we were frustrated by the constraints the University provided the necessary continued to encourage faculty and placed upon the effort by the state. facilities and administrative support. graduate students to participate in their The irony was that at a time when the Yet, even though the College played activity. But those on the High Tech College was desperately seeking to a key role in designing the robotics Task Force continued to oppose any recover from a decade of inadequate institute (later named the Industrial direct financial relationship between support, the state along with Technology Institute or ITI), housing the College and ITI, and its relatively Michigan foundations made a massive it during its incubation stage, and small size as an independent research investment (eventually totaling over supporting its activities, we were center left it overburdened with $100 million) in a new research center, hampered by the insistence of the High administrative costs and unable to kept at arm’s length from College Tech Task Force that the institute had compete for competitive grants. After programs and in many ways directly to be financially independent of the fifteen years of modest activities, it was competitive with them. In the end, University. From the very beginning, eventually phased out. the far greater faculty and graduate financial firewalls were constructed In the meantime, however, the student strength of the College between ITI and the College that College used the expertise developed in managed to build a truly world-class prevented the flow of any funding designing ITI to build its own internal center in industrial automation using between the two organizations. Center for Research on Integrated internal funds. One can only imagine Although faculty and graduate Manufacturing into one of the strongest what could have been accomplished students were sought as research programs in the nation. Faculty were if the state had decided instead to staff, these were retained much like recruited, graduate students were build ITI within the College to take hired hands, working on narrow trained, and grants were received that advantage of these significant assets. topics of interest to ITI staff rather that soon made the program a national participating as equals in developing leader, as evidenced by the awarding and conducting a joint research agenda. of a major NSF Engineering Research It soon became apparent that the Center grant in the early 1990s. barriers constructed between ITI and THE IDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE 75

The General Motors Institute we could influence GM’s eventual million request for a General Motors decision. contribution to the upcoming fund- Our next major fire drill was triggered I contacted two GM staff who had raising campaign. Not only would the only one month after I began my worked with the College in the past size of the GM gift determine similar tenure as dean by yet another phone and confirmed Shapiro’s intelligence. contributions from Ford and Chrysler, call from Harold Shapiro. He had Based on their advice, I sent a letter both Engineering and Business would picked up intelligence that General to a senior GM vice president stating be the lead programs in the solicitation. Motors was looking for a way out of that if GM was seriously considering We concluded that just as we their corporate university, the General alternatives to the GMI operation, the would hope that GM would give the Motors Institute. Located in Flint, College would be willing to work with Michigan fund-raising proposal serious GMI conducted an undergraduate GM to develop appropriate transitional consideration, we should devote engineering program for roughly 2,500 and long-term arrangements. Within considerable effort to evaluating the students in a co-operative education a few days GM responded with an GMI proposal. I contacted General mode, in which students would attend invitation to visit GM headquarters in Motors to begin a several-month school half-time and work in General Detroit to discuss the matter with two process of carefully assessing GMI, Motors plants half-time. Over the years, of their executive vice presidents, Steve the quality of its students, faculty, and GMI had produced not only much Fuller and Dave Collier, who had the programs; its financial and facilities of the first-line management for GM, direct responsibility for GMI. assets; and the pros and cons of various but it had created throughout the GM Chuck Vest and I drove into Detroit, alternatives. On the positive side, management a GMI “mafia.” General and after a luncheon with polite we found that the students were of Motors was concerned not only about discussion, Collier handed us across exceptionally high quality (particularly the roughly $25 million per year it the table a piece of paper that stated the minority students in the program), spent to subsidize GMI but also about that General Motors would give the attracted in part because of the co-op the inbreeding of its management team College GMI, along with $25 million, nature of the education and the attributed to GMI graduates. if we would take it off their hands. assurance of a significant job in General Shapiro’s concerns were somewhat They stressed that they wanted to keep Motors. However, balanced against this different. He was worried that GM GMI a quality operation and therefore was a faculty that was quite different might put pressure on the Governor wanted it to become a part of the in character than the research-focused and Legislature to provide state UMAA College of Engineering, not faculty in the College. Furthermore, funding for GMI, yet another drain on UM Flint. Although Chuck and I were GMI was a very expensive operation, the state coffers during a very difficult a bit taken back by the proposal, we with staff benefits characteristic of period for public higher education. He agreed to discuss the offer with Shapiro General Motor’s executive programs was also worried that the University of and give the matter very serious rather than higher education. Michigan’s Flint campus might make consideration. In the end, we concluded that we a play for GMI, thereby expanding its At this point the fire drill began. could indeed absorb GMI and operate programs with a major engineering Immediately after returning to Ann it as a branch campus of the College, program that would compete with both Arbor, we arranged a meeting with but we could only maintain the quality UM Dearborn and UM Ann Arbor. Shapiro and other executive officers to of their programs by requiring their He therefore encouraged me to begin discuss the GM proposal. The matter students to transfer to the Ann Arbor quiet discussions with General Motors was complicated by the fact that campus for the final years of their to see what I could learn and whether the University was preparing a $10 studies, in particular engineering 76 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

disciplines. That is, we would create a series of very difficult negotiations with this Department rather than from 3-2 program, in which students would the UAW, seeking concessions during LS&A, isolating them from the rest of attend GMI and be taught by GMI a difficult financial period for the the University. faculty for the first three years and then automotive industry. The leadership The University’s central transfer to Ann Arbor for the final two of GM was populated by several GMI administration had long been skeptical years to finish their degree, all within graduates, and Smith worried that about the quality of the College’s the existing co-op education model the Michigan proposal, which would humanities programs. Student course (50% study, 50% work). However, essentially end GMI’s existence as an evaluations gave low marks to the we also believed that we could not independent college, might divide the required courses on Great Books and absorb the additional enrollments leadership team at an awkward time. technical writing, and few engineering without additional resources, and for Hence GM decided to try to reconfigure students would have taken the courses this reason we asked General Motors GMI as an independent private had they not been required, preferring to commit to providing a $100 million college, opening its enrollment to other to take their humanities and social endowment for the GMI component companies. I must say that we were not science courses in LS&A with students over a ten-year period. disappointed. The process of absorbing from other majors. Assessments of Although Harold Shapiro liked the GMI (not to mention the frequent faculty quality portrayed the unit as plan, he was a bit taken back by the commutes to Flint) would have been a “second-rate English department,” idea of asking GM for $100 million. (In highly distracting as we attempted with only two or three of the faculty fact, he characterized it as “highway to achieve our important strategic with credentials comparable to those of robbery.”) However, we finally objectives. their LS&A colleagues. convinced him that this was quite Beyond the quality and centrality reasonable, and he agreed to present The Department of Humanities of the Humanities Department, I had our proposal to Roger Smith, then CEO yet another concern. By offering our of General Motors. Smith’s reaction to Another of our early tasks was to own courses in humanities and social the proposal was very encouraging. assess the viability of the College’s sciences and requiring our students to He stressed that Michigan was the Department of Humanities, an take these courses, we were isolating only university GM had approached, academic unit providing service engineering students from students and he was delighted to receive not instruction to undergraduates not only in other programs such as those only a quality proposal but a highly in skills such as English composition, offered by LS&A. I believed strongly creative effort with ideas they had but in literature (Great Books, that one of the great benefits of a not considered. The request for $100 Shakespeare, Chaucer, Science Fiction, college education at a comprehensive million did not scare him, and he was British and American Writers, among university such as Michigan was very intrigued about the 3-2 concept. many other courses), philosophy, and to experience a broad range of He believed this to be an excellent history. Although this unit clearly academic subjects, to rub shoulders response to General Motors’ needs. duplicated courses offered by LS&A, with students with quite different Over the next several months GM it was one of the few priorities of both interests, and to take advantage of all considered the Michigan proposal, deans Van Wylen and Ragone, and the University had to offer. Ironically, along with other options, very the department had grown to over the first two deans of the College, carefully. In the end, however, they 30 instructional faculty members. Charles Greene and Mortimer Cooley decided to back away for political Engineering students were required had also worried about separating reasons. GM was in the midst of a to take their humanities electives from the early Department of Engineering THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES 77 out of LS&A and establishing it as a the former approach, since it was both for major restructuring or possible separate college for just this reason. I compassionate and low key. discontinuance. We also reviewed viewed the Department of Humanities Although Bill Frye found our and discontinued the separate as a regressive activity, a waste of approach very appealing, he was degree programs in computer-aided valuable College resources and, more eventually persuaded by the University design and environmental sciences. seriously, antithetical to the concept attorneys that we had no choice but Reviews were also conducted of the of a liberal education that should be to go through the formal academic Departments of Naval Architecture, the underpinning for undergraduate program discontinuance process, Chemical Engineering, Materials education. complete with a formal review and Metallurgical Engineering, and These views were well known, and committee, open hearings, appeals, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, the Department was not surprised and the other elements of due process. with the possibility of restructuring, when I first met with them in fall of We therefore began such a process in redirecting, or merging these 1981 to warn them that the continued late 1981, which eventually concluded departments with other academic existence of a predominantly service with our original suggestion. All programs. department, duplicated elsewhere in instructional activities to LS&A— the University, was in great doubt in thereby allowing Engineering students Development the face of our urgent budget needs. to take their humanities electives along The University had a well-established with other University students—and I noted earlier my concern that the and highly cumbersome process to the Humanities faculty were gradually College had focused too much of discontinue academic programs that, phased out through transfers and its attention on development—i.e., private fund-raising—during the in effect, put the unit on trial in what retirements. Although we had to 1970s instead of making the effort most felt was an awkward public transfer some of the budget for the to build strong support within display. But we preferred a different Department to LS&A to compensate the central administration and in approach. We would present to the for the additional instructional load Lansing. Although I was determined Department a “statement of intent,” from engineering students, in the end not to repeat this mistake and allow with a proposed course of action to: we were able to reallocate roughly most of my time to be consumed by 1) transfer all instructional activities of half the budget of the Department to development activities, I realized this the Department to LS&A, 2) continue the engineering departments of the would nevertheless be an important all tenured appointments of faculty College. Furthermore, through this responsibility. Here we faced two in the College (although they would discontinuance action we demonstrated immediate challenges: First, the teach in LS&A) until faculty members both to the central administration and development capability of the College retired, transferred, or resigned, and to rest of the University our willingness had been largely dismantled following 3) retain the technical communications to take strong action to reallocate the campaign of the 1970s, with little component of the Department, but resources to our highest priorities. remaining in the way of development seek to redirect it toward the new tools This helped to make the decision of staff or volunteer networks. Second, beginning to appear such as computers the central administration to provide the University was spinning up a major and networks. We would then ask the substantial budget relief to the College University-wide fund-raising campaign Department to choose between this more politically acceptable. for the 1980s that did not yet include action and the formal discontinuance Here it is important to note that the College, since an interim dean review process. We had little doubt that the Humanities Department was could really not speak to Engineering’s most faculty members would prefer not the only program examined development priorities. 78 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Hence I had to move rapidly to Relationships with Ford were easier General Electric, Dupont). I was to rebuild a development team, identify to develop, both because of their close spend an increasing fraction of my our key objectives, and lobby the proximity to Ann Arbor (indeed, it time traveling to visit these companies, central administration to get these was estimated that over 200 members building relationships with their included in the University-wide effort. of Ford’s senior management lived in leadership, and seeking their support. Over the longer term, I realized that or near Ann Arbor) and also because As I became more experienced private fund-raising would be a critical we had excellent contacts such as Bill in fund-raising and developing component of our strategy. In fact, even Powers (who had left the College for relationships with industry, I became in my earliest speeches to alumni I Ford during the Ragone days). Chrysler aware of one of the more puzzling began to weave in language suggesting was also a company with which aspects of the College’s history. that the College would become the College had long had excellent Although we were located right in the increasingly a “privately supported relationships because of the efforts backyard of the automobile industry, island in a public university sea.” of Chrysler executives with strong our strongest relationships were with The first step involved rebuilding College ties such as Harry Chesbrough, high-tech industries such as aerospace relationships with industry, focusing George Heubner, and Hal Sperlich. The and electronics. In fact, for a time, first upon General Motors, Ford, and challenge was Chrysler’s precarious Michigan was the largest source of Chrysler. Of course, I had already financial condition, as it avoided engineers to the California aerospace developed contacts at the very highest bankruptcy only with the help of a industry. And the level of our support level of General Motors because of our bailout by the federal government. was always greater from these discussions concerning GMI. Ironically, Nevertheless, even during tough times industries than from GM, Ford, and however, this put a temporary dent for the company, we maintained our Chrysler. Perhaps part of the reason in our efforts to build support of flow of graduates and consultants was that the majority of our faculty the College because General Motors to Chrysler, and when Lee Iacocca worked on cutting-edge research decided to delay a decision on our $5 finally turned the company around, supported by the federal government, million request until the GMI matter they began to support the College and this tended to be in high-tech areas was settled, although they went once again. (I remember well one visit related to the defense industry. It may ahead and made a commitment to the to Chrysler headquarters when I was also have been due to the “familiarity Business School. As the months wore seated on a couch between Iacocca and breeds contempt” syndrome, in which on, I became increasingly frustrated, Bob Lutz, each of whom was blowing companies preferred to look beyond to the point where I even contacted smoke in my face from foot-long cigars. their backyard for college relations. Roger Smith to express our concern.2 Guess the automobile industry was just Equally important was rebuilding We were finally able to break through not my style.) relationships with alumni of the the GM bureaucracy when Bob Eaton, As one of the nation’s leading College in general and key donors in then head of the GM Tech Center (and engineering colleges, we also had particular. Once again, much of this later to become CEO of Chrysler) was strong relationships with other activity had been largely abandoned assigned as our corporate contact. Bob industries such as the electronics and during the late 1970s and had to be worked hard to build the necessary computer industry (e.g. IBM, Intel, rebuilt again from scratch. One of the relationships that eventually resulted Motorola), the aerospace industry first steps was to integrate the College’s in a $3 million gift to establish our (Lockheed, Boeing), the energy alumni within the broader University Computer Aided Engineering Network. industry (Exxon, Mobil, Schlumberger), of Michigan Alumni Association, since and the manufacturing industry (3-M, they had been separated during the THE EARLY RESULTS 79 earlier paranoid days. We also had to The Early Results request for a special salary program rebuild the lists of key donor prospects ($500,000) and would do so again the with the capacity for major gifts. By the start of the Fall Term in following year ($450,000) so that we In an effort to rebuild our capacity 1981, we had already made very were able to totally restructure the for fund-raising, I decided to go with substantial progress. Our leadership College’s salary program, essentially intelligence, energy, and loyalty rather team had been assembled. The plan doubling the salaries of assistant and than experience, and hired Brad for rebuilding the College had been associate professors and providing our Canale, a recent UM graduate (and developed and presented to the most outstanding senior faculty with leader of student government) who had Executive Officers. The proposals in compensation sufficient to protect them just come off a year of fund-raising for key areas—eliminating the Engineering against market competition from other the Republican Party in Ohio. We began Gap, implementing a special faculty institutions. to work with the central administration salary program, completing the North Our plans for the North Campus to weave the College’s efforts into the Campus move, and securing University move were approved by the Executive planning for the broader University- support of research incentives in the Officers (initially with our offer of a wide Campaign for Michigan. College—had been developed and $2 million loan), and the University Although we included support for presented to the Executive Officers, had successfully reactivated the state the student instructional center we and we were well along in building the capital outlay process for Engineering intended to build in the basement necessary support among key officers Building I (a $30 million project). The of the Dow Building as a priority, and their staff for eventual action. plan would succeed in moving all but most of our efforts aimed at building Hence, I was able to begin the first Electrical and Computer Engineering to support for people: scholarships and faculty meeting in the fall by stating: the North Campus in 18 months, with fellowships for students and endowed “Today I don’t want to dwell on the this large department then moving into chairs for faculty. past. The litany of our difficulties and Engineering Building I when it was problems is all too familiar to you. completed in early 1986. Rather I would like to point to the Although we had been unsuccessful future, where we think we should in persuading the Executive Officers head, the actions we propose for to adopt our proposal for the return getting there, and review with you of sponsored research overhead as a some of the steps we have already research incentive across the entire taken in that direction.” Throughout University, we did accomplish this for the next several months we were able the College as a special case, with a $2 to secure the first set of University million base increase commitment over decisions so that by the end of our first two years. We were able to double the year in the dean’s office, we had great number of technical support staff and confidence that we would be successful equipment funds during the first year in completing the ambitious agenda we as well while addressing the needs had set for the College. and concerns of primary research staff. During the summer Frye had agreed We were able to successfully navigate to return to the College the 6% budget our engineering program accreditation cut levied on all academic units process, and our development activities Brad Canale with Anne ($629,000). He had responded to our were once again up and running. 80 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

It is worth noting that the series of rest of our agenda would simply not of the Engineering Gap was stressed in budget commitments we were able to be possible. And key in this effort essentially every meeting we had with achieve during the first year would was making the case for the College the provost and his staff. (The term increase the College’s base budget by directly to the top leadership of the itself eventually became a familiar— almost $4.9 million over the next two University, to Harold Shapiro and Bill and to some dreaded—refrain on years, amounting to a 36% increase Frye. Once we had earned their respect, State Street.) The effort to go after the (during a period in which most commitment, and support, the other return of overhead funds as research University academic units were losing components of our plan began to fall incentives was pushed in a similar support with the “smaller but better” rapidly into place. fashion. The message was always the retrenchment effort). While this did not same, unwavering and relentless. erase the Engineering Gap (estimated Consistency and Persistence at $7 million), it was an excellent start Speed and Timing Are Everything and demonstrated the very strong Like contemporary politicians, we support provided by Bill Frye and believed it essential to “stay on Looking back on the year, the pace Harold Shapiro. In fact, when Frye message.” Once we had defined the of our activities seems incredible. visited the faculty in spring of 1981, I primary objectives through the early For example, the day after I was made certain that the faculty realized planning process, we were persistent selected as dean, I began working just how significant his efforts were in our efforts to make the case for these on a plan for the college, meeting to rebuild the College during a most objectives. For example, the elimination with department chairs, faculty, and difficult time for the University.

Some Early Lessons Learned

Although our leadership team was inexperienced, we were committed, energetic, and willing to learn from each experience...and each mistake. Among the valuable lessons from that ﬁrst year were the following:

First Get the Commitment from the Top

Our major objective during the first year was establishing the College of Engineering as a high priority of the University. We realized that until this was accomplished, most of the Some of the Many College Planning Documents SOME EARLY LESSONS LEARNED 81 administrators to seek their advice It was clear from this first year that In addition to creativity, there were and council and preparing the first to take advantage of the opportunities also times when we needed to be draft within a month, even before that would enable us to achieve our prepared to push all of our chips into I moved into the dean’s office. The objectives for the College, we needed the center of the table. An example here deans’ leadership team, including to move very rapidly. Timing was was our special salary program, which the associate deans, the Chairmen’s everything. Windows of opportunity completely restructured the College Advisory Committee, and key staff open and close very rapidly. And as salaries, reestablishing achievement and appointments, was in place by the end we were soon to learn, the pace and excellence as the primary determinants of the next month. The full plan was timing of opportunities would become of compensation. To double the salaries submitted to the Executive Officers, even more critical as we began to enter of assistant and associate professors to along with the specific proposals the political worlds of Lansing and the point where they passed the salaries for each of our major objectives, by Washington. of many less active senior faculty was August. And we were successful in controversial, particularly when the achieving a positive response to each Thinking Outside the Box state’s Freedom of Information Law of our proposals and executing the required us to publish all salaries. first steps (e.g., special salary program, One of our greatest challenges was Depleting our entire discretionary research incentives, first phases of learning how to keep the pressure on funding capacity to get the North the North Campus move) by the end the central administration (and later Campus move started was an example of the first year. During this hectic the state) without overloading the of yet another major (but successful) period we also managed to rebuild system. If we asked for too much at gamble. relationships with industry, launch a once, the system would lock up into We were to encounter many similar major new development program, and indecisiveness. We had to learn how to situations, requiring both creativity and deal with a broad array of personnel manage the flow of our requests. boldness, in subsequent years. But we matters. And along the way, we But beyond that, we also learned had learned our lessons well during this also built a new robotics research that sometimes, in order to break a first year of leadership. institute for the state (the Industrial logjam of indecision, we had to think technology Institute), worked with outside of the box. It took a great deal The Importance of Teamwork General Motors to determine the of creativity and ingenuity to keep the future of the General Motors Institute, decision process moving ahead. For As I noted earlier, engineers are completed a discontinuance review example, when the University was accustomed to working closely as of the Department of Humanities, frozen on its decision concerning the teams to which each member brings and successfully completed an ABET North Campus move, we offered to unique talents and skills. Our core accreditation review of all of our loan them $2 million to get the show team consisted of the deans (JJD, academic programs. (And all the while on the road. When Harold Shapiro and Chuck Vest, Dan Atkins, Scott Fogler, I was keeping earlier commitments Bill Frye were unwilling to challenge and Hal Harger). Although each of to two weeks of lectures in London the vice president for research over our us had particular responsibilities and and three weeks of lectures to the proposal for research incentives, we assignments, we worked together on French Atomic Energy Commission in found a way to accomplish the same major strategic issues, trusting one Chartres.) objective while avoiding Executive another, backing each other up, and Officer politics. sharing and exchanging roles when necessary. For example, each member of 82 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

the team developed close relationships It is also important to note that I moved into Mortimer Cooley’s old with key members of the central the concept of teamwork extended dean’s office, I asked to have a word administration. I handled the Executive far beyond the core deans’ team. We processing terminal installed on my Officers (Harold Shapiro, Bill Frye, Jim regarded both the department chairs desk. (It was one of the first A. B. Dick Brinkerhoff, and such). Chuck Vest and the College Executive Committee systems.) Since I had been an early developed close relationships with key as important elements of the extended user of microcomputers, I also brought staff, including Paul Spradlin (Plant), leadership team of the College. The over an Apple II computer with the Allen Spivey, Bob Holbrook, and Bob active involvement of these faculty first VisiCalc spreadsheet software to Sauve (provost), Ralph Nichols and members in our major initiatives use in budget analysis. In fact, when Keith Molin (state relations). Both Dan earned their active support and Allen Spivey first shared with us his Atkins and Scott Folger formed the allowed the College to move ahead own hand-calculations of the relative bonds with key people in their areas together. ebb and flow of University support (research, instruction). Dan also had of various academic programs in the key relationships with people at the The Importance of Experience 1970s, we immediately began to obtain state and federal level, including the this information on our own and enter Governor and his staff. And Hal Harger Although our team may have been it into VisiCalc and then later Lotus and had invaluable, longstanding relations inexperienced in administration, we Excel when the IBM PC appeared. with key staff in the business, finance, did bring to the dean’s office extensive But we really moved into high gear and plant operations administration. experience in working on College-wide when the deans’ office began using These relationships with staff were and University-wide issues with the the new Lisa computers, which were critical not only for building support president, provost, and other Executive essentially a commercial version of the within the central administration, but Officers and central administration powerful Alto computers developed also allowed us to float trial balloons staff. Not only did this make us a at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center without risking confrontation or “known quantity” to key decision and capable of very sophisticated disappointment when the principals makers, but we also knew where the graphics, analysis, and desktop met. real decisions would be made and how publishing. We began to prepare very to influence them. It seems unlikely extensive charts and tables not only that someone coming from outside the documenting the Engineering Gap, University (or with experience only at but actually developing far more the College level) could have moved sophisticated databases and analyses so rapidly to establish Engineering as a of the University budget than were University priority. available to the provost and others in the central administration. The The New Tools Executive Officers soon learned that we knew more about University budgeting Since my research in science and that they did and would occasionally engineering had always been heavily turn to us for help. (I might note dependent upon computers, it was that we provided the first extensive natural that I would bring tools based documentation to Frye that LS&A was Several of the department chairs of the College (Erdogen Gulari, Steve Pollock, William Kuhn, on information technology into my also seriously underfunded.) Glenn Knoll, Walton Hancock) leadership roles. Immediately after WHERE TO NEXT 83

and making the case for increased University support, Frye quietly urged me to keep up the attack. He believed that we had every right to chastise both the University administration and even the Regents for the deep cuts experienced by the College during the 1970s. This gave him the ammunition to take supportive actions that would have otherwise been very difficult politically. The brass plaque of charts Yet I did have my worries. Despite our rapid progress, there were times But certainly the most important when I felt we had taken one step tool that rapidly became fundamental forward, only to take two back. The to our effort was electronic mail. inertia of the University administration Since we rapidly equipped all and the College were daunting. faculty members in the College with Furthermore, it seemed that each time personal computers, we were able to we finally managed to plug one hole in One of our many charts demonstrating the communicate instantaneously and the dike of the College, several others erosion in base support of the College of effectively using e-mail. In fact, by the would spring a leak. There were just Engineering time I left the dean’s office, we had so many things to be done, and they created a culture within the College in all had to be done immediately (or which most informal communications so it seemed). The amount of trivia We gained such a reputation for used this technology. I was later to take flowing through the dean’s office was supporting our efforts with extensive this technology with me as provost and sometimes overwhelming. One of my data, charts, and documentation that then as president, thereby driving its colleagues complained that sometimes when I left the dean’s office to become rapid use across the entire University. the College behaved as if it were one provost, the College of Engineering continuous faculty meeting. We had presented me with a large brass plaque to take care that in our efforts to swat containing a number of our key budget gnats, we were not distracted from charts. Where To Next? the strategic plan and what was really Yet another important tool involved important. idea processors, such as Thinktank We had completed the first year of There were also concerns about and later MORE. These were akin to our plan with incredible success on internal dynamics of the College. We outlining software that supported all fronts: funding, faculty morale, had been able to take some pretty brainstorming and free-flowing facilities, etc. Most significant of all, tough actions (e.g., the special salary discussions. We would frequently use we had established the College clearly program and the discontinuance of them in group discussions to develop as one of the highest priorities of the Humanities) in part because of the and refine new ideas. University. Although I was concerned about being too forceful at times apathy of the faculty; they were simply in portraying the Engineering Gap beaten down. But there was growing 84 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

recognition throughout the College and (although this would still be important) the University of just how dangerous and toward taking our case directly to we really were, since we not only Lansing. Of course, we realized that the intended to do precisely what we said University was a highly political beast, we would, but we could actually bring and we had to keep sufﬁcient pressure it off. We had raised not only morale on State Street to avoid backsliding. But but also expectations, and we would as it would turn out, a direct approach lose credibility rapidly if we did not to Lansing would be the second key to produce. the success of the College in the 1980s, But I had a more serious concern: since through this new effort we would Despite the clear commitment of not only be able to pry loose the state Shapiro and Frye, I was beginning to funding for Engineering Building I and worry about our continued progress. the completion of the North Campus The deteriorating state economy had move, but we would also achieve led to a series of increasingly painful the Research Excellence Fund, which cuts in our state appropriation that would provide an $8.5 million increase was eroding the University’s capacity in the base budget of the College as to respond to our needs. Over the a direct appropriation line from state longer term, there was the potential of government. budget relief as the University’s effort to reallocate funds through program reduction and discontinuance freed up new capacity. But in the near term, the University might not be able to do much more. Hence, I began to suspect that the real key to completing the agenda we had set out for the College would lie in Lansing. We would have to consider going directly to the Governor and the State Legislature for assistance, if we could get permission from Shapiro and Frye for such an effort. I became convinced that we would have to go ourselves, since I was not conﬁdent that the University would (or could) make our case for us. This growing recognition marked a major shift in strategy, away from focusing entirely on efforts to build strong internal University support 85

Chapter 6

Mr. Duderstadt and Mr. Vest Go to Lansing

Like many scientists and engineers, the grassroots level by the activities I tend to keep track of agendas and of the faculty. However the major progress with “To Do” lists and “Goals intellectual thrusts of the College, Achieved” charts. As we emerged particularly its new initiatives, could from our first year in the deans’ office, be stimulated and shaped by the I noticed that while the achievement College administration. We had already chart rapidly filled with smiley faces, demonstrated this through the effort the To Do lists became longer and to build programs in robotics and longer (although most items were integrated manufacturing. We now rapidly checked off). After several years needed to focus on other high-priority the items in these lists numbered in areas and opportunities. the hundreds, a sign that the more we Finally, although we had made great accomplished, the more new objectives progress toward restoring adequate were added to the list. support of the College and launching During the first year in the deans’ the sequence of actions that would office, we had focused primarily on complete the North Campus move, firmly establishing the College as a these tasks were far from complete. priority of the University, restoring Backsliding was always a concern. The adequate support for its programs, continuing financial crisis facing the and executing a plan that would University because of the weakened complete the North Campus move. It state economy made it clear that we was now time to deal with other key needed a new strategy if we were to issues. Foremost among these would achieve these goals. be improving the quality of the faculty. Although we were confident that the quality and morale of our junior faculty Rebuilding the Faculty were now very high, we believed we needed far more strength among our As I have noted, one of the most senior faculty. important actions we took during We also needed to address the the first year was to implement a intellectual directions of the College. special faculty salary program to Of course the detailed nature of the address market pressures on our teaching and research programs most productive and valuable faculty of the College were determined at members, particularly at the junior 86 MR. DUDERSTADT AND MR. VEST GO TO LANSING

level. We were able to continue these Finally we allocated a certain number attract these superstars, including special programs throughout our years of new faculty positions each year, laboratory space, graduate assistant in the deans’ office. To demonstrate the responding to department proposals support, and even endowed chairs. impact of this effort, it is interesting to based on programmatic considerations. Unfortunately, the College had only compare the differential between the We consciously avoided any tendency a handful of endowed chairs at the College of Engineering faculty salary to spread new positions out uniformly time, although this was to become our increases and those of the University at among the departments, but rather highest fund-raising priority in the large during the 1981-1985 period: allocated them to our highest priorities. years to come. In an effort to stretch For example, in our first year with these chairs, we developed a new Year 81-82 82-83 83-84 84-85 the new system, we allocated 9 of 30 policy in which the income from the UM 5.5% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% new faculty positions to Electrical and endowment would be used to support Eng 12.0% 9.5% 8.5% 8.5% Computer Engineering. (This was a discretionary fund for each chair one of the very few times I ever saw holder (typically $20,000 per year the energetic chair of the department, or so) rather than support a portion Through these salary programs, as George Haddad, at a loss for words. of their base salary. This not only well as the growing sense of optimism In the past he had always made an made the chairs highly attractive to associated with the new priority given impassioned appeal for the new candidates, but it also avoided losing the College by the University, we were positions needed by his growing the base funding for the position. We able to hold on to our best people. But department, knowing that he would tried to achieve a balance between it was also clear that we needed to be given only a small fraction of the awarding chairs to current faculty build the quality of the faculty through positions he requested. When he made and using them to recruit new faculty. new faculty hires at all levels, but his annual appeal to our new team, we We also tended to favor awarding particularly at the senior faculty level. responded by immediately granting his chairs to “stars on the rise” rather than The first step in this direction was full request!) “Mandarins,” that is, senior faculty of to modify the way in which new We also added a new wrinkle: great distinction whose contributions faculty positions were allocated to the the target of opportunity program. were largely behind them. departments. We sought to decouple We wanted to provide maximum Although the College had the hiring of permanent faculty from incentives for the departments to go considerable difficulty in attracting the more immediate (and volatile) after the very best people, particularly outstanding senior faculty during fluctuations of instructional loads. at the senior faculty level. So each the 1970s, with the new University To this end, we first agreed to fund year we would set aside roughly ten priority and sense of optimism, our a fixed percentage of all ongoing, positions and allow departments success picked up. Among the senior permanent faculty salaries in the to compete for them based on the appointments during this various departments (initially at quality of the candidate. That is, we early period were John Hayes, Albert 85%, assuming that faculty members allocated ten new positions each year Schultz, Gerry Faeth, Ron Gibala, would use sponsored research funds based on absolute quality rather than Pallab Battacharya, Fawwaz Ulaby, to support the remaining 15% of their programmatic need (or instructional Semyon Meerkov, Duncan Steele, Lynn appointment). We then allocated one- load), responding to specific proposals Conway, John Barker, Terry Brockett, time dollars to departments for flexible from the departments. We also offered Tony England, and Gerard Mourou. staff based on their instructional loads. to help the departments with putting As we intensified both the incentives together competitive packages to and expectations for excellence and THE TEAM 87 achievement, it was clear that many comparable to that received by their make further progress in erasing the faculty members hired in the 1950s colleagues of comparable achievement Engineering Gap. and 1960s were no longer competitive. and reputation at peer institutions. As I noted earlier, we entered We worked closely with department We believed this policy achieved the the FY82-83 budget year with chairs to address each of these cases, proper balance between merit and commitments from the provost to sometimes providing them with the market considerations. increase our budget by $1 million capacity for early retirement, assisting for the research incentive program, a in outplacement, or finding them salary program growth of $450,000 (for other positions within the University. Budget Woes the second year of the special market Not infrequently the final negotiation program), and roughly $510,000 for would end up on the desk of the dean As we entered the second year equipment and technical staff for a total (me) or associate dean (Chuck Vest). in the deans’ office, the Michigan growth of $1,950,000 (+15% growth). At the same time, we began a more economy continued its downward For the next year, FY83-84, we sought strategic effort to identify and develop plunge. Although Governor Milliken and achieved a growth of $2,785,000 the future leadership of the College. had been warned that tax revenues (+18%), which included $1 million from We actually maintained “depth charts” would not be sufficient to meet state the computer user fee that we began for key academic leadership position charging engineering students for the obligations, he refused to support tax such as department chairs and deans. Computer Aided Engineering Network increases and instead began to issue a Drawing on our own experience, (discussed in the next chapter). We series of executive order cuts in state we tried to encourage faculty with were pleased with this budget growth, appropriations. Since these were issued leadership potential to become engaged particularly during such difficult after the start of the fiscal year, when first in the array of various faculty financial times for the University. But expenditure commitments had already committees both at the College and we were also concerned that future been made, they were particularly University level. growth would become more difficult. painful to education. Bill Frye was Finally, it is interesting to note that And so it was, since in FY84-85, Frye forced to accelerate the Five-Year Plan many of the ideas we used to rapidly was only able to provide us with a of reallocation, and all academic units improve the quality of our faculty budget growth of $1,700,000 (+ 10%), (including Engineering) were warned were adopted by other academic units although we were able to augment this that there would be no relief. across the University and beyond. with an additional $1,510,000 from the Our total budget cut for the five-year Some were even taken along by those special computer fee. period was $530,604. We had already of us who went on to more senior Although we believed that Bill been given credit for the first 6% cut academic leadership positions, such Frye and his staff had the capacity to (that is, we had taken the cut and then as the target of opportunity program do more, we feared that they did not been given the funds back), leaving that would soon become the backbone have the capacity to understand how roughly $50,000 cuts over each of the of the University’s minority faculty to do it. Hence we began to explore next four years, so this would not be recruiting program when I became other ways to make our case for difficult to accommodate. However, provost. Our philosophy on faculty additional support. One of the more far more serious was the degree to compensation also propagated across interesting approaches was to develop which the deteriorating state budget the University, namely that the proper an “all funds” accounting process that situation would constrain Frye’s efforts goal was to strive to achieve a salary balanced the revenue generated by to provide the College with relief and for each faculty member that was the College (roughly $74 million in the 88 MR. DUDERSTADT AND MR. VEST GO TO LANSING

form of tuition, state appropriation, research grants, and gifts) against the University expenditures for our activities ($58 million). We made the case that we had become, in effect, a “profit center”, generating roughly $16 million each year for the University. We attempted to make the case for the return of some of this “profit” back to the College to eliminate the Engineering Gap. A second approach was effectively to walk the University out on a limb by taking a very calculated and deliberate gamble to maintain the pace of our staffing and facilities programs by expending our entire discretionary More significantly, he and Harold there was nothing to lose by letting us capacity at year-end to close the books. Shapiro finally were willing to let us go try. To make certain we did not get into This demonstrated to the central directly to Lansing to see if we could any trouble, Dick Kennedy assigned a administration both that we would pry loose special state support to meet long-time Lansing political pro, Keith continue to behave in a financially our needs. Molin, to accompany us and show us responsible fashion with no overruns the ropes. or deficits, and at the same time, that We began what would become we were not kidding when we said we Engineering Building I: increasingly frequent and regular trips were willing to bet the ranch to keep to Lansing, to meet key members of our momentum going. Chuck and Jim Go To the Legislature and the Governor’s Although these pressures persuaded Lansing office, and their staffs. The objective Bill Frye that we were still far short was to reactivate the capital outlay of where we needed to be in erasing Our first adventure into state politics process for EBI and then to maintain its the Engineering Gap, he preferred to occurred in 1982, during the depths of progress through the complex political maintain a “positive ambiguity” rather the Michigan recession, when Harold process leading to authorization than commit to an inadequate number. Shapiro agreed to let Chuck Vest and and appropriation for an actual Fortunately, he (and we) also had a me go to Lansing in an attempt to gain construction start. Shortly after we good sense of humor, when on one support for Engineering Building I began to travel to Lansing with Molin, of our many forays to State Street, he (EBI). Since the University had already Ralph Nichols brought us a glimmer of presented us with a blank check: expended most of its political capital hope: the project had actually appeared in the effort to obtain the $180 million on the list of capital outlay projects to for the Replacement Hospital Project, be considered during the last year of state funding of the $30 EBI project the Milliken administration. seemed like a long shot. Shapiro felt THE PLAN 89

It was quite a learning experience, We also learned well the old boxing administration and convince them preparing us well for later efforts in adage: “Train hard, fight easy!”, that EBI could be a critical element both Lansing and Washington. Many of since each time we were called to of their economic development our meetings involved formal briefings testify before one key committee or plan, which was based heavily on of key legislators and staff. At other another, we would work for days on technology. In Governor Blanchard’s times we would lie in wait near the the presentation, only to find when first capital outlay request, EBI was doors to the legislative chambers, along we arrived at the hearing that our given the highest priority. Furthermore, with dozens of other lobbyists, and testimony would not be necessary Blanchard moved quickly to pass an simply try to catch members with a after all. Yet another lesson: Sometimes increase in the state income tax to brief word. In some cases, we worked not having to testify can be the most stabilize the budget, thereby providing at a social level, such as the night positive sign of all that the political funds for capital outlay projects such Chuck, Keith, and I spent with three process has been sufficiently well as ours to move ahead (although the senior members of the Joint Capital greased that a project will slide through tax increase eventually resulted in the Outlay Committee drinking together without comment. recall of two legislators). We learned late into the evening at a bar in East Fortunately, we were able to get to how important it was to hit critical Lansing. Whatever it took. key members of the new Blanchard decision points at just the right time. It was also important to avoid any actions Engineering Building I site design that might require an unnecessary trip back for another approval by the Joint Capital Outlay Committee. An example here was the site of the project. Although we were going after a building considerably larger than that first proposed for Engineering Building I in the original four-building plan of the 1970s, we kept it on precisely the same site footprint to avoid any need for reconsideration by JCOC. Although EBI today (now called the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science building) looks a bit cramped between two adjacent buildings, it was built on schedule and to specifications, and that was the key objective. The final goal was achieved in June of 1983, when the EBI project received the final construction start authorization from the Legislature. Governor Blanchard flew in by helicopter to turn the first shovel of dirt at the construction start ceremony, 90 MR. DUDERSTADT AND MR. VEST GO TO LANSING

Artist’s conception of Engineering Building I

and the bulldozers quickly converged that he agreed to let us continue our on the site. The final piece of the North efforts to make our case to the new Campus move puzzle was now in Blanchard administration for more place! funding for the College. Bill Frye was a bit more reluctant to turn us loose, since he was worried that any success The Research Excellence we might have in Lansing would come out of the general state appropriation Fund to the University. But Shapiro convinced him to let us try, and off we Our experience in Lansing would serve went again. us well in yet another adventure in Actually, I was already a frequent state politics that was to prove even visitor to Lansing on a similar mission: more important for the future of the an effort launched by the Michigan College: the Research Excellence Fund. Society of Professional Engineers Harold Shapiro had been sufficiently impressed with our ability to persuade Harold Shapiro, Governor James Blanchard, Lansing to fund Engineering Building I and the Dean break ground for EBI THE PLAN 91 to seek a special appropriation for both committees to see if we could element of the Governor’s strategy, equipment at Michigan’s colleges position the College of Engineering as a and to win legislative support for the of engineering. John Selby, CEO of component of both strategies. concept. Our code name for this effort Consumers Power and chair of MSPE, Chuck, Dan, and I began to was the “MIT of the Midwest” plan, and I spent many days traveling about develop close relationships with the with a target of achieving a special state the state (in John’s company plane), Blanchard team (particularly Doug appropriation in our base of roughly meeting with CEOs and legislators, Ross, Pete Plasterik, Ralph Gerson, $8 to $9 million through the Research in an effort to enlist their support Jamie Kenworthy, Peter Eckstein, Excellence Fund mechanism. for a major “Engineering Excellence Pete Walters, and Bob Naftely). Dan Fund” that would provide $10 million worked closely with Blanchard in an a year for equipping the state’s effort to go after the Semiconductor engineering colleges. We participated Research Institute (which eventually in several legislative hearings along ended up in Austin). Chuck and I met with representatives from industry, frequently with Kenworthy, Plaskterik, and while we would always get a and Power as they developed the warm reception along with assurances high-tech elements of the broader from key legislative leaders that they strategy of economic development supported the effort, the money never designed to create jobs. Through came through. But this effort was not these discussions we managed to get wasted, since many of the arguments specific mention of the College in the and contacts would become useful as strategic plan developed by Doug the new Blanchard administration came Ross: “Michigan must invest heavily Working on the new governor to Lansing. in centers of applied research, with As the planning for the Research We had also been involved in special emphasis on developing the Excellence Fund began to take shape, it conversations with a number of University of Michigan’s College of was finally announced as a $25 million members of the Blanchard team even Engineering as a world leader in this initiative that would channel funds for before he was elected, as they tried to field.” Furthermore, Philip Power research centers of excellence to the understand better the needs of the state managed to get specific mention of the state’s four research universities, with and develop their strategy for the first concept of a “research excellence fund,” $11.25 million coming to the University term. Shortly after Blanchard moved in which the state would invest in of Michigan. Of this amount, $8.5 into the state house, two major task centers of excellence within its research million would be earmarked for the forces were launched, one concerning universities. College of Engineering; $2.25 million the economic future of the state chaired As this momentum began to build, for molecular genetics; and $0.5 million by Doug Ross (who would become we touched bases again with Shapiro, for the LS&A component of the new the director of the state Department both to make certain he still supported applied physics program. Since we of Commerce), and one concerning the effort and to ask for his specific would eventually have to submit the future of higher education in help in keeping this issue before specific requests for our $8.5 million Michigan, chaired by Philip Power (son Blanchard. We also asked for the help share, we proposed at an early stage of former University Regent Eugene of Dick Kennedy and his team to help that these funds would be used to Power and husband of then Regent with the effort both to get the Research support our Center for Research on Sarah Power). We worked closely with Excellence Fund established as an 92 MR. DUDERSTADT AND MR. VEST GO TO LANSING

Integrated Manufacturing (CRIM), a battle within the University to keep It is likely that had I remained as new Center for Machine Intelligence, Bill Frye from caving into pressure Dean of Engineering, I would have and a Center for Advanced Electronics to divert the $6.6 million to other had to fight the battle again and again and Optics Technology (which would University needs. Here it is important each year to keep the University from fund much of the equipment and to understand that the University’s dispersing to other units the $8.5 staffing required for the solid state constitutional autonomy technically million allocated through the Research electronics laboratory planned as the gives it authority to override legislative Excellence Fund to the College. After centerpiece for Engineering Building intent in an appropriation (although all, the provost could have simply I). As we began to work the concept at the risk of alienating Lansing). We allowed us to keep the $8.5 million, through the state legislature, it became fought hard on both fronts, and with and then reduced our budget in other apparent that roughly $3 million would the strong support of the Governor, areas. However, once again fate seemed have to be added to buy off the smaller put considerable pressure on the to take care of the College, because state universities. We worked hard to University to carry out the original by the time the next budget cycle was build awareness and support for the intent of the Research Excellence Fund underway, I had succeeded Bill Frye Research Excellence Fund among our (with Shapiro’s support, although as provost. Both I and Chuck Vest friends in industry as well as in labor with considerable reluctance on Frye’s (who succeeded me as provost when (through contacts I had developed with part). Frye eventually announced I became president) made certain that the UAW with Philip Power’s help). at a meeting of the deans that the the $8.5 million was locked firmly into Similarly, we contacted members of the University intended to follow the intent the base of the College for the future, University’s Regents to make certain of the Legislature by allocating the full where it remains today (although they understood and supported the $6.6 million (and the supplemental no longer identified as the research effort. appropriation, if it was approved) to excellence fund). Everything seemed all set for the College of Engineering, although he Although we fought and won many approval by the legislature in spring, was not pleased by such targeted state battles during the early 1980s, this was 1985. But then in the typical midnight support. a particularly important victory. With massacre that happens in state politics, The supplemental appropriation this $8.5 million increase (actually, when the bill finally came out of the came through in late 1985, boosting our $9.1 million with applied physics), we Senate-House conference committee, share to $8.5 million (plus $0.5 million not only erased the Engineering Gap. it had been cut to shreds, and the for applied physics, which was 50% a We obliterated it! Over a four-year University ended up with only $6.6 College program). Shortly thereafter, period, we had managed to increase million, designated for the College. Bob Naftely announced that he was the College’s base support from the Both the speaker of the house (Gary wiring the Research Excellence Fund University from $13.2 million to $34 Owen) and the state budget director into the future base budgets of the million per year—almost tripling (Bob Naftely) pledged to go after the research universities so that it would it—while raising almost $70 million additional funding in a supplemental not suffer from political mischief each in University, state, and private appropriation, but we knew we budget cycle. Of course we still had contributions to complete the move to would actually have two battles on to go through a proposal submission the North Campus. our hands: first to continue to work process for our three centers, but this It is important to understand to make certain that the supplemental was only a formality. The $8.5 million that while the $8.5 million from the appropriation restored the full $8.5 was already in our base. Research Excellence Fund was initially million for the College, and next a targeted to support our programs MAKING THE CASE 93 in automation, manufacturing, historical level of 24% of each state end game that generally accompanies electronics, and optics, in reality these higher education dollar. Second, such competition. Not to say we didn’t funds were quite flexible (particularly although Blanchard had been a real win other major efforts, including in subsequent years when we managed champion of the College in the funding an Air Force Center of Excellence to get the Research Excellence Fund of Engineering Building I and the in Manufacturing Technology and designation removed from this Research Excellence Fund, these would a Science and Technology Center in component of our appropriation). be among the last of his positive higher Ultrafast Optics. But our win-loss This budget line would increase each education initiatives. In his later years record was not good during these first year with the state appropriation. I as Governor, he would learn from years. believed the flexibility of these funds polling that he could get far more In part we realized that this reflected was very important and urged my votes by holding down tuition levels both a weakness in the strength successors that the Research Excellence than adequately funding the state’s of our senior faculty as well as the Fund budget line continue to be used public colleges and universities. In fact, College’s ability to form faculty into as “venture capital” by the College even as the Research Excellence Fund interdisciplinary teams to go after to support new initiatives, rather completed its final stages of approval, these very large grants. We were able than committed to the base support Blanchard was already signaling to the to overcome some of this by recruiting of ongoing activities such as faculty state’s universities that he would hold superstars at the senior level (such salaries. Unfortunately, in later years, hostage their capital projects unless as Gerard Mourou who won the NSF the fund was gradually shifted to just they froze their tuitions (a difficult STC in Ultrafast Optics). But there such base support, thereby losing thing to do during a time of sub- was another problem. We simply did the advantages of its extraordinary inflationary state appropriations). not have the clout in Washington that flexibility and instead funding growth we needed to be competitive in these of the College. Nevertheless, the national competitions. Neither the College still benefited very greatly On to Washington vice president for research nor the through the significant growth in its University’s federal relations team base support. were very helpful on these efforts. A disappointment during the first Two final comments are in order. Therefore I accepted the years of our new deans’ team was the Although the Research Excellence responsibility to build the University’s lack of success in efforts to win major Fund had a specific purpose to presence in Washington. Dan Atkins competitions for federal research fund differentially the activities of was a neighbor of Bob Teeter, a senior centers. We first tried to win one of the the state’s research universities, the advisor to the Reagan administration, NSF Centers in Computing Research political process eventually took over and through his efforts, I was or a Material Research Laboratories, and leveled this temporary increase appointed by the President to serve without success. When the NSF out so that it disappeared into the on the National Science Board. This Engineering Research Center program higher education appropriation base. body served not only as the board was announced, with an emphasis on Although the College of Engineering of directors for the National Science manufacturing, we thought we were benefited greatly, there was no Foundation, but it also was the nation’s well positioned to win, but again we additional benefit for the rest of the primary source of independent advice fell short. Finally, we submitted a University. After a few years, the on scientific matters. Its members proposal that was ranked near the top University of Michigan’s share of the included many distinguished scientists for a national supercomputer center, state appropriation fell back to its and leaders of industry and higher but we eventually lost the political 94 MR. DUDERSTADT AND MR. VEST GO TO LANSING

education. They were each appointed A Few Remaining Doubts to building the teams necessary to go by the President and confirmed by the after major interdisciplinary projects. Senate to serve six-year terms. I was in Midstream Our earlier experiences with the ERC, eventually to serve 12 years on the supercomputer, and CER proposals National Science Board, chairing it for By almost any measure, we should revealed the limited bench strength in three years during my second term. have been very satisfied with our the College. progress toward our original objectives I was also worried about putting by the mid-1980s. The North Campus too many of our eggs in one basket. move was essentially finished, with We had made major commitments to only the completion of construction the Center for Research on Integrated of Engineering Building I remaining Manufacturing and were about to (scheduled for early 1986). We had make even larger bets on the solid gone far beyond our original goal state electronics laboratory. Yet, if of eliminating the Engineering Gap these failed, we could do considerable and managed to triple the University damage to the College’s credibility in support in just four years. Our faculty future years (particularly since we had was improving rapidly, as evidenced gone after a major state initiative in the by both the quality of our junior faculty Being sworn in as a member of the National Research Excellence Fund to support and the growing number of outstanding Science Board by Roland Schmitt these efforts). We needed to diversify hires we were making at the senior our initiatives and investments, but level. The College was moving into to do that we needed more leadership Through the National Science Board, exciting new areas and beginning to horsepower among the faculty. I was quickly able to develop both compete more effectively for major Finally, although we had been key insight and relationships with national centers and projects. extremely successful in making the the federal government. Although Yet we were still uneasy. During case for the College and keeping the I always took great care to avoid the first year we had been worried pressure on the University’s Executive conflict of interest, my rapidly growing about throwing too many balls in Officers to support our initiatives, I knowledge and experience in federal the air at one time. However as the began to worry about our very success. affairs, as well as my contacts, were to College regained its strength and My paranoia suggested a theorem that prove invaluable to the College (just as capacity, we began to worry about states, “When you always get what you they were later to the University, when our ability to generate initiatives and ask for, you should always be asking as provost and president Michigan rose pursue opportunities. We sensed a for more!” to a position as the nation’s leading notable absence of vision, creativity, university in research activity). and innovation throughout much of the college. Much of this was probably due to the “impacted wisdom group” among our senior faculty, worn down and apathetic after years of inadequate support. There was also considerable resistance, particularly within some of the large departments, 95

Chapter 7

Moving into High Gear

Although the rapid pace we had set others concerning issues ranging from during the first two years in the deans’ undergraduate education to technology office did not slow, we became more export controls to the future of the NSF adept at managing the unusual number supercomputer program. Although the of opportunities that arose from our time commitments were considerable, earlier success. The “To Do” lists the opportunities to learn more about continued to grow in length (typically the federal research environment numbering 100 or more items), but and meet the key players proved then so too did the completion lists invaluable. of goals we had achieved. There were We had made considerable progress some changes. Scott Fogler left to on our original plan, but we were return to the position of chairman determined to remain focused on our of his Department of Chemical key goals of rebuilding the faculty, Engineering. Lynn Conway arrived restoring adequate support for the from California as a new associate College, and completing the North dean in charge of new initiatives, with Campus move. As I have discussed in a particular emphasis on areas such the previous chapter, these efforts were as artificial intelligence and advanced well underway by mid-way through microelectronics design. Walt Hancock my term as dean and would soon be joined us to help guide our rapidly completed. But there were many other growing activities in manufacturing projects, including building a modern science and engineering. computing environment for the My own activities became even College, stimulating new intellectual more complex because of my new thrusts capable of attracting significant responsibilities on the National external funding, putting into place Science Board (NSB). This body met in new policies for intellectual property Washington for two to three days every development and technology transfer, two months. In addition, there were developing important partnerships numerous committees of the NSB that with other programs in the University, met more frequently. I was assigned and, of course, fighting the inevitable the role as chair of one of the major battles against the political forces that standing committees concerned with thwart change in large organizations NSF’s Education and Human Resources such as universities. programs and served on several 96 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The Computer Aided these experiences, I was convinced that the College simply had to break Engineering Network away from the University’s MTS system and build its own computing The College faced a very major environment, more suited to its needs. challenge in building a modern I was convinced that the digital computing environment for its computer would rapidly evolve from students, faculty, and programs. Part simply a tool for scientific computation of the problem was developing an and information processing into an appropriate vision for a state-of-the-art information technology infrastructure system and then financing it. But we absolutely essential to all of our also faced a challenge because of the activities, from research to instruction very success of the University-wide to administration. Hence, to build a Michigan Terminal System (MTS). The Michigan Terminal System (MTS) Computer System leading engineering college, we would Developed with IBM in the 1960s, have to become a leader in information this had long been one of the nation’s technology. This view was shared by leading time-sharing systems. Yet it This was a topic of personal interest, many members of the College. was an inhouse system, adopted by since my own career had largely Dan Atkins assumed the leadership few other universities, and during the paralleled that of the digital computer. for this effort, assisted by Dick Phillips, 1970s it rapidly lost ground to the new My particular area of research, nuclear Lynn Conway and other members of generation of minicomputers such as energy systems (nuclear reactors, the faculty. We set a rather ambitious DEC’s VAX systems for science and nuclear rockets, thermonuclear fusion), goal: To build the most sophisticated engineering applications. By the end was not only heavily dependent upon information technology environment of the 1970s, most engineering and state-of-the-art computing, but it had of any engineering college in the science departments at top research actually driven much of computer nation, an environment that would universities had acquired their own development. During the 1960s and continually push the limits of what VAX systems. Yet, Michigan remained 1970s I had done much of my work could be delivered in terms of power, not only moored to the increasingly using Atomic Energy Commission ease of use, and reliability to our aging mainframe-based MTS system, supercomputers at AEC laboratories students, faculty, and staff. The system but also to centrally administrated such as Los Alamos and Livermore. was called CAEN, the Computer Aided computer policies that prevented Although my research made use of Engineering Network, a name that academic programs from breaking the very fastest computers in the reflected its functional architecture away and acquiring more advanced world, several of our faculty members as a sophisticated information computing environments. In fact, every (including Dick Phillips and Bill technology network integrating the purchase of a computer had to be Powers of Aerospace Engineering) got Colleges’ instruction, research, and approved by a central committee at the me interested in the use of the first administrative activities together University. microcomputers such as the TRS-80 with both oncampus users (students, and Apple II for instructional purposes. faculty, staff) and off-campus In fact, I taught one of the very first participants (industry, government, introductory computer courses on alumni). More technically, CAEN was these systems in the late 1970s. From envisioned as a distributed intelligence, COMPUTER AIDED ENGINEERING NETWORK 97 hierarchical computing system linking for research (Apollo, Sun, HP, Apple personal computer workstations, Lisas, Silicon Graphics). We faced a superminicomputers, mainframe very major challenge in providing computers, function-specific machines adequate computing resources for our (CAD/CAM, simulation) and gateway students, since our large enrollments machines to national networks and (6,000) would require a massive facilities such as supercomputer investment. To address this, we took centers. The network was designed two very important steps: First, as I to support not only general mentioned in the previous chapter, we scientific computing, but computer- persuaded the University to allow us aided instruction, administrative to charge students a special $100 per The Apple Lisa Lab in the Chrysler Center services, and access to technical and term computer user fee to help support bibliographic databases. their computing environment. We first had to fight a battle on This generated $1.5 million each The second element of our plan State Street to allow us to break away year that we then could use to buy for students involved developing a from the University MTS system. Not (or even debt-finance) computer mechanism to help them purchase surprisingly, this involved many of equipment. We made absolutely their own personal computers, since our old foes in the kingdom of the certain that every penny of these fees we realized that the College would vice president for research, since they (along with significant contributions never have sufficient assets to equip ran campus computing at that time. from the College) went entirely to all 6,000 students. We explored the Fortunately it was easy to convince equip numerous student computing possibility of negotiating very deep Harold Shapiro and Bill Frye that they clusters around the College that discounts (60% or more off list price) needed to encourage more diversity would be restricted solely for the use with key vendors such as Apple and in computing, and in particular, of engineering students. To provide IBM. They were quite willing to do allow some units to move far out on a vivid demonstration of just what this, but the principal hangup was the curve of advanced computing the students were getting for their with the University, nervous that the as pathfinders for the rest of the fees, we converted two large lecture local computer stores might complain University. Engineering and Business rooms on the first floor of the Chrysler to the state legislature that we were Administration were given the go- Center into a gigantic computer cluster, undercutting their business. After ahead to build their own environments equipped with over 100 of the new considerable effort, we finally managed (which would eventually lead to the Apple Lisa workstations. This was to convince Shapiro and Brinkerhoff disappearance of MTS, although it quite a sight—probably the largest that the leading universities would would take almost a decade). collection of Apple Lisas that ever be achieving massive deployment I have already mentioned some of existed—and it really impressed the of personal computers to students our early steps to build CAEN. We students.1 We adopted the philosophy through such bulk discounts, and that first provided every member of the that these were the students’ Michigan would rapidly fall behind faculty with a personal computer computers, without any constraints if we did not do the same. Since I (a choice of either an IBM PC or an on how they could use them. Similar suspected that the impact on local Apple II computer). We next began to computer clusters were built around retailers would be very positive from acquire several networked clusters of the College.2 the secondary hardware and software state-of-the-art computer workstations sales stimulated by the student 98 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

program, we negotiated a separate We invested heavily in building an agreement with them to sell their wares instructional center (library, computer when the students picked up their center, instructional television) in computers through the University. the unfinished basement of the Dow Since the first major deliveries occurred Building (with only a minor setback early in the fall, we began to call these when the underground facility for events the Fall Computer Kickoff Sale. the HVAC equipment collapsed from It was quite a hit with the students, faulty materials and design midway particularly when new systems such as through the project). Chuck Vest the Macintosh appeared. The number pushed for more student facilities, of University students acquiring their including a small vending/study area own computers began to rise rapidly, The launch of the Computer Aided Engineering next to the EECS Building (we all called stimulating both the College and Network (with Bill Poduska of Apollo Computers it Chuck’s Bar and Grill although it and Steve Jobs of Apple Computer) the University to install appropriate was later named as a memorial to one networking capability in the residence of our young faculty, Jonathan Laitone, halls and University buildings. (The environments of any University in who was lost in a climbing accident Fall Computer Kickoff Sales continue to the world, a fact of major importance on Mt. Ranier my first year as dean). A this day.) to recruiting outstanding faculty and connector laboratory was built between The final step in bringing CAEN students. the Dow and G.G. Brown Laboratories to the level of sophistication we had for bioengineering, a major addition envisioned was made possible by a $2 was built for the North Campus million gift from General Motors that Commons (later named the Pierpont allowed us to acquire over 350 high- Completion of the North Commons), and the Space Physics end computer workstations, connected Campus Move Research Laboratory was doubled and with high speed networks, to serve then tripled in size. the advanced needs of students and As we discussed in the previous faculty. Our philosophy was simple: chapter, all of the key steps necessary We were determined to stay always at to complete the long-sought (and the cutting edge, but with a very strong endured) move of the College to service focus. We sought to remove all the North Campus were in place by constraints on computing, with no limit mid-1983. We needed only to finish whatsoever on student and faculty the construction of the massive use. We went with a multivendor Engineering Building I (now the environment, moving with whatever Electrical Engineering and Computer technology was most powerful. Science Building), and this would occur Needless to say, these were highly in spring of 1996.3 The Dow-GGBL Connector controversial issues in the early Of course, although the move 1980s, particularly at the University of all of our faculty, students, and of Michigan. But as a result, by the programs was complete, there was mid-1980s the College could boast one still more to do to improve the quality of the most sophisticated computing of the North Campus environment. COMPLETION OF THE NORTH CAMPUS MOVE 99

Lurie Engineering Center

The new EECS building

There were several major additions The Media Union to the North Campus in the years after I left as dean, including the FXB Building for Aerospace Engineering, Since I had a hand in all of these the Lurie Engineering Building and Bell projects (rather, an invisible hand, since Tower, and the Media Union. I was provost and then president at the time), I’ll return to discuss these in a later chapter. Finally, in my last years as president, I commissioned a major new master plan for the North Campus (the so-called “North Woods” project), Chuck Vest (as Dean) dedicating the new Space Physics Research Laboratory addition designed to add much of the human experience of the Central Campus. Unfortunately my successor in the presidency, Lee Bollinger, decided to halt these projects and largely ignored the further needs of the North Campus, but that is a story for Chapter 8.

Françios-Xavier Bagnoud Aerospace Building 100 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

regard as entrenched disciplines have changed considerably in the past and continue to do so today. During our lives we have experienced a period of great intellectual change and ferment. New ideas and concepts are exploding forth at ever-increasing rates. We have ceased to accept that there is any coherent or unique form of wisdom that serves as the basis for new knowledge. We have simply seen too many instances in which a new concept has blown apart our traditional views of the field. For example, in my own area of physics, Einstein’s theory of relativity and the introduction of quantum mechanics totally revolutionized the way that we thought of the physical world. The molecular The completed North Campus (circa 1986) foundations of life have done the same to the biomedical sciences. We are increasingly surrounded by radical Intellectual Thrusts critiques of fundamental premises and scholarship, collisions between With much of the effort to restore the different cultures and perspectives. support, environment, and morale of Hence the capacity for intellectual the College now underway, we had the change and renewal has become luxury to begin to think more deeply increasingly important to us as about its intellectual thrusts in teaching individuals and to our institutions. As and research. My own thinking had the pace of new knowledge accelerates, been heavily influenced both by it seems apparent that we are entering discussions with thought leaders like The “new” West Hall (no longer the home of a period in which permanence and Engineering) Carver Mead of Caltech and Lynn stability have become less valued than Conway of Xerox PARC (later to join flexibility and creativity, in which the Michigan as an associate dean) and only certainty will be the presence writings of science philosophers such of continual change. The capacity to as Thomas Kuhn. Some background on relish, stimulate, and manage change these evolving ideas is useful here. will be one of the most important It is important to recognize the abilities of all. dynamic nature of that intellectual But here we face a major challenge character of scholarship. What we because most of us have been trained INTELLECTUAL THRUSTS 101 to think in terms of change as a linear, causal, and rational process. We have been taught that by looking at the past, we can extrapolate into the future. Yet, because of my background as a physicist, I have become increasingly Past Future Past Future convinced that the change in most complex systems, organizations, or indeed, even fields of knowledge, From this view, the challenges The bacterial colony on the petri is: i) highly non-linear, ii) frequently that face us, challenges such as the dish runs out of nutrient. The world discontinuous, and iii) usually growth in the world’s population, population will run out of land surface— stochastic or random in nature. Let me or the consumption of our natural although perhaps this will not occur expand on this theme for a moment. resources, or the pollution of our until the year 2500 when there are forty planet, are growing ever more serious trillion people on the face of the earth Intellectual Change at exponential rates. Fortunately, with only one square yard per person! the same is true of the growth in Ah, but we have learned in recent Most of us have been trained to think knowledge, since the rate of change years that the world really doesn’t in terms of the change process as linear. in our reservoir of understanding and work like this either! Instead, we In a sense, we have been taught that by insight is proportional to the amount of have learned that even the simplest looking back to the past, we can simply understanding and insight we already systems in nature tend to behave in a extrapolate linearly to predict the have, the basic exponential condition. far more complex and unpredictable future. However, since we are attempting fashion. They follow a change process to apply an exponentially growing known in today’s popular lexicon knowledge base to exponentially as “chaos.” While the early stages growing problems, any imbalance of change are linear, exponential, or could lead to catastrophe, since we perhaps even saturating, at later stages would be overtaken before we could change frequently occurs in a far more learn how to cope with the problem. dramatic and unpredictable way. Enter the economist who says Past Future not to worry. Sooner or later every exponential phenomenon eventually Of course, the scientist has a much reaches a limit, a saturation, as the different view of change, a view law of diminishing returns sets in. that in many ways in much more Sooner or later we run out of necessary disturbing. The scientist notes that resources to sustain exponential most change in our natural world does growth, and the process of change Past Future not occur linearly with time but rather slows to a halt. exponentially at ever-increasing rates. In this view of the world, systems become unstable and undergo dramatic and often chaotic change to create new 102 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

levels of order and complexity. Here and gradual. It is not linear. Rather, it by a few extraordinary people with we need only witness the complex is characterized by nonlinearities that extraordinary ideas—or by the young evolution of clouds in the sky or the lead to complex behavior, frequently to or newly initiated—people who haven’t complexity of flowing water or the dramatic rather than gradual change, to had the time yet to become trapped in the extraordinary complexity and diversity revolution rather than evolution. same ruts as the more experienced of us. of living creatures. But that’s not all. Change is also not If we take the viewpoint that most To put it in a somewhat different predictable and deterministic, but rather organizations—or even most fields perspective, we now know that most random and stochastic in nature. The of knowledge—are examples of such complex systems that may at first real world works in sharp contrast to the complex systems, then this view of appear to be stable and unchanging are, deterministic views of classical science change is remarkably similar to that in reality, comprised of components of Newton or such modern determinists in the philosopher Thomas Kuhn’s that are continually fluctuating or as Freud or Marx or Skinner. That is the thesis concerning the way that scientific changing. In these systems a situation bad news. knowledge evolves4. In essence, it says sometimes occurs in which a single Now for the good news! Chaotic that a single individual, or idea, can fluctuation becomes so large, as a result change depends far more sensitively create dramatic change, a revolution, of feedback and non-linearities, that on small disturbances than we had if you will, in the traditional way that it shatters the stability of the system. ever thought possible. This is in sharp we look at a field. Kuhn uses the term At this singular point, called in the contrast to the basic idea in western “paradigm” to refer to the body of language of physics a bifurcation point, science that you don’t have to take into knowledge, in essence the way that it becomes quite impossible to predict account the falling of a leaf on some one is accustomed to look at a field, the in advance which direction change planet in another galaxy when you accepted practices or perspectives. In will take—whether the system will are trying to account for the motion a sense then, a paradigm is what the disintegrate into a highly disordered of a billiard ball on a pool table on members of a community of scholars or chaotic state or leap to a new higher earth. Usually, we neglect very small share; and conversely, a scholarly level of order or organization. influences. There is a convergence in community consists of people who share Of course, such bifurcation the way things work, and arbitrarily the same paradigm. One must take instabilities cannot be triggered by just small influences don’t blow up to have care here, however, because in contrast any old fluctuation, but only by arbitrarily large effects. The situation with the standard usage, a knowledge those that are particularly “dangerous” is quite the opposite in chaotic systems. paradigm is not really a model for — those that can exploit to their These behave in what mathematicians application; rather it is a subject for advantage the nonlinear relations would refer to as an “ill-posed” further study and articulation. In this that can trigger the instability of the manner. But the popular press has a far sense, then, most research consists not existing state. The more complex the more picturesque term, known as the of seeking major novelties, but rather system is, the more numerous are the “butterfly effect,” which arises from the polishing up existing paradigms, types of fluctuations that can threaten suggestion that even the disturbance essentially mopping up, or “sweating instability. in the air caused by a butterfly’s wings the details.” There are several particular features could cause major changes in weather In Kuhn’s view, major progress of this modern view of change that half-way around the globe because of does not occur through the gradual have major implications for the world the chaotic nature of weather patterns. evolution of an existing paradigm, but in which we live. First, from this Translated into more human terms, rather through a revolutionary process modern view, change is not simple dramatic change is frequently triggered in which an existing paradigm is INTELLECTUAL CHANGE 103 replaced by an entirely new paradigm. academic institutions may well wish time, since the more you learn, the more The transformations of paradigms to reconsider carefully how they go rapidly the rate of knowledge increases. are revolutionary in nature, and the about their business of teaching and At this early stage, a few individuals successive transition from one paradigm research. In this future, renewal and of exceptional ability and great to another via revolution is the usual change will become essential for both intellectual span can have a truly developmental pattern of a mature field the achievement and the sustaining of extraordinary impact, essentially of knowledge. excellence. stimulating and defining entirely new Kuhn also observes that those who It seems critical that academic fields of knowledge. This is the “high achieve the fundamental invention of a institutions respond not just grudgingly risk” area, since it can frequently take new paradigm are usually either very to change. Rather, they must relish and years (in addition to great talent) to young or very new to the field whose stimulate and manage the process of achieve something. paradigm they change. These are the continual change and renewal if they individuals, who, being little committed are to achieve excellence in leadership. Knowledge by prior practice to the traditional rules Further, we must encourage faculty of the discipline, are particularly likely members, on occasion, to take the risks to see that those rules no longer define a necessary for major impact. As Lynn playable game and conceive another set Conway puts it, after faculty have that can replace them. They can make progressed through the traditional promotional ranks, demonstrating contributions of unusual importance Time their potential for tenure and then the since they haven’t had the time yet to achievement to become full professors, fall into the same old ruts that have As the field matures, the growth in there is still something more: the goal trapped more experienced scholars. knowledge becomes linear with time. of doing work that will shape or even In summary then, the Kuhnian In this stage, the more resources you create a field. view of intellectual change, in which throw at an area, the more people or All too often academic institution— one knowledge paradigm is replaced dollars, the more you learn. This is and academicians—tend to regard their through revolution by another where it is “safest” to work, easiest to role more as keepers and transmitters of knowledge paradigm, is remarkably get grants, and to achieve tenure. existing knowledge than as the creators similar to the nonlinear evolution of As the field matures still further, the of new knowledge. Here it is useful complex systems that we discussed growth and knowledge trails off, it to think of the growth of knowledge earlier. So far, so good. What is the saturates, a law of diminishing return in the field as an S-shaped or sigmoid implication of this modern view of sets in as one mines most of the new curve. In the early stages, the growth of change for our institutions and our knowledge out of a field. knowledge in a field is exponential with scholars? If our future is indeed one in which the capacity to stimulate and manage Knowledge Knowledge intellectual change becomes important in a field and in which change is also viewed as a highly nonlinear, occasionally dramatic, and usually unpredictable process triggered by extraordinary people and their ideas, then this suggests that Time Time 104 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

All too often, much of our work conventional paths more trouble than this effort, we recruited Lynn Conway, drifts into this saturation regime and unconventional ones. who was then head of the artificial becomes essentially trapped in a rut. And, here once again, we must intelligence program at Xerox PARC, Some of my colleagues suggest there consider carefully the degree to which to join the College. Her role was to may be a fourth phase—they have the disciplines should be allowed to “launch rockets,” which she did almost referred to it as intellectual senility— constrain truly innovative scholarship immediately in a spectacular fashion where continuing to work in a field is and teaching. While we always take by forming a partnership with EDS and counterproductive and actually reduces care to understand and appreciate the the College to build the “capture lab,” its knowledge content. tradition of the disciplines, we must a multimedia brainstorming laboratory also recognize the degree to which they that functioned as part of the Center for can exclude or punish those who take Machine Intelligence. Knowledge risks. To this end, we launched a series of major research projects and centers that would draw faculty members together from across the departments of the College and beyond and encourage Time high risk research ”on the exponential part of the knowledge curve.” (Actually, there have been times Examples of such efforts included the recently when I have begun to following. wonder if my old field, nuclear fusion, hasn’t entered this final phase of • Center for Research on Integrated intellectual evolution as of late with the Manufacturing controversy over “cold” fusion.) • AFOSR Center for Excellence in One of the great challenges of Robotics research universities is how to • Computer Aided Engineering encourage more people to work down Network Associate Dean Lynn Conway in the high-risk, exponential part of • SRC Center for Excellence in the knowledge curve without unduly Microelectronics jeopardizing their academic careers. • Center for Ultrafast Optics We must stimulate more of a risk- • Computer Enhanced Productivity Technology Transfer and taking intellectual culture in which Project (EPIC) Intellectual Property people are encouraged to take bold • Center for Advanced Electronics initiatives. From this perspective, it and Optics Technology One of our key goals was to provide is important to jar as many people • Center for Scientific Computation strong incentives and support for as possible out of “conventional • Center for Machine Intelligence technology transfer. Key in this was wisdom” by fostering experiments, modifying the existing University recruiting restive people from outside There were many other such efforts policies on intellectual property. At of the university and turning them launched and supported during my last the time, the University not only held loose, “causing trouble” by making years in the deans’ office. To help us in ownership of all intellectual property TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 105 produced by faculty and staff in move on any significant modification could assess whether they were getting research activities, but retained as well of intellectual property policies for their fair share relative to other units. essentially most of the royalties under much the same reason that they were We believed the deans should be held the control of the vice president for unwilling to address the University- accountable for these decisions. research. There was very little incentive wide issue of indirect cost recovery Beyond the faculty and the for intellectual property disclosure and research incentives. These matters administration, we also faced a or patent development, and even would have to wait until I moved into challenge in changing the student less support for these activities from the provost office. culture. Not that the students lacked the University, whose activities were talent, energy, and commitment, largely staffed by lawyers with the since even during the early 1980s, we primary mission of keeping the cork in Changing the Culture were attracting the best students in the bottle so that the “big one” would the University, as measured by their not get away. entering qualifications. But the rapid Throughout these chapters we have It was our belief that income growth in University enrollments stressed the importance of the goal of from technology transfer should be changing the culture of the College, during the decades following WWII determined on the basis of who earned creating an environment in which had largely lost the identification of it and not under the control of the vice excellence and innovation were not students with graduating classes or president for research. The key issue only encouraged and supported but, academic programs. in royalty distribution should involve indeed, expected. We have discussed We attempted to restore this esprit effort, risk sharing, and equity, with the many steps we took not simply de corps by assisting students in the goal of providing strong incentives to put into place strong incentives creating once more a graduating to faculty and staff to become engaged for achievement, but also to raise the class identity, complete with elected in these activities. To respond to these morale and confidence of the faculty. pressures from the College and others, But changing the culture involved the University established an external many other elements. For example, we organization, the Michigan Research believed it very important to put into Corporation, with the mission of place rational, transparent, and need- intellectual property development from and performance-based mechanisms University research. Unfortunately, for allocating resources. We worked however, MRC could only work with closely with the department chairs those technologies that were released and Executive Committee to develop to it by the Intellectual Property Office these budget allocation processes. of the vice president for research, and We have already discussed several the lawyers running that office were aspects in earlier chapters, for example, determined not to let MRC have any how funding for flexible instructional intellectual property with potential or support staff or permanent value. (In fact, there were strong signs faculty positions were allocated to that the IPO felt threatened by MRC the departments. We believed it and wanted it to fail.) very important to share with all of Despite our best efforts, the the departments the total resource University was just not ready to allocations of the College, so that each Addressing the Engineering Class of 1983 106 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

class officers, and then organizing a and mathematics programs in LS&A. I to invest substantial new resources in separate Engineering Commencement was convinced that in the long run, the these programs by taking the lead in Exercise each spring. (This Engineering College could never rise to a position allocating new faculty positions and Commencement was held in addition of true national leadership without facilities to these joint efforts, even to the University-wide commencement strong University programs in areas in those instances in which LS&A exercises, so that engineering students such as physics, chemistry, biology, and was unable (or unwilling) to make a could participate in both.) The first mathematics. matching contribution. In some cases Engineering Commencement was held But here we faced a major challenge, the College took the lead in obtaining in Chrisler Arena in spring of 1983, since although the University of additional funds to support LS&A’s and it was a rousing success, giving Michigan had been a leader in science participation, such as when we built students, parents, and the faculty both and mathematics during the 1930s and into the Research Excellence Fund an ownership of and identification with 1940s, these programs had lost much additional $500,000 per year in base their own graduation celebration. It of the leadership during the post-war support for Applied Physics. In other created an important tradition that decades. This was a period in which cases we made massive commitments continues today. the LS&A leadership was dominated in funding and facilities to recruit new superstar faculty to build the programs, by the social sciences, and laboratory- as we did when we lured Gerard intensive programs such as physics, Mourou’s group in ultrafast lasers chemistry, and biology suffered greatly. Strengthening the Bonds from the University of Rochester to Although the decline in the quality of Michigan. We also worked closely with with LS&A these programs had become a concern the science faculty in LS&A to build to the University, with the release of One of the themes of our leadership and operate special-purpose facilities the rankings of graduate program was to rebuild the bonds between the such as a materials characterization quality in the early 1980s, it would take College of Engineering and the rest of laboratory (e.g., electron microscropy, a significant commitment to rebuild the University, particularly the College electron beam epitaxy). them, which was unlikely during a of Literature, Science, and the Arts. In There was also an effort to build earlier chapters we discussed how the period of financial retrenchment. bridges between Engineering and College had increasingly isolated itself Hence we made a conscious decision LS&A that reflected the changing from the University during the 1960s to do what we could to help build the nature of scientific programs. For and 1970s, requiring its students to quality of the sciences through the example, Dan Atkins led the effort take courses in humanities and social creation of a series of joint programs. to merge computer science and sciences from its own faculty. With The first of these efforts involved engineering on the campus, by guiding the move to North Campus, there building new interdisciplinary a faculty process that eventually led was a risk that the College would programs in applied physics and to the merger of the Computer and become even more isolated. I was applied mathematics, managed jointly Communications Science Department determined not to let this happen, by Engineering and LS&A. In each in LS&A into the Electrical and both because of my commitment to case, we worked closely with our Computer Engineering Department the goal of a liberal education for colleagues in the LS&A departments in Engineering. This new super our students, and moreover because of physics and mathematics to design department became the primary tenant I believed the College would draw these new programs. The College of the new Electrical Engineering and much of its strength from the science compensated for LS&A’s reluctance Computer Science Building (formerly DEVELOPMENT 107

Engineering Building I). A parallel I remained as dean another five years, cost-effectiveness. It must approach its process in the reverse direction it would almost have certainly come future as if it were a player in a very occurred when the oceanographers in on the radar scope). As it was, I would high-stakes poker game. It must choose our Department of Atmospheric and turn my attention to rebuilding the its bets carefully and courageously. Oceanic Sciences were transferred into sciences when I became provost of the the Geology Department of LS&A, University. More and more effort was spent leaving the College with a Department identifying and cultivating major donor of Atmospheric and Space Sciences. prospects. During the early stages this Although most of these efforts Development was more like a scavenger hunt, in the demonstrated a growing spirit of sense that our development staff would cooperation between Engineering set up a series of appointments in a In my later years as dean, more and and LS&A, there were a few bumps given region, say Florida or southern more of my time would be spent in on the road. The LS&A deans California, and off I would go by fundraising, traveling to visit donor occasionally exhibited a touch of myself, map in hand, trying to find prospects, whether individuals, paranoia, suspecting that Engineering’s my next meeting with a prospect. In companies, or foundations. We rebuilt increasingly strong engagement with retrospect, it was a bit crazy, since I was the old Industry Committee of the the sciences might be part of a power usually in a panic to find the prospect’s College as a new National Advisory play to eventually take them over. Not house or office in a strange city in time Committee, comprised of leaders that this was a new idea. Frequently, for a scheduled meeting. But the effort from both our alumni and industry. we would be approached quietly did pay off, since many of our most This served not only as an advisory by faculty members in departments generous donors came from these early group to the College, but also as one such as physics, chemistry, and meetings (including Reid Anderson, of our primary fund-raising groups. I mathematics, frustrated by years of Ralph Colton, Carl Gerstacker, Earl challenged the NAC at one of its early neglect within LS&A, and pleading Hoover, Goff Smith, Ame Vennema, meetings by observing: with us to bring these departments Milo Oliphant, and Bob and Anne into Engineering. Actually, this was not As an increasingly privately financed Lurie). And over time we built very so far-fetched, since several of the top institution, the College firmly believes significant private support. universities in the nation did merge that its future will depend not on the But, as most deans soon find, their sciences into engineering, notably capacity nor breadth but rather the quality the fund-raising activities of their the Universities of Illinois, Minnesota, of its academic programs. The breadth of school or college occasionally run and Caltech. Although I had great academic programs in the College was into complications with the central sympathy for the plight of the sciences, achieved during a period of exceptionally University development function. In the geographical separation of the strong public support. In the absence of our case, it was made more difficult sciences on the Central Campus and that support, the College must achieve because the University had launched Engineering on the North Campus the capacity to focus its resources to a major fund-raising campaign during would have been just to difficult to stress those areas in which it has the the 1980s without including the College overcome. The thought of raising capacity, potential, or mission to be a in the planning process (both because the $100 million or more it would national leaders. To this end, the College Ragone had completed a College- have taken to move the sciences to has developed administrative structures specific campaign in the 1970s and the North Campus was simply too and policies to facilitate reviews and tests because we had had interim leadership formidable at the time (although had of centrality to its mission, quality, and until I came on board). The key 108 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

priorities of this campaign had already in direct competition with the College nature of the vp-research units to been set, including several real dogs for resources, both from within and inadequate support and incentives like the chemical sciences complex (for without the University. Perhaps for sponsored research development. which they never were able to raise any the most striking example was the To this list, the College added other money, and which I would eventually building of the Institute of Science and concerns such as the policies governing build as provost and president with Technology, which not only diverted intellectual property and indirect cost state money). Not surprisingly, Chuck state capital funding from the College’s recovery. We had learned that within Vest and I would occasionally have North Campus moving needs, but the Executive Officer discussions, to fall into our “good cop/bad cop” created programs in engineering and Overberger would generally be the routine in which I would pound the applied science that competed directly one to argue against supporting the table when central development with those in the College for University College. Yet our concerns did not screwed up (for example, in allowing and federal funding. rest alone with a single individual, Ford’s gift to the University to go to But there were other examples. but rather with the office itself and UM-Dearborn Engineering rather than Van Wylen had strongly opposed the empire it had spawned. And, us). Then Chuck would come in with the creation of the Highway Safety sure enough, when Overberger was a calm, relaxed proposal designed to Research Institute, believing that eventually succeeded by a new vice address the concern. In the end, we those activities should be conducted president for research, Linda Wilson, found that we were best off when we within the College of Engineering. from the University of Illinois, we kept the central development operation One could well have made the case continued to have problems—although, out of our hair, since it was usually the that the reporting line for the Phoenix in fairness, I always felt these arose case that they were more of a hindrance Laboratory should also have been in primarily from the bureaucracy that than a help. the College, since it was most closely had built up over the years rather than related to the Department of Nuclear Wilson herself, who seemed basically Engineering. Beyond this, there was supportive of Engineering. an ongoing effort by the vice president The Forces of Darkness for research to take over other activities in direct competition with Although we tried to eliminate the the College that were only thwarted And, for Our Next Act... defensiveness and insularity that had by our direct approach to Harold built up in the College over the years As I entered my fifth year in the dean’s Shapiro and Bill Frye. A good example of budget deprivation during the 1960s office, most of the initial planning was the aggressive effort to wrest the and 1970s, we recognized that amidst objectives had been achieved. With the robotics institute (later the Industrial all of the good will, encouragement, construction of Engineering Building I, Technology Institute) away from and support we had been receiving Engineering. the North Campus move was assured. from State Street, there were, in Perhaps our greatest frustration with The Research Excellence Fund erased fact, some serious threats buried in the vice president involved a series the Engineering Gap and put the the central administration. Most of of policy issues. During my tenure as College on a secure financial footing these related to the empire that had chair of the Academic Affairs Advisory for the foreseeable future. We were evolved under the vice president for Committee we had already identified attracting outstanding new faculty research. As we noted earlier, during faculty concerns ranging from the members at all levels, and as a result, the 1960s, this office was frequently highly centralized and unresponsive our success in winning major national AND, FOR OUR NEXT ACT … 109 research competitions was improving and reshape the College, restoring its concern that the learning curve was rapidly. All of the indicators such as quality and its reputation. Now that simply too steep and unforgiving in a the national ranking of our academic the College had rocketed to cruising university of its size and complexity). programs, our sponsored research altitude, perhaps it needed another However, it was also the case that in volume, and Ph.D. production were style of leadership. over 175 years of Michigan history, headed up toward national leadership. Of course, during the years I served the University had never selected Of course, my notebook continued as dean, I had been probed about other anybody from Engineering for a senior to have long “To Do” lists, since no opportunities. My alma mater, Caltech, University position.5 matter how far we had come, there had tried to talk me into becoming Yet, sometimes the impossible were always roads ahead yet to travel. the Executive of their Division of happens, and in March, while I was in The North Campus still needed a major Engineering and Applied Science, with Washington at a National Science Board library facility which we envisioned the understanding that I would be a meeting, I received a call from Susan as supporting all of its academic lead candidate to succeed its president, Lipschutz, assistant to the president, units (including Music, Art, and Murph Goldberger in two years when asking me to come back to Ann Arbor Architecture). We were in the process he was intending to step down. The to discuss the provost position with of negotiating with the state legislature University of Virginia had approached Harold Shapiro. (Actually, I had been a statewide instructional television me about their provost position. Ford intending to fly on to Walt Disney network (MITN: the Michigan Motor Company had probed about World to meet Anne and our daughters Instructional Television Network). And the possibility of becoming their chief for our spring break week, but I called the North Campus still fell short of the technical officer. And, as I was to learn and told them I would catch up with quality of life for faculty and students later, I was even on the Yale presidency them the next day.) that characterized the Central Campus list (although, I suspect, only at a very In a brief meeting at the President’s (although Chuck Vest’s addition to the early stage). But Anne and I were not House, Harold Shapiro offered me the North Campus (Pierpont) Commons ready to leave Ann Arbor and the position, with the hope I would stay would help). University just yet. in it for at least five years. After all, As was customary at the time, As fate would have it, we really did Michigan provosts frequently have Bill Frye had touched bases with not have to leave, since the provost been lured into university presidencies the College Executive Committee position at Michigan opened up. (e.g., Roger Heyns to UC-Berkeley, concerning my reappointment for Bill Frye decided in fall of 1985 to Frank Rhodes to Cornell, Harold another five-year term, and they had return the following spring to his Shapiro to Michigan and Princeton, enthusiastically supported it. But, as native Georgia as provost at Emory Chuck Vest to MIT, Bernie Machen to usual, I was beginning to have my University. Harold Shapiro launched Utah, and Nancy Cantor to Illinois). I own doubts. Although I was confident a long and quite involved search for agreed, but with the understanding that we had moved far enough along Bill’s replacement, in which it was clear that Shapiro would also stay for that our agenda to rebuild the College that that the leading internal candidates period. (Unfortunately, Harold would backsliding was unlikely, even in the were three deans: John D’Arms, dean leave for the presidency at Princeton event of shifting University priorities or of the graduate school, Gil Whitaker, the following year, and soon after I eroding state support, I was less certain dean of the business school, and me. would be sucked into the vortex of a that I was the appropriate leader for the On the positive side, Michigan had presidential search.) As in my earlier College’s future. After all, I had been never selected a provost from outside “negotiations,” I said that since our brought in as a change agent, to rebuild the University (in part because of the relationship would depend on a very 110 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

high level of trust and confidence, I The time has come, the walrus said, to several years, but to rebuild the quality would be comfortable with whatever speak of many things... of the basic and applied sciences at arrangement he decided on. My Of sailing ships and sealing wax, of Michigan to a level befitting a great only request was that I continue my cabbages and deans... university. service on the National Science Board, ...and provosts too... since I believed this to be of major To maintain the momentum of the importance to the University (and the Last Friday President Shapiro called me College, I believe it essential that the nation, of course). We also agreed that back from Washington to ask if I would torch of leadership be passed as rapidly as Chuck Vest would not only succeed take on the provost assignment. Since possible. When I return next week, I will me as acting dean, but that we both the search/decision process to select meet both with the Chairman’s Advisory would develop a process that would Bill Frye’s successor had been a rather Council and the Executive Committee quickly result in his appointment as lengthy and extensive affair, I had had to discuss this process. While there will my permanent successor as dean of plenty of time to consider carefully the certainly be a short period of time during engineering. (As usual in a University, pros and cons of leaping from the frying which an Acting Dean will be necessary, process was everything, so we could pan into the fire. I am confident that the selection of my not immediately just announce him as permanent successor can be completed by the next dean.) It is worth noting that I During the past five years I have enjoyed this summer (i.e., before the key budget have scribbled in my notes on this brief immensely the opportunity to work with decisions for FY86-87 are made). meeting with Shapiro the concluding you and your faculty colleagues in our phrase: efforts to rebuild the College into one of Let me apologize for this rather cold the leading engineering schools in the style of communicating my decision “And Faust signed on the dotted line...” nation. However in recent months I have (via e-mail). (Although I am sure that become more and more convinced that many would characterize an e-mail With this midcourse maneuver the first phase of this work was nearing message from Walt Disney World as completed, I then caught the next plane an end, and perhaps it was time for a perfectly consistent with the Duderstadt for Florida to join my family. On the change in College leadership. While my style...high tech, with a dash of Mickey way I made quick phone calls to Chuck “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” Mouse). and Dan to let them know, and then style was probably necessary to get us while in Disney World, I made calls to moving once again after the doldrums Because of your support and effort, the Bill Frye and several of the key staff of the 1970s, I believe that the College College has been a very exciting place and deans to let them know before it might now benefit more from a dean during the past several years. I can hit the wires. Since I would not be back who can provide the vision, wisdom, and assure you that I will continue to do in Ann Arbor for a week, I also sent the considered reflection to lead the College everything possible to provide you with following electronic mail message to to new levels of excellence. the support you need on your continued the department chairmen and senior climb to the top of engineering education. staff: I am also convinced that, at this point in the University’s history, it desperately See you next week! needs a scientist/engineer in a top leadership position—not simply to maintain and enhance the momentum the College has achieved over the past AND FOR OUR NEXT ACT … 111

A farewell address to the College

The New Provost

A “moving on” picnic for the dean The new provost and provostess

The transition from dean to provost We had fun at the farewell, but both was about as rapid as that from faculty Anne and I would miss Engineering member to dean. My meeting with a great deal. We would look back on Shapiro was on March 22, and I moved those five years as perhaps our most into the provost office on May 1. As with enjoyable at the University. While Anne my transition into the dean’s role, I spent and I were able to accomplish more of most of that six-week period meeting lasting value to the University in the with people (particularly the deans) while roles of provost (and provostess) and working with Chuck and Dan to ensure a president (and first lady), the “go for it” smooth transition in Engineering. Dan and spirit of our deans, chairs, and faculty Chuck arranged a going-away party-most team as we rebuilt the College was fittingly, a German picnic complete with an experience we would never forget. a German band, bratwurst, sauerkraut, Besides, being dean is probably the and lots of beer. They presented us with best job at the University of Michigan. “Provost” and “Provostess” T-shirts and a (It certainly beats being provost or brass plaque containing the famous charts president, as we were to learn!) documenting the progress to erase the Engineering Gap. 112 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 113

Chapter 8

The Invisible Hand

The story of my involvement with As I have stressed, the fate of the the College of Engineering does College has depended as much upon not end in 1986, however. As both the leadership of the University as provost and president, I had many that in the engineering dean’s office. opportunities to help sustain the Since I was the first engineering faculty momentum established during the member ever elevated to the rarefied early 1980s. To be sure, the provost of heights of the central administration the University, as both chief academic of the University, it is useful—or at officer and chief budget officer, least amusing—to understand how must take great care not to play an engineer approached the roles of favorites among the academic units. provosting and presiding. Furthermore, it is important to stay Both Anne and I tried to bring out of the way of one’s successors the same energy, excitement, and so that they can set their own goals confidence about the future to our new and style of academic leadership. roles in the provost’s role that we had But loyalty lingers. After spending brought to leadership in the College of almost two decades in the College of Engineering. Engineering, including five intense Within a few months I had not only years in rebuilding it, I was not about launched a major set of planning to tolerate any backsliding in activities involving every school and University priority or support. college of the University, but I had But, before continuing on with my also launched many of the initiatives personal history of the College of that would later define my presidency: Engineering, it is useful to first take a major effort to increase the racial another detour to describe a few of diversity of the campus community our adventures in the roles of provost (the Michigan Mandate), a series and president of the University. This of initiatives designed to improve book is not the place for a detailed the undergraduate experience, an narrative of my presidency. But it aggressive plan to improve the capital is probably appropriate to convey a facilities of the University, a far- brief summary of that period before reaching effort to achieve leadership returning to discuss the progress of in the use of information technology, the College of Engineering during efforts to rebuild the natural sciences, The New Provost Team that period. and the restructuring of several 114 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

key professional schools (including candidate to succeed Shapiro at Dentistry, Library Science, and Michigan. Education). The presidential search was long As the activities of the Provost Office and wearing—as Anne put it, like accelerated, we were also asked to take a 14-month pregnancy. During the on additional responsibilities. Even latter stages of the search, Chuck Vest, during normal times, the provost then serving as Dean of Engineering, position at Michigan was a particularly dropped off two bottles of wine with challenging one because of its broad the accompanying note: range of responsibilities since the provost not only serves as the chief My public interview with the Regents academic officer of the University but also as the University’s chief budget officer. The provost was also second- in-command and thereby empowered to serve as acting president in the event of the president’s absence. Such a situation arose late in 1986 when Harold Shapiro took a brief sabbatical leave, spent partly in England and partly in New York, working at the Ford Foundation. During this period, I served as Acting President in addition Introducing the new first family to my role as Provost. While on sabbatical leave, Harold Shapiro was approached by Princeton Chuck Vest’s Advice with statements like, “He was my University concerning its presidency. choice!”) Although he declined the initial Others can debate whether the Regents In general, there was a very positive approach, the wear and tear of made the correct decision or not, but reception to the selection, both on the returning to winter in Ann Arbor took as fate would have it, in June of 1988 campus and in the media. Our family its toll, and he eventually agreed and I was elected the 11th president of the was well known to the University announced his intention to accept the University at a public meeting of the community, and there seemed to be a Princeton offer in early May. Needless Board of Regents. Since the Regents’ sense of confidence in the direction that to say, Anne and I found our roles in meeting was public, there were enough we would lead. the Provost’s Office even more difficult, folks in attendance to require the use Since my old dean’s office in the since not only did we have to assume of the anteroom. In addition to our Chrysler Center—consisting of two the responsibility of guiding the daughters, Susan and Kathy, there were small rooms and access to a conference University through a difficult period of a number of our friends on the faculty. room—was now vacant with the transition in leadership, but as second- There were also a number of University opening of the new dean’s office in in-command, I was immediately personalities, such as Bo Schembechler. EBI, I persuaded Chuck Vest to let identified as the most visible internal (Needless to say, Bo stole the headlines me continue to use this space as my THE INVISIBLE HAND 115

life, isolation, intolerance, and separation had to give way to pluralism and diversity. A new, dynamic, and interconnected world was emerging. If the University wanted to maintain the leadership position it had enjoyed for close to two centuries, it had to not only adapt to life in that world, but to lead the effort to deﬁne the very nature of the university for the century ahead. I was aware of the long-held belief The announcement of a new president in the University Record that each of the earlier presidents of the University seemed to have been

“faculty office” in Engineering. Since with faculty, students, and staff on the office was adjacent to the College of campus, augmented by numerous Engineering computing center (CAEN), discussions with external constituents, it had very strong computer support I began to focus on three themes for and network connectivity. This office the future: knowledge, globalization, was to prove invaluable as backup and diversity. Knowledge was command center when the Fleming becoming increasingly important Building was under siege, e.g., from as the key to growth and change. student protests or media attention. Information and communications It provided the perfect retreat for technologies were quickly breaking Anne and the Inauguration Committee, Shirley my effort to plan the early stages down barriers between nations and Clarkson, Anita Miller, John D’Arms of my presidency. During August, I economies, producing an increasingly disappeared back to my old North interdependent global community. As chosen—or perhaps was molded—by Campus office to begin to put together barriers disappeared and new groups the challenges of the times. The 1950s my strategy for the University. entered the main stream of American and 1960s had been a time of dramatic There I wrote the key speeches I growth, and Harlan Hatcher had led would be making during the year the great expansion of the University ahead to introduce my agenda, as it doubled in size and added two including my inauguration address. regional campuses. The late 1960s The walls of my old office were covered and 1970s were a time of great unrest with ideas and outlines for the themes in America, and Robben Fleming’s for the years ahead and my proposed wise and experienced leadership vision for the future of the University. had protected the University and Fortunately, much of my activity its fundamental values during these as provost had involved leading an difficult times. While Harold Shapiro extensive planning effort within the had positioned the University to adapt University. In countless meetings Jim working on his speeches in the dean’s office to a future of declining state support, 116 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

his most important impact was in a largely to serve a homogeneous, different area. As both Vice President domestic, industrial society, must not for Academic Affairs and then as also evolve rapidly if we are to serve the President, Shapiro’s commitment to highly pluralistic, knowledge-intensive academic excellence was intense and world-nation that will be America of the unrelenting. twenty-first century? But I sought something beyond excellence. Instead I embraced the Of course, there have been many in University’s heritage of leadership, first recent years who have suggested that as it defined the nature of public higher the traditional paradigm of the public education in the late 19th century, university must evolve to respond to the and then again as it evolved into a challenges that will confront our society comprehensive research university to in the years ahead. But will a gradual serve the latter 20th century. I became evolution of our traditional paradigm convinced that to pursue a destiny be sufficient? Or, will the changes of leadership for the 21st century, ahead force a more dramatic, indeed academic excellence in traditional revolutionary, shift in the paradigm of terms, while necessary, was not the contemporary research university? sufficient. Beyond this, true leadership would demand that the University Just as with other institutions in our would have to transform itself once society, those universities that will thrive The New Prez again, to serve a rapidly changing will be those that are capable not only society and a dramatically changed of responding to this future of change, world. And it was this combination but that have the capacity to relish, the same when he later succeeded me of leadership and excellence that I stimulate, and manage change. In as provost. In subsequent years this placed as a vision and challenge to the this perspective it may well be that the $8.5 million, increased each year at the University. continual renewal of the role, mission, same rate as the state appropriation, I wasted little time in setting out my values, and goals of our institutions will would lose its identification as a vision for the University during the become the greatest challenge of all! specific fund for research and instead week of inauguration activities. My become a part of the College’s base inauguration address set this out as a Although I had to be discreet in my budget, under the control of the dean challenge: efforts, I was able to watch out for the and available for any purpose. College in my roles as provost and As I will explain later, as President I The triad mission of the university as president, using an invisible hand to was also able to use my influence over we know it today--teaching, research, sustain its progress and prevent any state appropriations and private fund- and service--was shaped by the needs backsliding. For example, in an earlier raising to quietly acquire several major of an America of the past. Since our chapter I have already mentioned new facilities for the North Campus, nation today is changing at an ever- how I quickly used my position as including the Media Union, the Lurie accelerating pace, is it not appropriate chief budget officer to quietly lock the Engineering Building (which, despite to question whether our present concept Research Excellence Fund into the base portrayals to the contrary, was actually of the research university, developed budget of the College. Chuck Vest did a state-funded building), and an array TRANSITIONS IN THE DEAN’S OFFICE 117 of other facilities and infrastructure. I Chemical Engineering, as his own with a president from Engineering. was also able to help out the College successor as associate dean of academic Imagine my surprise when the search in other ways, through influence in affairs. committee concluded, unanimously, Washington, Lansing, and with key that Chuck was the most outstanding donors. But my most important role candidate. Although the idea of two as provost and then president was to engineers at the helm of the University make certain that the College continued was a bit unnerving at first, after to benefit from strong leadership. consultation with a great many faculty members, the belief was that Chuck’s exceptional breadth, and the strong Transitions in the Dean’s difference in our styles, would quickly overcome any concerns.1 Office

My first task as provost was to select Dean Chuck Vest dedicating the expansion of the a new dean for the College. It was Space Physics Research Laboratory obvious to all that Chuck Vest was the clear choice for this post. Nevertheless, Chuck’s first assignment was to University tradition and process preside over the formal completion required that we conduct a sufficient of the move of the College to the search to at least give the faculty a North Campus by dedicating the new sense that they had had input to the Electrical Engineering and Computer decision. We felt this was important Science Building. This was planned as both to the University and to Chuck’s a champagne gala, complete with laser credibility as dean. To this end, we light show and fireworks and a visit by appointed a small search committee, Governor Blanchard. Unfortunately, and then we retained a search a tornado alert kept the Governor consultant to do a scanning exercise, in Lansing (although he called both just to see what other candidates Chuck and me to congratulate us). were out there (particularly at other And, as noted earlier, both Anne and Daniel Atkins (Interim Dean 1988-89) universities) and how they compared I assumed what would become our with Chuck. The consultant quickly increasingly frequent roles as invisible Just as during my own days in confirmed our belief that Chuck would guests at the back of the audience. the provost’s office, Chuck’s first job clearly be the best candidate for the Unfortunately, Chuck’s tenure as was to find his successor as dean position, and by early summer we were dean of engineering was brief. Shortly of engineering. Since this would be able to name him Dean of Engineering. after becoming president, I convened a his first search as provost, I felt it Dan Atkins and Lynn Conway stayed provost search committee dominated important to let him take the lead. on as associate deans, along with Hal by faculty from the humanities, with Dan Atkins agreed to be Interim Dean Harger as business manager. Chuck the assumption that the faculty would during the search process. After a soon named Erdogan Gulari, one of be most comfortable with someone national search, which considered top our strongest younger professors from from the liberal arts as provost to pair candidates from Caltech, Berkeley, 118 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

and MIT, Chuck finally offered the position to Peter Banks, a professor of electrical engineering from Stanford. Banks was both visionary and charismatic, with extensive experience in entrepreneurial activities and federally sponsored research. However, his inexperience in leading a large academic unit, along with his considerable off-campus activities in fund-raising and federal relations, The prez and provost cooking burgers for the led to a growing gap between his Regents visions for the College and where the faculty wanted to head. Furthermore, Glenn Knoll (Interim) (1994-1996) the College Executive Committee attempted to fill the growing leadership We were able to convince an old vacuum and became overly involved in friend and colleague, Glenn Knoll, to micromanaging the College. take the role as Interim Dean in 1994. Unfortunately, Chuck remained in Knoll had served as chairman of the the provost role for only a year before Department of Nuclear Engineering he was approached by MIT about their and was widely regarded as one of our presidency. Although he was very most outstanding faculty members in concerned about leaving after such a both teaching and research. Hence his brief stint, I portrayed the MIT offer as appointment was a popular one to the a “call to national service” that left him faculty. The search for his successor, little choice but to accept. Two university presidents: MIT and Michigan however, took somewhat longer than Peter Banks was successful in we had originally planned, in part continuing to build the reputation because of a change in the provost’s of the College, and his fund-raising office followed by my own decision skills were key in pulling in major to step down from the presidency and gifts to build several important North return to the faculty. Campus facilities (including the FXB I had been playing a personal role Building for Aerospace Engineering in this search in an effort to lure Steve and the Lurie Engineering Center and Director, then dean of engineering Lurie Tower). However after several at Carnegie Mellon and a leading years, he opted for a new position as engineering educator, to Michigan. the president of the Environmental When I announced my decision to Research Institute of Michigan. Hence return to the faculty, it set the search we were back to the search for a new back several months. There was a dean. brief period when a number of faculty Peter and Paulette Banks with John and Susan members approached me to see if I Ulrich, fund-raising chair THE FURTHER EVOLUTION OF THE NORTH CAMPUS 119 would be willing to return to the dean’s role myself.2 Anne and I had long felt that it was a more enjoyable role than serving as provost and president. In the end, however, I decided that after leading the University for 10 years, it would be difficult to return to the role of dean. Been there, done that. Hence, I resumed negotiations with Steve Director, and he finally agreed to become the next dean of the College. Director brought with him not only a reputation as a national leader in engineering education, but moreover a reputation as a leading computer engineer. He was quickly The North Campus master plan, circa 1986 able to reestablish the linkages between the dean’s office and the faculty and already recognized that additional continue the momentum of the College. facilities would be necessary, as Furthermore, Director provided the indicated by this planning map for the strong leadership necessary to protect North Campus. the College from the dangers posed In particular, there was a need for by a new administration that largely a major North Campus library that viewed the North Campus as having would serve all academic units, as well benefited to an unusual extent during as an expansion of the North Campus my years of leadership and was Commons (later renamed the Pierpont determined to push Engineering down Commons, after Wilbur Pierpont, the The François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Building the list in priorities once again. former vice president for finance of the University who was the real visionary behind the development of the North Campus site.) Further Evolution of the The College of Engineering also North Campus had particular needs. As I pointed out in an earlier chapter, the Department The North Campus site of the College of Aerospace Engineering had been of Engineering continued to evolve housed in an inadequate, concrete during the years following my tenure block building constructed during as dean. When the College completed the 1970s. Through the efforts of Tom its move in 1986, following the opening Adamson, chair of the Department of the Electrical Engineering and of Aerospace Engineering, we were Computer Science Building, it was fortunate to receive a major gift from The Wilbur & Maxine Pierpont Commons 120 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

the Countess Albina DuBuousvouvray Campus, commissioning the noted to build a new building in memory of American architect, Charles Moore, her son, François-Xavier Bagnoud, a for the design.3 In addition, Ann Lurie former student in aerospace who was provided another gift for a bell tower killed in a helicopter accident in Africa. The FXB Building provided superb facilities for this important department. Furthermore, the Countess provided additional funding to commission a major sculpture, “The Wave Field,” by Maya Lin.

A sculpture at the Dow Building

Bob Lurie, a former graduate of the College who had built a major ﬁnancial The Lurie Engineering Center empire in Chicago with Sam Zell, a graduate of the Business School. Bob and carillon on the North Campus, also was a wonderfully creative person designed by Charles Moore. who had long expressed an interest At roughly the same time, I was in helping the College. When he died guiding through the state capital outlay Maya Lin’s “Wave Field” at an early age, his wife Ann picked process for a major appropriation for up the commitment and agreed to a North Campus “library.” We had fund a major building on the North long had this project on the drawing This blending of major art with the boards, including it without success evolution of the North Campus was in the Campaign for Michigan of the due in part to the particular interests of 1980s, with a vision for building a Brad Canale, who continued to direct “library of the future”. Two events the College’s development efforts. occurred that provided the University Chuck Vest was instrumental in the opportunity to move forward building a major addition to the North immediately not only with this project, Campus Commons that housed an but also the Lurie projects. array of student services activities. In 1992, when a new governor, John Perhaps the most dramatic new Engler, was elected, he learned that buildings constructed on the North he had inherited a $1 billion deﬁcit in Campus resulted from a unique the state budget from his predecessor. combination of public and private By taking advantage of an interesting support: the Media Union, the Lurie The expansion of the North Campus Commons loophole in Medicare reimbursement, Engineering Center, and the Robert we were able to execute an electronic and Ann Lurie Tower. During my days transfer of funds through our medical as dean, I had become friends with center that allowed the governor to THE FURTHER EVOLUTION OF THE NORTH CAMPUS 121

The Robert and Ann Lurie Bell Tower The North Campus, circa 1996 plug the hole in his budget. This not “instruction,” “technology,” and importance of these structures, when only enabled him to move ahead with “center” into a term that sounded high- cost overruns on the Lurie Tower a capital outlay program, but in his tech but really meant nothing: “The threatened to cut the original design, gratitude, he agreed to let us use our Integrated Instructional Technology I put in $2 million of additional share of these funds (roughly $125 Center” or ITIC. And this is precisely University funding to build it exactly as million) in a highly ﬂexible manner. what the state funded: a $70 million Moore had designed it. We had included in our package $50 complex that included the Lurie million for a North Campus library, but Building, Bell Tower, and the library when we learned that Michigan State (later to be called the Media Union). University was proposing a $70 million Ann Lurie was comfortable with using Soil Sciences Laboratory, we decided to state funding to start the projects, with jump-start the Lurie projects and add the understanding that her gifts, to be them in the budget request to match paid out over a longer period, would Michigan State. eventually go to help support a new To enable this, we needed a building for the School of Social Work somewhat different concept for the (“all money is green,” as they say). three buildings. Driving to our ﬁrst The Lurie Engineering Building and hearing before the legislative capital Lurie Tower would turn out to be the The Industrial Technology Institute outlay committees, I suggested very last buildings designed by Charles that we combine the magic words Moore. Because of the architectural 122 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The Media Union

The main structure of the ITIC complex was a $50 million building, originally portrayed as a North Campus library. However, since the governor had given us unusual flexibility in the design of this facility, we assembled a usually creative team of faculty and deans and The Media Union (campus side) said: “Here is $50 million. Build us a building for a 21st Century university!” And what a project it was. When the The Space Physics Research Laboratory The team included visionaries such Media Union finally opened its doors as Lynn Conway, Maurita Holland, in 1996, there were probably fewer There were several other North Dan Atkins, and Randy Frank from than a dozen people on the campus Campus building projects during the faculty and Deans Peter Banks who understood what it was. But the this period, including the Industrial (Engineering), Paul Boylan (Music), students rapidly learned, and within Technology Institute and an expansion Bob Beckley (Architecture), and Allen a month it became the most popular of the Space Physics Research Samuels (Art). Together, they came up facility in the University, operating Laboratory. Furthermore, the Lurie with a fascinating new concept, best around the clock, seven days a week, Engineering Center also provided a captured by the new name “Media populated by thousands of students. significant expansion of the facilities Union,” which was a play on the occupied by the Department of “Michigan Union” of the Central Industrial and Operations Engineering. Campus, but suggested the merging of various media (art, music, architecture, engineering) and senses (sight, hearing, touch, etc.) Randy Frank, then the director of the Computer Aided Engineering Network, took lead responsibility for directing the evolution of the project.

Cutting the ribbon for the Media Union with Governor John Engler

The Media Union was designed to The Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering be a testbed for developing, studying, and perhaps implementing the new paradigms of the university enabled by information technology. It would The Media Union (Bonisteel Boulevard side) give us the chance to try out different THE MEDIA UNION 123 possibilities before they become widespread realities, helping us avoid potentially expensive or even dangerous mistakes while maximizing the extraordinary capacities of our new tools. The Media Union created an environment where students and faculty could join with colleagues beyond the campus, developing and testing new visions of the university, exploring teaching, research, service, extension, and other areas. Even more importantly, the Media Union fostered a new spirit of excitement and adventure. It provided the foundation for a risk-tolerant culture, where students and faculty were strongly encouraged to “go for it,” accepting failure as a part of the learning process as they reach for ambitious goals. Organized around dynamic, integrative themes, the Media Union worked to The University of Michigan Media Union break down the compartmentalized nature of the larger university. more interested in new environments while capitalizing on their differences. Originally we envisioned the Media for their creations; and architects More specifically, this 250,000 square Union as a common connecting are increasingly concerned with the foot facility, looking like a modern point among the four schools on structural integrity and beauty of their version of the Temple of Karnak, the University’s North Campus: designs. contains almost 1,000 workstations for Engineering, Architecture and Urban We soon realized, however, that the student use-including Pentiums and Planning, Music, and Art, all of which Media Union must be a resource for Macs and Unix machines such as Suns are intimately concerned with the act the entire University. The need for and Hewlett Packard workstations. of creation. Although all four facilities interdisciplinary collaboration extends It has thousands of network jacks operated within close proximity of beyond the North Campus schools, and where students can plug in their each other, in the past there had been as a facility designed in part to bridge laptops, and wireless modems if they few collaborations between them. the limitations of time and distance, wish to work in its surrounding plazas This made little sense. Increasingly what better place to bring the North and gardens during the summer. The society demands designs that combine and Central Campuses together? The facility contains a 1.5-million volume aesthetics, efficiency, and durability. Media Union could act as a catalyst, library for art, science, and engineering, As engineers become more like artists, helping faculty and students from but perhaps more significantly, it is artists and musicians have become different fields realize their similarities the site of our major digital library 124 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The design studios in the Media Union The library area in the Media Union

Architecture at Yale University.) While presentation. groups could meet physically from The Media Union libraries eliminate time to time, many of the members much of the drudgery usually of these project teams participated associated with information retrieval. through interactive technology. Quasi-intelligent software programs The atrium of the Media Union Members did not need to leave their search out data for even the most home institution or even their homes unique topics, tracing connections project. There is a sophisticated to join in close collaboration with other within a broad spectrum of research teleconferencing facility, design studios, scholars who were thousands of miles that scholars might have missed visualization laboratories, and a major away. using manual techniques. While this virtual reality complex. Since art, Libraries will always have books, will never replace human insight, architecture, and music students work but the Media Union’s library will not the wide-ranging character of these side-by-side with engineering students, be judged by its number of volumes. searches helps break down the invisible the Media Union contains sophisticated Increasingly, information will be barriers that often separate disciplines recording studios and electronic stored electronically, and its data will today. The most useful resources for music studios. It also has a state-of- be dispersed across the globe. We are a psychologist working on an aspect the-art sound stage for “digitizing” talking about more than just text; the performances, as well as numerous Internet already contains archives of galleries for displaying the results of images and sounds, audio and visual student creative efforts. The Media information that scholars can retrieve Union is open 24 hours a day, seven at the touch of a button. Eventually days a week, so that students have a researcher will not have to find a round-the-clock access to its facilities. DVD to view movies or locate a tape The “virtual” nature of the recorder to listen to the score of a research teams in the Media Union symphony. And published “papers” entice not only campus scholars, but will increasingly include images and exciting thinkers around the world to sounds as an integral part of their participate. (For example, we built a The gallery areas of the Media Union relationship with the Schools of Art and THE NORTH WOODS PROJECT 125 of “panic” might well turn out to have centers find themselves infected by the As Architecture Dean Robert Beckley been written by an anthropologist or an stolid, incremental “disease” of large noted, “there are ways in which we English professor or even an engineer. institutions. Creating a fluid structure would like the building to have the Libraries will also increasingly that continually embraces new ideas messy, intriguing look of a house become places where the differences would be a great struggle. A related for mad scientists.” If we expected between “researching” and “doing” challenge would be learning to sustain the Media Union to be a catalyst, blur. The new information technology spaces that are truly neutral in their changing the common practices of our not only supports information retrieval, academic orientation. community, we had to find ways for but also facilitates manipulation of these new practices to move beyond that information. A student could not the building’s studios. only read about architecture, but use a computer tool at the same time to try out a design. For the Media Union to succeed, we realized we had to take risks, accepting that we might stumble before we could walk. When we began the early planning for the project in the 1980s, our challenge was to envision a The “Comet and Quantum Mechanics” fresco in building that could become a campus the Media Union “commons,” both physically and virtually. We struggled with designing Another difficulty we grappled with The Media Union a place that would allow colleagues was finding ways to let the energy and from very different disciplines and enthusiasm from the Center’s cutting- across great distances to collaborate edge research projects trickle out into with each other. Ultimately, we had no the common areas of the building, and final answers—just ideas. We realized ultimately to the entire University. The we probably would not get it all right new interactive library was open to all from the beginning. In fact, it was clear members of the Michigan community, that stagnation will have arrived if the but much of the rest of the building Media Union ever settles comfortably would be reserved for a wide spectrum into any single form. of research projects and groups. One of the problems in centers like Researchers and scholars needed space the Media Union at other universities of their own to work together, but we has been that projects often move in worried that if they remain isolated when the facility is built—and then behind closed doors (even glass doors), never leave. Limited paradigms take we could lose the opportunity for our hold and then can’t be shaken loose. students and colleagues to experience Instead of propagating flexibility their excitement. Even allowing the within the larger university, the outside world “virtual” access to the reverse often happens, and these Union’s projects would not be enough. 126 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

committee of judges to select the ﬁnal design. The competition was intense, and the judges were rigorous. In the end, the competition was won by Johnson, Johnson, and Roy, ironically the creators of earlier master plans for the University, who developed an extraordinary new master plan with the code name “North Woods.” This plan created a new North-South axis running through the campus, from the forests to the north down to the Huron River to the south. It made extensive use of the evergreen plantings that had long provided a distinctive character to the North Campus. The deans forming the judging committee were ecstatic about the design, united The North Campus, circa 1996 in their belief that it would make a statement comparable to other important campus designs such as the Jefferson quadrangle at the University of Virginia or the Harvard Yard. The North Woods Project Unfortunately, the North Woods design

With the completion of the Media Union, Lurie Engineering Building, and Lurie Tower in the mid-1990s, the North Campus had taken on a decidedly different look. It was now home to four major schools and over The North Campus “diag” 14,000 students. It made important architectural statements. Its rare blend of creative disciplines began to suggest we launched a major effort to develop a new name adopted by several of the a new master plan for the campus. To deans: “The Renaissance Campus.” stimulate creativity, we approached In many ways, the North Campus this as a blind competition, inviting the had become the laboratory for the very top architectural planning ﬁrms The North Woods master plan University of the 21st Century. to prepare proposals, with the deans of To recognize this broader mission, the North Campus schools forming a THE NORTH WOODS PROJECT 127

A schematic of the North Woods master plan

A schematic of the north-south axis of the North Woods plan

was completed during the last year of for post-modernist design in the Las Artist’s conceptions of the North Woods plan my presidency. Although we were able Vegas style). Bollinger replaced the to launch some aspects of the design University’s longtime master planner (such as purchasing a large tree farm to with Venturi, who promptly stopped attempted to bury the concept (and the provide new trees, and beginning some everything else going on campus, North Campus). of the circular plantings and entrances), including the North Woods project. The We were fortunate, however, in the the effort was rapidly brought to a deans who had strongly supported the fact that the new president’s lack of halt by my successor, Lee Bollinger, project were either removed or retired, interest in the North Campus meant who had become infatuated with the and Bollinger’s new administration that Venturi’s attention was focused architecture of Robert Venturi (noted elsewhere. Hence, although the North 128 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The Venturi-Bollinger “Halo” on Michigan Stadium

Woods project was suspended, at least we did not suffer from the Venturi architectural touch that humiliated other parts of the campus. But, as the College has learned throughout its history, if an idea is good, it will eventually return. And the compelling nature of the North Woods plan suggests that in the wake of the unusually brief tenure of the Bollinger The expansion of the Pfizer R&D laboratories on administration (the shortest for a the North Campus president in the University’s history), there may be an opportunity to resume the project. Let us all hope! the Life Sciences Institute, it did so However, the Bollinger at the expense of land critical to the administration was to leave one final University’s future expansion. It is legacy for the North Campus. Even as interesting to compare this short-term the president was negotiating his next opportunism (by a president walking position at Columbia University, he out the door) with the vision of the persuaded the Regents to sell 55 acres Regents some 50 years earlier when of the University’s North Campus they purchased the original North property to the Pfizer Corporation Campus site. for further expansion of their already massive R&D laboratories, land that had been reserved in the master plan for academic programs. Although this sale brought the administration some $25 million of badly needed cash to dump into the “cat hole” of 129

Chapter 9

Lessons for the Future

As this book is written, Anne and I are of working with some remarkably completing our 33rd year in Ann Arbor talented and dedicated colleagues in and at the University of Michigan. the “calling” of rebuilding the College. This is not only an unusually long And, of course, it was immensely period, as faculty careers go, of serving satisfying to play some role in the a single institution, but it also spans resurgence of the College, rising like a most of the half-century period in the phoenix bird from the ashes of malaise history of the College of Engineering. and neglect of the 1960s and 1970s to During this period we have had the a position of national leadership in opportunity—indeed, the privilege—to engineering education once again. serve the University and the College Of course, the sharp acceleration in many roles: as a faculty member, of the College and its rapid rise to teaching and conducting research; as prominence had as much to do with a leader of groups such as the Faculty how far it had declined in earlier Women’s Club that knit together the decades as it did with our success in campus community; as dean and rebuilding an adequate measure of “deanette”, provost and “provostess”, University support and restoring the and president and first lady, leading quality of its faculty and its programs. the College and the University; and Peaks always look far higher when as emeriti, returning to teaching viewed from a deep valley. and participating in the University In this final chapter, it seems community, almost as ghosts from the appropriate to offer a somewhat past, serving in whatever way we can broader view of the history of the (and are allowed). College and the ebb and flow of its Yet, looking back over these many fortunes and fate, dependent mostly years of serving the University, the upon people, but also upon events. But brief five-year period spent in the role perhaps more significant is an attempt of dean of engineering was in many to draw out some lessons to be learned ways the most exciting and rewarding. from the experience of rebuilding an In part it had to do with the energy academic unit, both as a dean and then and excitement of youth, since we were as a university leader. I have also taken both in our mid-30s when I was tapped the liberty of speculating a bit about by the University for this role. So, too, the future of engineering education. it arose from the wonderful experience Hopefully these observations can 130 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

provide not only some measure of and expectation for excellence, but Dow, FXB, SPRL, IST, Lurie, and the what it takes to achieve excellence also creating a “go for it” spirit of risk- Media Union). We were also able to in academic programs, but they can taking and entrepreneurism through build a state-of-the-art computing also provide guidance for those who the faculty, students, and staff of the environment, CAEN that became the will be responsible for sustaining College. envy of the nation. the momentum of the University of A third area of effort was rebuilding There were also several subtle but Michigan’s College of Engineering in the quality of the faculty in the face nevertheless important changes. We the years ahead, enabling it to continue of the low morale and apathy that believed it important to restore the to serve the University, the state, the had come to characterize much of the focus of the College on graduate nation, and the world. College during the preceding decade. education and research, since these We were able to arrest the departure areas provide the measures that of our strongest junior faculty while would most determine our reputation, Five Years Before the Mast recruiting new faculty members at national rankings, and ability to attract all levels. In fact, during the five- students and faculty. Investments were year period, almost 120 new faculty made to build world-class programs As the earlier narrative in this members were hired, corresponding to in hot areas such as manufacturing book makes apparent, the list of roughly 40% of the faculty cadre. engineering, microelectronics and accomplishments during that brief Of course, key in our efforts was the advanced optics, computer science and period in the early 1980s is both ability to restore adequate support for engineering, and bioengineering. significant and lengthy. But, now from the College. As we have described in By the mid-1980s, the quantitative the perspective of hindsight, I would earlier chapters, we were able to triple measures of College momentum suggest that the most important of the University’s base support of the began to surge and continued to do these achievements were the following: College, increasing its General Fund so throughout the 1990s. The volume At the top of the list would be restoring budget from $13.2 million per year in of sponsored research grants and the College of Engineering as a top 1980 to $36 million in 1986. This was contracts attracted by our faculty priority of both the University and augmented by similarly large increases doubled, then doubled again, and has the State of Michigan, as evidenced by in sponsored research support and continued to rise. Ph.D. production the remarkably strong support of both private giving. also has increased by a factor of four the College’s needs for strong funding History will probably record the since it hit a low point in 1980. In fact, (e.g., doubling General Fund support successful move of the College to today the College of Engineering has and passing legislation establishing the the North Campus as a major event the largest population of graduate Research Excellence Fund) and quality of the period, since this had been students of any school or college in facilities (e.g., the North Campus move, a goal for over three decades. But the University. The College has been Engineering Building I, and the ITIC beyond the success in putting together both a national and University leader complex). and executing a plan to accomplish in its efforts to diversify its student Second on the list would be the move in slightly less than four body and faculty with respect to transforming the culture of the College, years, we were also able to provide race and socioeconomic background. reestablishing both the commitment a number of new facilities that Members of the faculty now routinely to excellence and the confidence that gave the College one of the nation’s are recognized with major awards such it could be achieved. This required not leading environments for engineering as election to the National Academy of only the presence of strong rewards education and research (e.g., EECS, Engineering. And the reputation of the THE CHALLENGES TO ENGINEERING EDUCATION 131

College has climbed to new heights, period. There seems little doubt that national security during the Cold War. with both the College and most of its the College of Engineering made the During the 1980s we benefited very departments now ranked among the most progress during three periods significantly from the new emphasis top five in the nation (alongside MIT, of deans: Mortimer Cooley, G. G. on diversifying the state’s economy Stanford, UC-Berkeley, and Illinois). Brown, and finally the team that led and restoring the competitiveness of More information on these quantitative the College during the 1980s. In part Michigan industry. measures is provided in an appendix. this had to do with the events of the In contrast, other deans of the Hence, by any measure, the College times. Cooley led the College during College of Engineering have not been of Engineering has come a long ways the industrialization of America, with so fortunate. Sadler was at the helm since the doldrums of the 1970s. Today great demands for technology and during the Great Depression, while it is clearly recognized as both one of engineering. G. G. Brown benefited Crawford led during WWII, times that the strongest academic programs in the from a period of exceptional growth in made progress very difficult. Attwood, University and a leader in engineering higher education, with the G.I. Bill and Van Wylen, and Ragone faced shifting education across the nation and returning veterans from WWII, as well University priorities, driven by the throughout the world. as the developing research partnership Great Society themes, the protest between the federal government and movement, and the recessions of the the nation’s research universities, 1970s. These broader themes explain A Broader Historical stimulating massive investments in to some extent the directions in which campus-based research and graduate they attempted to lead the College. For Context education as a key factor in achieving example, Van Wylen responded to the

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E I

T have attempted to develop a symbolic G Y

E chart suggesting the correlation between the reputation or strength of the College and its priority within the University for various periods in its history. Although there may be some risk in doing so, I also feel obliged to relate Greene Cooley Sadler Anderson Crawford Brown Atwood VanWylen Ragone Duderstadt Vest Banks Director these trends both to leadership of the Weak DEANS OF ENGINEERING College and to historical events of the 1900 1950 2000 132 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

enrollment growth associated with the also devoted considerable time to against–the College, it declines very post-WWII baby boom by focusing the making the case for the College to the rapidly, as it did during the 1960s College on undergraduate education. University and the state. They were and 1970s. When our team came into Faced with declining University active both on the campus and beyond, the dean’s office in 1981, we realized support, Ragone focused his efforts on becoming frequent visitors to the State immediately that until we had re- private fund-raising. Legislature and the United States established the priority of the College So too, there are likely correlations Congress. These two leaders provided with the central administration, the as well with University leadership. For excellent role models for our efforts to rest of our agenda would simply not be example, Cooley had the support of rebuild the College during the 1980s. possible. Key in this effort was making Angell and Burton; Brown benefited the case for the College directly to the from the arrival of Harlan Hatcher; and top leadership of the University, to I had the exceptionally strong support Some Lessons Learned— the president (Harold Shapiro) and of both Harold Shapiro and Bill Frye. the provost (Bill Frye). Once we had In contrast, both Sadler and Crawford Revisited earned their respect, commitment, and served under Alexander Ruthven, then support, the other components of our in declining health. Van Wylen and Although we briefly discussed some plan began to fall rapidly into place. Ragone served during the Fleming of the lessons learned during the This task is clearly the primary years, at a time when the priorities early stages of our efforts to rebuild responsibility of the dean. There really were coping with campus unrest, and the momentum of the College, it is of is nobody else, among the faculty, had to contend with Allen Smith as interest to reconsider this topic from alumni, or patrons of a college, who provost, who had little enthusiasm for the broader perspective provided by can effectively make this case and supporting engineering. Fortunately, two decades of subsequent reflection. earn the confidence and support of my successors (Vest, Banks, Knoll) Since I believe these to be key elements the university leadership. History has could depend upon my strong of successful academic leadership, it shown time and time again that when support as both provost and president. is also appropriate to stress them once the dean is incapable of or ineffective During his early years as dean, Steve again here. in making the case and establishing Director had to contend with a largely a college’s priority, it simply cannot disinterested if not occasionally hostile Establishing the Priority of the prosper. administration led by Lee Bollinger. College within the University Fortunately, the sky appears to be Consistency and Persistence brightening with the arrival of a new Both the history of the College president, Mary Sue Coleman. of Engineering and my own Although it can sometimes seem like But although events of the times experience suggest that the first beating your head against a brick and University leadership are key and most important objective must wall, consistency and persistence are in determining the fortunes of the be establishing the priority given everything. Staying on message both College, we should not underestimate an academic unit by the central to internal constituencies such as the the important role of the dean in administration. When the visibility of faculty and external patrons such as the exploiting or surmounting these the College of Engineering on State central administration, industry, and factors. Both Mortimer Cooley and Street has been high, the College has alumni is essential. Any uncertainty G. G. Brown were not only energetic, thrived. When the University has or wavering will rapidly erode the forceful, and persuasive, but they neglected–or even, at times, acted effort to build support. And besides, THE CHALLENGES TO ENGINEERING EDUCATION 133 sometimes a window of opportunity They frequently become preoccupied style of planning and decision making opens in what appears to be an with process rather than objectives, was rather unorthodox, sometimes immovable brick wall. with “how” rather than “what.” We baffling both our university planning believed it important to develop a staff and my colleagues alike. Once Speed and Timing Are Everything planning process that was not only I overheard a colleague describe my capable of adapting to changing style as “fire, ready, aim,” as I would Today it is sometimes difficult to conditions, but to some degree capable launch yet another salvo of agendas understand just how rapidly we of actually modifying the environment and initiatives. pushed ahead our blitzkrieg to rebuild in which the university would find This was not a consequence of the College. But it is also my belief itself in the decades ahead. We sought impatience or lack of discipline. Rather that this was, in part, the key to our a progressive, flexible, and adaptive it grew from my increasing sense that success. We were able to accelerate, process, capable of responding to traditional planning approaches were building momentum along a number of a dynamic environment and an simply ineffective during periods of fronts. Success in one area propagated uncertain—indeed, unknowable— great change. Far too many leaders, to others, almost like a chain reaction. future. when confronted with uncertainty, tend Restructuring the salary program to To this end, we adopted an to fall into a “ready, aim . . . ready, aim reward achievement drove faculty opportunistic planning approach. The . . . ready, aim . . . “ mode and never effort and morale, which in turn idea was to develop flexible strategies make a decision. By the time they are established a credible case for greater that took advantage of windows of finally forced to pull the trigger, the University support. The completion opportunity, which avoided confining target has moved out of their sights. of the North Campus move was the College to rigid paths, deep ruts. Hence, there was indeed logic to my key in recruiting strong faculty who In a sense, this corresponded to an “anticipatory, scattershot” approach to 1 rapidly established the College as a informed dead-reckoning approach, planning and decision making. major player in key national research in which one selected strategic I believed that incremental change initiatives. objectives—where we wanted to based on traditional, well-understood Our experience clearly indicates that go—and then followed whatever paradigms might be the most to take advantage of the opportunities, course seemed appropriate at the time, dangerous course of all, because those one needs to have the capacity to move possibly shifting paths as opportunities paradigms may simply not be adequate very rapidly. Timing is everything. arose and updating strategic plans to adapt to a time of very rapid Windows of opportunity open and with new information and experience, change. If the status quo is no longer close very rapidly, whether in the always with the ultimate goal in mind. an option, if the existing paradigms University, Lansing, or Washington. In such opportunistic planning, we are no longer valid, then more radical assumed that the planning framework transformation becomes the wisest 2 The Importance of Having a Clear was never rigid. What first appeared course. Furthermore, during times of Strategy to be constraints might, in fact, be very rapid change and uncertainty, it transformed into opportunities. is sometimes necessary to launch the Too often academic leaders tend Since I am a scientist-engineer, actions associated with a preliminary to react to–or even resist–external it is not surprising that as a leader strategy long before it is carefully pressures and opportunities rather I tended to be comfortable with thought through and completely than taking strong, decisive actions to strategic thinking. Yet it should also developed. determine and pursue their own goals. be acknowledged that my particular 134 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The decision process in a university can responsibility. Sooner or later someone Always Bet on Your Best People and become overloaded and driven into a had to lead the troops into battle, and Strongest Programs state of paralysis. Sometimes it takes a suffer the consequences if the battlefield more creative approach. strategy was a failure. I have long Clearly, academic institutions and Our deans’ team was particularly become convinced that academic leader- programs are intensely people- fortunate in tapping the creative talent ship is never effective from far behind dependent enterprises. The secret to of some truly extraordinary people the front lines. Truly effective academic success is simple: attract the very best who have gone on to demonstrate this leadership occurs on the front lines. people; provide them with the support, rare human attribute elsewhere. Chuck encouragement, and opportunity to Vest’s skill in managing the successful push to the limits of their talents and North Campus move has been echoed The Future of Engineering dreams; and then get out of their way! time and time again in his leadership Academic leaders should post on their at MIT. Dan Atkins’ efforts in building Education desktops a sign stating: “IT’S THE the Computer Aided Engineering PEOPLE, STUPID!” Network and stimulating a broad array All of these lessons are likely to prove valuable in the years ahead as There is a corollary here. If you are of leading research initiatives were engineering education faces a period of going to place a big bet on the future, precursors of the role he would play as extraordinary change, perhaps too long make certain that you place it on your the founding dean of our new School of delayed and today desperately needed. best people and your best programs. Information. Lynn Conway’s creative Let me explain. Always invest in areas of strength, talents have been demonstrated time In rummaging through the historical and from them, create the momentum and time again through initiatives such collections of the University during the to build new areas. It was for this as the Center for Machine Intelligence, research for this book, I was surprised reason that we placed our largest bets the UMTV broadband network, and her to find how similar the engineering (and they were very large, indeed, many efforts in engineering design. We were fortunate in our ability to tap the curriculum of a century ago was to amounting to many millions of dollars) creative talents of many others among today’s programs. In 1900 we required on programs such as the Center for the department chairs, the College students to take 130 credit hours of Integrated Manufacturing, the Solid Executive Committee, the faculty, and courses in mathematics, physics, State Electronics Laboratory, the Center our students. and chemistry with a concentration for Ultrafast Optics, and the Computer in applied courses in areas such Aided Engineering Network. The Importance of Teamwork as mechanical, civil, and chemical The converse is also true. It is very engineering, just as we do today. dangerous to make major investments The importance of teamwork runs In fact, if one swaps yesterday’s in areas of weakness in an effort to throughout this period in the College’s requirement for surveying and build new areas of excellence. This 3 history. Indeed, the sense of teamwork mechanical drawing for today’s courses almost never succeeds. among our deans’ team, department on computers, the two curricula are chairs, Executive Committee, and almost identical. Of course, the actual Thinking Outside the Box faculty was truly extraordinary. It content of these courses has changed clearly dominated the usual hierarchy considerably—or so one would hope. As we have noted, simply damning of authority that characterizes With one major exception, the actual the torpedoes and pushing full speed administrative organizations. structure of the engineering curriculum ahead does not always lead to success. Not to say that we avoided has remained roughly the same over HOW CAN WE ACCELERATE CHANGE? 135 the past century. That exception education, which, while familiar from faculty—have experienced. While is an important one. The 1900 our own educational experiences, is engineers are expected to be well curriculum placed far more stress on increasingly irrelevant to the changing grounded in the fundamentals of the importance of a liberal education, needs of a profession—not to mention a science and mathematics, they are with more courses in humanities, arts, society—that is already far beyond our increasingly expected to acquire and social sciences. In fact, one might universities. skills in communication, teamwork, even suggest that we have regressed The context for considering the adaptation to change, and social and over the past century, overloading our nature of undergraduate education in environmental consciousness. current curriculum with highly specific general and engineering education in It is also clear from this perspective technical courses at the expense of particular is provided by the broader that engineering education simply broader educational opportunities for challenges of change characterizing has not kept pace with this changing our students. our world and impacting higher environment. It is only a slight Of course, engineering practice education. Engineering education will exaggeration to say that our students today is dramatically different than it not be exempt from these changes, but are currently being prepared to practice was a century ago. Indeed, it is quite may be swept along at the crest of the engineering in a world that existed different from that of two decades wave of university change. There is when we, as their faculty, were trained ago, when most of our current faculty little likelihood that the engineering a generation or two ago. They are not st members were educated. This raises an curriculum will continue to preserve its being prepared for the 21 Century. important question: Is the education century-old structure in the century— No doubt that part of this challenge is we provide today for technical indeed, in the decade—ahead. due to the intellectual organization of professions such as engineering the contemporary university in which adequately preparing our students for The Challenges academic programs are partitioned a world of practice and citizenship that into increasingly specialized and fragmented disciplines. Perhaps is quite different from the one that we Today, engineering practice is evolving reflecting the startling success of have known? rapidly in response to a rapidly science in the 20th Century, most Study after study has suggested changing world. The shifting nature disciplines are reductionist in nature, that dramatic change is necessary of national priorities from defense focusing teaching and scholarship on in engineering education. From to economic competitiveness, the increasingly narrow and specialized the National Academies to federal impact of rapidly evolving information topics. While this produces graduates agencies such as the National Science technology, the use of new materials of great technical depth, it is at a certain Foundation to industrial groups and biological processes—all have sacrifice of a broader, more integrated to accreditation agencies there is a had deep impact on engineering education. This is particularly true growing consensus that engineering practice. The shift of our society from in science-based disciplines such education today remains trapped guns to butter, from transportation 4 as engineering. The old saying is in a mid-20th Century paradigm to communication, from atoms to not far off the mark, “A Harvard (or perhaps even a late 19th Century bits, means that today’s engineering graduate knows absolutely nothing paradigm, if my archeological students will spend most of their about absolutely everything. An MIT discoveries about similarity between careers coping with challenges and graduate knows absolutely everything early engineering curricula and today’s opportunities vastly different from about absolutely nothing!” offerings are correct). We continue those most currently practicing to provide a form of engineering engineers—or currently teaching 136 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

We must question the value of engineers will spend many months professional status. Most other narrow specialization at a time when if not years in further workplace knowledge-intensive professions such engineering practice and engineering training before they are ready for as law, medicine, and even business, systems are becoming large, more practice. Furthermore, the effort to utilize graduate programs built complex, and involving components include the new technical knowledge upon a diversity of undergraduate and processes from widely dispersed in many fields, while retaining as well majors. Little wonder that the status fields. Many believe that the most much of the old, has squeezed out of engineers lag somewhat behind important intellectual problems other important curriculum content in those of other professionals with more of our time will not be addressed areas. For example, at the University advanced education. through disciplinary specialization but of Michigan, the humanities and The inadequacy of the baccalaureate rather through approaches capable social sciences component of the degree for professional practice is of integrating many different areas undergraduate engineering curriculum becoming apparent to employers as of knowledge—through “big think” has dropped to less than twenty credit well. There is an increasing trend to rather than “small think”. hours, with as low as two credit hours hire graduates at the masters or even Ironically enough, the essence of of free electives in some engineering Ph.D. level for technical work, while engineering practice is the process majors. relying upon baccalaureate engineering of integrating knowledge to some We simply have to accept the fact graduates for supporting services purpose. Unlike the specialized that it is no longer possible (if it ever such as sales and technical support. analysis characterizing scientific was) for an engineering student to Although study after study has inquiry, engineers are expected to be learn all they need to know during recommended that the masters degree society’s master integrators, working their undergraduate studies. Acquiring become the accepted route into the across many different disciplines and the array of technical knowledge engineering practice, this continues to fields, making the connections that and experience is a lifetime goal and be resisted both by the profession and will lead to deeper insights and more requires a personal commitment to the academy. creative solutions, and getting things continual learning. An undergraduate There is little doubt that the current done. Thus, engineering education engineering education should be sequential approach to engineering is under increasing pressure to shift viewed as only the initial launch for a education, in which the early years are away from specialization to a more career, designed to place the student in dominated by science and mathematics comprehensive curriculum and broader a lifetime orbit of learning. courses with engineering content educational experience in which topics As the growth of technical deferred to the upper-class years, are better connected and integrated. knowledge accelerates and the discourages many capable students. As the knowledge base in most undergraduate engineering curriculum Students have little opportunity to find engineering fields continues to becomes more bloated and strained out what engineering is all about until increase at an ever more rapid rate, the with new technical content, it late in their undergraduate studies. engineering curriculum has become becomes ever more apparent that It is not unusual to find students bloated with technical material, it is simply no longer possible to wandering into our counseling and much of it already obsolete. Most regard the baccalaureate degree as placement offices in their senior year, undergraduate engineering programs sufficient for professional practice. still trying to find out what they are have already become almost five years Today, engineering is one of the majoring in and what they can do with in length for most students. Even with very few professions that require an engineering degree. Compounding this increasing technical content, most only an undergraduate degree for this is the fragmentation of the current THE CHALLENGE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION FOR A WORLD OF CHANGE 137 curriculum, consisting of highly preparation for many other careers and Indeed, professional practice is not specialized and generally unconnected professions: business, law, medicine, only absent in promotion and reward and uncoordinated courses, whose consulting, and government service, criteria, but frequently discouraged. relationship to one another and to name only a few. This poses a The faculty reward system recognizes to engineering education is rarely particular challenge to engineering teaching, research, and service to the explained. Although everyone agrees educators, since they still focus profession, but it gives little recognition that the undergraduate curriculum primarily on educating students for the for developing a marketable product or should focus on the fundamentals, few engineering profession. process or designing an enduring piece can agree on just what content is truly Instead, as Roland Schmitt, former of the nation’s infrastructure. It would fundamental. chair of the National Science Board be hard to imagine a medical school While the rigor of the scientific and president of RPI has noted, we faculty comprised only of biological and mathematics foundation of must enlarge the very concept of the scientists rather than practicing modern engineering is important, it engineer to cover a wider range of physicians or music school faculty must be augmented by the broader human activities than every before. comprised only of musicologists contextual and integrative approach Engineering educators must begin by rather than performing artists. Yet characterizing engineering practice. realizing that it is their duty to educate such detachment from professional Students must gain experience not the leaders of our society as well as practice and experience is the norm in only in solitary analysis but also in to educate the professional engineer. engineering education. group work and hands-on “design- We should develop and promote a It Is Time to Stop Talking and build-operate” projects. We must strive new kind of engineering education Take Action to integrate real design and process as a form of “liberal education” for understanding into the educational the 21st Century. This will require Engineering educators, professional system. Above all, we must challenge new objectives and new curricula, societies, and federal funding our students to think, to create, and to some radically different that those of agencies such as the National Science understand excellence. today because of a radically different Foundation have not been insensitive In today’s world of change, most objective: educating not simply to these concerns. All agree that a graduates will find themselves professional engineers but a new breed sea change in engineering education frequently changing not only jobs, but of graduates with an engineering- would require a concurrent change entire careers. We already find that based, liberal education. from the predominant engineering only about fifty percent of engineering Engineering faculties are almost school academic culture based on graduates will enter technical careers, unique among those of professional compartmentalization of knowledge, and after five years, about half of schools since they generally have little individual specialization, and a experience or activity in professional these will have moved into other areas research-based reward structure to practice. The strong research focus of such as management or sales. Most one that values integration as well most engineering schools has led to a engineering graduates of today will as specialization, teamwork as well cadre of strong engineering scientists, find themselves in engineering practice as individual achievement, and for only a relatively short period, if at able at generating new knowledge but educational research and innovation all. relatively inexperienced in professional as well as research in the engineering Yet the increasing importance of practice. Furthermore, engineering sciences. These studies suggested technology to our world has made faculty are judged and rewarded by a new set of goals for engineering an engineering degree an excellent criteria appropriate to science faculty. education: 138 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

1. To offer a broad liberal education that Joseph Bordogna, Deputy Director of and have an understanding of design provides the diversity and breadth the National Science Foundation and a in the social context. Engineering needed for engineering practice. former engineering dean recalls the old schools must educate the student 2. To prepare graduates for entry into Chinese proverb: for a lifetime of learning rather than careers and further study in both just for their initial job. Students the engineering and nonengineering I hear and I forget. must learn how to learn, and they marketplace. I see and I remember. must be able to assess their skills and 5 3. To develop the motivation, capability, I do and I understand. educational needs throughout their and knowledge base for lifelong many careers. As Peter Drucker puts learning. This is apt indeed for engineering it, “We are redefining what it means education. As a recent NSF workshop to be an educated person. This will require a very major change put it, the ubiquitous lecture is the Traditionally an educated person was in the engineering curriculum. To some bane of true learning, especially in someone who had a prescribed stock degree, it will require modernizing the observation-based, hands-on fields of formal knowledge. Increasingly science and mathematics instruction, such as engineering. The lecture- an educated person will be someone e.g., recognizing that discrete rather dominated system encourages a who has learned how to learn and who than continuous mathematics is the passive learning environment, a continues to learn throughout his or foundation of the digital age, that highly compartmentalized (lecture- her lifetime.” biology and chemistry are rapidly sized) curriculum, and worst of all, Despite this broad effort, change becoming more important than physics, instills neither the motivation nor in engineering education has been that new materials and processes have the skills for life-long learning. The modest, as reflected in the tone of made obsolete much of the traditional dependence on the standard lecture frustration in the recent remarks of curriculum. Beyond these technical must be diminished with emphasis Bill Wulf, President of the National changes, the NSF studies recognized given instead to discovery-oriented Academy of Engineering: “We have that the new engineering curriculum learning. We must create discovery- studied engineering reform to death. must reflect a broad range of concerns, oriented learning environments that While there are differences among the including environmental, political, capitalize on the full power of new reports, the differences are not great. social, international, and legal and communication, information, and Let’s get on with it! It is urgent that we ethical ramifications of decisions. visualization technologies. do!” Although the technical component Undergraduate engineering Who is holding back change? would continue to be the core of an programs can no longer ignore the fact Professional societies and accreditation engineering education, the economic, that they simply cannot provide all the agencies such as ABET? No, we have political, social, and environmental necessary knowledge for graduates to seen that they have become important context of engineering practice needs to remain competitive throughout their forces of change. be explicitly addressed. careers. Content-based learning alone What about industry? To be sure Beyond that, engineering education must not drive engineering education. there is still a good deal of myopia should move away from the current The primary aim should be instead to among the recruiters that visit dominance of classroom-based instill a strong knowledge of how to our placement office, all too often pedagogy to more active learning learn, while still producing competent reinforcing very narrow definitions approaches that engage problem- engineers who are well grounded in of student majors and abilities. Yet solving skills and team building. engineering science and mathematics at high levels of management, there THE CHALLENGE OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION FOR A WORLD OF CHANGE 139 is strong awareness of the need for a emphasis on research has also eroded an array of fields, such as modern broader form of engineering education. the quality of teaching in engineering technology, systems, and processes. In a recent survey of CEOs conducted schools. In fact, a recent conference Perhaps it is time to go even further by the Business Higher Education of young faculty suggested that most and simply abandon the concept of an Forum, it was found that the qualities engineering schools not only fail to undergraduate engineering major and valued most highly in graduates were support adequately but also outright instead provide a general engineering not specific technical knowledge discourage faculty achievements in curriculum, much as in other or skills but rather the ability to teaching, instructional scholarship, and professions such as medicine, law, and communicate clearly, a commitment to public service. Tenure and promotion business. Like these professions, one lifelong learning, the ability to adapt criteria do not encourage faculty to could leave specialization until later, to an increasingly diverse world, and aspire to broad scholarly achievements, provided either through graduate finally the willingness not only to adapt especially innovation, nor to study or on-the-job training. to change but to actually drive it. contributions to public understanding. In fact, one might conjecture that What about the faculty itself? To in a future characterized by lifelong be sure, change is sometimes a four- Some Ideas for Accelerating Change learning, perhaps engineering letter word on university campuses. will rapidly evolve along the lines It is sometimes said that universities In the spirit of stimulating debate and of other learned professions and change one grave at a time. Judging thought, let me suggest a few more shift professional education and from my comparison of the engineering Draconian actions designed both to training entirely to the graduate curriculum of a century ago, even this shake up and transform engineering level, eliminating the undergraduate may be too optimistic for engineering education. First, it may be time to engineering degree altogether. There education. In fact, engineering start with a clean slate by eliminating are strong reasons to suspect that educators do tend to be very all specialized engineering majors, a broad, liberal education is just as conservative with regard to pedagogy, particularly at the undergraduate level. important for engineering practice curriculum, and institutional attitudes. The ever more narrow specialization as it is for other professions such as This conservatism produces a degree of among engineering majors is driven medicine and law. (Here one could also stability (perhaps inflexibility is a more largely by the reductionist approach make the case for significantly greater apt term) that results in a relatively of scientific analysis rather than technical and scientific content in the slow response to external pressures. the highly integrative character of contemporary liberal arts curriculum.) For the past several decades, the engineering synthesis. It may be Although science and engineering emphasis of engineering education appropriate for basic research, but are heavily based on laboratory has been focused on the scientific it is certainly not conducive to the methods, in fact they are usually foundation of engineering knowledge. education of contemporary engineers taught through classroom lectures In part this had to do with the impact nor to engineering practice. Although coupled with problem-solving of modern science on technology. students may be stereotyped by faculty exercises. Contemporary engineering But it was also due to the culture and academic programs—and perhaps education stresses the analytic of the research university, in which even campus recruiters—as electrical approach to solving well-defined engineering faculty were evaluated engineers, aerospace engineers, etc., problems so familiar from science and based on their performance in they rapidly lose this distinction mathematics—not surprising, since so fundamental research rather than in engineering practice. Today’s many engineering faculty members engineering practice. Many believe this contemporary engineer must span received their basic training in science 140 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

rather than engineering. To be sure, in some components of engineering and staff, alumni and patrons, and design projects required for accreditation education. But the mix of practitioners academic leaders at both the College of engineering degree programs are and scholars has been both accepted and University level. Beyond skillful introduced into advanced courses at and constructive in most other leadership and vision, commitment the upper-class level. Yet design and professional schools—medicine, law, and loyalty to the College and the synthesis are quite small components in business, architecture, and the fine arts. University were essential. most engineering programs. It seems high time to bring engineering But it is also due, I believe, to a Clearly those intellectual activities education into line. concerted effort by the College to associated with engineering design— As we noted earlier, engineering weave itself into the mainstream of the problem formulation, creativity, educators should be challenged to University. We worked hard during innovation—should be introduced devise an engineering-based “liberal the 1980s not only to build strong throughout the curriculum. This education” for students of the 21st relationships with the leadership will require a sharp departure from Century. Engineering principles of the University, but to position classroom pedagogy and solitary and modes of thought should be the College as an active participant learning methods. Beyond team design the centerpiece of what the liberally in University-wide priorities (e.g., projects, engineering educators might educated person should know in the working with LS&A to strengthen the consider adopting the case method age of knowledge that is our future. sciences, building interdisciplinary approaches characterizing business We should produce graduates for programs with numerous schools and and law education. More use might be all careers—from industry to law colleges, pulling back from efforts to made of internships as a formal part of to government—with an education duplicate instruction in areas such as the engineering curriculum, whether in attuned to the issues and challenges of mathematics and the humanities). In industry or perhaps even in the research a knowledge-driven society, many of the process, the College of Engineering laboratories of engineering faculty which have dominant technical themes. was able to build a political base of where engineering design is a common The old saying that the purpose of a support across the University that task. college education is not to prepare a enabled the strong support provided It is absolutely essential to broaden student for their first job but rather by the central administration and the the engineering faculty to include their last job still has a ring of truth. State of Michigan. practitioners. One approach would be The lesson of history seems clear. The to work with industry to persuade and College of Engineering tends to thrive allow senior engineering staff to accept The Future of the when it is at the center of University faculty appointments. In fact, many activities. It invariably suffers when retired engineers would make ideal University of Michigan’s it attempts to go it alone, to follow faculty members, bringing their wealth College of Engineering its own agenda, to decouple from the of experience in engineering practice not University leadership. One must never only to the students but to the reshaping Today the College of Engineering forget that the College of Engineering of the current science-driven culture enjoys not only a reputation among draws its strength and its reputation of engineering schools. Of course, the top engineering programs in the from the University of Michigan. It is this would require a very significant nation, but it is probably the strongest a great engineering school because it is restructuring of the faculty promotion academic unit in the University of an integral part of a great university! and reward systems. It might even lead Michigan. This success is due to the to the elimination of tenure, at least efforts of many, many people–faculty A SOCIETY OF LEARNING 141 142 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING 143

A Personal History of the College of Engineering Appendices

Appendix A 1970: Building 1-A (addition to GGBL for water resources) List of the College of Engineering 1970: Aerospace Engineering Building Buildings 1981: Dow Building (North Campus) 1854: South College 1981: Accelerator Laboratory (Naval 1881: Scientiﬁc Blacksmith Shop Architecture) 1882: Carpenter’s Shop 1983: DRDA (Industrial Engineering), 1885: Brick Engineering Shop Cooley Laboratory (Nuclear 1891: Old Dental School Engineering) 1904: West Engineering GGBL High Bay Area (Civil 1908: Old Hospital structure for Engineering) surveying added on one end GGBL and Auto Lab renovated 1916: Old Power Plant for Mechanical Engineering 1922: East Hall (Old Tappan Stearns Building (Engineering Elementary School) Placement) 1923: East Engineering 1985: Electrical Engineering and 1947: East Engineering Addition Computer Science Building 1950: Cooley Laboratory, Phoenix 1985: Addition doubling (then tripling) Laboratory (North Campus) Space Physics Research Building 1952: Fluids Laboratory (now 1985: Connector between Dow and G. G. Brown Laboratory) (North GGBL Campus) 1986: Addition to North Campus 1954: Automotive Laboratory (North Commons (Chuck’s Bar & Grill) Campus) 1986: IST reassigned to Engineering 1964: Institute of Science and 1990: FXB Building for Aerospace Technology (North Campus Engineering – UM) 1996: Media Union North Campus Commons (North 1996: Lurie Administration Building Campus – UM) and Lurie Tower Chrysler Center for Continuing 2002: Addition to IST Engineering Education (NC) 2003: Carl Gerstacker Laboratory 1968: Space Physics Research Laboratory (North Campus) 144 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

North Campus buildings constructed after 1980. APPENDIX 145

Appendix B where we want to be in five or ten years, this. I assure you that I intend to be a and what we need to do to get there—and full-time dean, receptive and responsive to Introductory Address to the Faculty, the faculty must play an essential role in student and faculty needs and concerns and March 17, 1981 this activity. totally dedicated to working with you to see I would suggest that the most important that these needs are met. It is my intent to Thank you, Dr. Frye. It is certainly a of our goals for the long term should be open up new lines of communication to the privilege—and certainly also, I might add, a a rededication, a commitment, to the faculty, to reinvolve you in the governance challenge—to be offered the opportunity to achievement of excellence, in education, of this College. To this end, I would hope serve as dean of the College of Engineering. scholarship and research, and in the to have the opportunity to meet with most The College has a distinguished history, professional achievements of faculty and of you, either as individuals or members ranking among the leading engineering students. All too often we have been of your department or research groups programs in the United States for many distracted by more immediate goals such during the next month, to learn your needs years. It has played an essential, indeed, a as the North Campus move or improving and concerns and to seek your advice and vital, role within the University, the state, instructional efficiency than focusing suggestions. and the nation. And I believe the College on the quality of the College’s research In conclusion, I am very optimistic about will play an even more important role and instructional programs. The key to the future of the College. I look forward during the next decade, as the state and quality lies not with physical facilities nor to working closely with you to meet the the nation become ever more dependent on clever administration—it is with people, challenges, the opportunities, and the engineering to revitalize industry and the their abilities, their attitudes, and their responsibilities that face the College during economy. commitment. the years ahead. To be sure, the College faces serious I would hope to work with you to challenges at the present moment, establish an environment within the including inadequate funding, decaying College that not only allows for excellence, physical facilities, obsolete equipment, and creativity, and innovation, but actively an overloaded faculty. But it also faces a stimulates and rewards—indeed, time of great opportunity. Never before demands—such efforts. To do this will has the demand for engineers, and the require your cooperation. It will also demand on the part of students to become require resources, both from traditional engineers, been more intense. Furthermore, sources such as University support, state I believe that the central administration, funding, and federal research grants as well President Shapiro and Vice-President Frye, as new and innovative relationships with understand well the present difficulties industry. But I am confident that with the faced by the College and are seriously proper incentives, such resources can be committed to working with us to overcome acquired. these difficulties. But we must go beyond As a dean I will be dedicated and that, to develop our own goals for the long committed to the achievement of excellence. term—to determine where we are today, I would hope that I can exhibit the energy and enthusiasm to stimulate and achieve 146 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Appendix C startup company and satellite corporate Phase II, we did achieve $70 million R&D laboratories with College faculty, of additional state capital outlay The “MIT of the Midwest” Plan (1985) students, and staff. for the Media Union and the Lurie Engineering Center. Finally, the goals of Stage I: The Restoration Phase Policy Matters sponsored research volume, tuition and fee income, and private support were The College sought a base budget • College control over all contract all achieved within a few years.) increase of $8.5 million to restore research funding (both direct state support of the College to a level and indirect cost recovery via an comparable to that presently received Engineering Research Institute model). by other peer public engineering • Some degree of control over other schools (Illinois, Purdue, Texas). College-generated resources and Additional one-time support of $20 expenditures (e.g., tuition revenue and million was sought to support major patent and royalty income). initiatives in the critical areas of • Modiﬁcation of University conﬂict- complex manufacturing technology, of-interest and patent policies. advanced electronics and optical devices, and advanced materials. Other Sources of Support

Stage II: The Leadership Phase The College would use the additional state funding to generate an additional A sequence of additional state $70 million per year in revenues from: investments were sought to bring the support of UM Engineering • $30 million per year of federal and to a level comparable to that of industrial research contracts leading engineering schools (e.g., • $25 million per year of tuition and UC- Berkeley, MIT, Stanford). This fee income would require an additional increase • $15 million per year of private gifts in base appropriations of $9.5 million and one-time equipment support of (It should be noted that over the next an additional $20 million to restore decade, the College achieved most of the College’s laboratory equipment these goals. Phase I was, of course, inventory to competitive levels. In the Research Excellence Fund. The addition, two new facilities were policy changes, including control of sought: a $20 million building to all revenues was achieved through the contain laboratories for rapidly Responsibility Center Management changing areas of technology, and program implemented during my a $20 million facility to serve as an presidency. Although we did not incubation center for bring together achieve the additional state support in 147 148 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

A Personal History of the College of Engineering Notes

Chapter 1 programs that he detested (civil engineering, to replace Tappan. Haven wrote to tell mathematics) as well as to Tappan’s refusal Alexander Winchell that he had been asked 1 Emerson, George S., Engineering Education: to countersign an order for a microscope whether he would accept the presidency A Social History (David & Charles: Crane, he wanted. Working closely with his close if it were open, and he replied that he Rujsak & Company: New York, 1973). friend Erastus Haven, Winchell sent a would probably accept an offer. He let private communication to the Regents his Michigan friends know that he was 2. Howard H. Peckham, The Making of the claiming that Tappan had assailed his “profoundly interested in educational University of Michigan, 1817 - 1992, edited professional character. He then began to matters.” On June 25, 1863, the Regents and updated by Margaret L. Steneck write letters under the anonymous name passed a motion to remove Tappan both as and Nicholas H. Steneck (University of of “Scholastus” to the Detroit newspapers president and as Professor of Philosophy. Michigan Bentley Historical Library: Ann criticizing Tappan and his ideas. He They then unanimously elected E. O. Arbor, Michigan 1997) pp, 1-15; Wilfred B. Haven as president. Tappan was offered the Shaw, editor, The University of Michigan, also encouraged a resolution at the state An Encyclopedic Survey (University of Methodist convention questioning the moral opportunity to resign the morning of the Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, 1941- ) conditions at the University. It was clear motion but refused. The same day Haven that by 1857 Tappan had made a profound wrote a letter to Winchell conveying his 3 Paul E. Lingenfelter, The Firing of Henry enemy in Winchell, and that Winchell had a “surprise” and pleasure at the action of the Philip Tappan, University Builder, M.S. strong ally E. O. Haven. Both men believed Board and asking for Winchell’s assistance Dissertation, University of Michigan, 1970. Tappan must go, and Haven was toying in preparing for the fall. Winchell wrote that with the idea of someday replacing him (as “my worst enemy has been displaced and 4 Henry Philip Tappan was quite an unusual indicated in his letters). my best friend put in his stead.” leader for a 19th Century university. Unlike When the new Board of Regents was But years later, James Burrill Angel was to most university presidents of this period, elected, both men began to work with a have the last word on the sordid incident: Tappan was a broadly educated philosopher new Detroit Regent, Levi Bishop, who also “Tappan was the largest figure of a man rather than a clergyman by training. He began to write hostile anonymous letters that ever appeared on the Michigan campus. conceived of the university as a capstone of concerning Tappan to the Detroit papers. And he was stung to death by gnats!” civilization, a repository for the accumulated Most of the other Regents were not initially knowledge of mankind, and the home 5 Mortimer E. Cooley, Scientific Blacksmith of scholars dedicated to the expansion of hostile to Tappan, but Bishop soon found human understanding. Among his many a way to drive a wedge between them by (University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, accomplishments as University president being appointed chair of a committee to 1947). was the establishment of the traditions of report on rules and regulations. His report 6 emphasis on research, graduate education, recommended a committee structure Mortimer E. Cooley was the first officer student autonomy and freedom, and active that would assume most of the executive detailed to the University of Michigan from faculty governance. function of the President and the faculty. the United States Navy as Professor of Yet both his vision and his personality Tappan fought against this, noting that not Steam Engineering and Iron Shipbuilding stimulated considerable opposition. Led only was this unconstitutional, but that in 1881 to establish courses in mechanical by the editor of the Detroit Free Press, the the “president and the faculty are not mere engineering in the Department of Civil state’s newspapers were strongly opposed “employees” but are, in fact, THE university. Engineering. However his title was quickly to his goal of building a true “university” Bishop launched a counter attack, with changed to Professor of Mechanical in the European sense, but instead believed vicious diatribes against Tappan’s “bundle Engineering, since he was, in fact, the only that a “high school” was the only goal of nonsense.” Winchell continued to mechanical engineer in the state. deserving of state support. Within a ingratiate himself with the Regents to lobby few months after arriving on campus, against Tappan. 7 Charles Adams, then professor of History Alexander Winchell developed a strong Finally, as the Regents approached the and later to become president of Cornell, dislike for Tappan, both because of his end of their tenure, they quietly moved used to stop by the little building to greet personal assignments to various academic 149

Cooley with “And how is the scientific Chapter 3 Chapter 5 blacksmith shop doing this morning”. 1 In an interview with the Michigan Technic, 1 There is an interesting sidebar here: 8 The Regents adopted the practice that all Ragone observed, “The decision to move Since engineers think quantitatively, we academic units enrolling first-year students the College was made before I arrived on developed a rather complex formula to (e.g., LS&A) were named “college,” while campus in 1953. The decision was already allocate budget resources according to those enrolling only upper division or made before then, when we built the several key performance indicators such graduate students (e.g., Medicine, Law) Mortimer Cooley building out there in as instructional load, Ph.D. enrollments, were named “school.” Architecture would 1953-54. We were committed right then. sponsored research activity, and so on. remain a department in Engineering until The Mechanical Engineering Department We distributed this formula to all of the 1931, when it was spun off as a separate is split. We’ve now half out there and half department chairs, along with tables school with Emil Lorch as its first dean. in here. I think that’s more serious than showing the allocation to each department, worrying whether you’re going to talk to the in an effort both to stress openness and 9 Wilfred B. Shaw, editor, The University of philosophers. But, having the Mechanical clearly indicate the priorities we used for Michigan, An Encyclopedic Survey (University Engineering Department split in two, and resource allocation. After a couple of years of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, 1941 - ) the Civil Engineering Department split, and of using this formula, one of our department the Water Resources Department split—I chairs, Steve Pollock, cornered me one day 10 Mortimer E. Cooley, Scientific Blacksmith think that’s more serious intellectually than and said, “Say, do you guys know that if (University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, worry about whether you’re going to talk to you simplify the algebra in the formula, 1947). the rest of the campus.” all of the terms cancel out?!” Actually, we had realized that early on, but since no one 11 Personal communication, Mike Wallace to questioned the algorithm and it seemed J. Duderstadt, 1992. Chapter 4 to be doing the job in sending out the right message concerning priorities and 1 The Academic Affairs Advisory Committee incentives, we decided to leave it alone. Chapter 2 of the Senate Assembly was sometimes 2 known as the “little aaac” to distinguish it Our development people were horrified 1Here I might note my own connection to from the Academic Affairs Advisory Council that I might make GM mad. Saarinen’s architecture. When I arrived at (the big “AAAC”) comprised of the deans. Yale in 1960, the university had just finished Much later this confusion was rectified by construction of two of Saarinen’s boldest renaming the AAAC the Provost’s Advisory designs, Stiles and Morse College. These Chapter 7 Group or PAG. However to keep things massive stone structures, more reminiscent simple, I will use AAAC instead of aaac in 1 of the Neolithic stone monuments scattered There are many stories about our use of the this book. about England than Yale’s traditional gothic Apple Lisa to launch CAEN. We negotiated architecture, were infamous because they 2 a very special arrangement with Apple, My paths would cross frequently in later avoided 90-degree corners in any of its with deep discounts and special hardware years with those of Frank Rhodes, with rooms. Later, during a summer job in 1963 and software support. Several large trucks whom I worked closely on an array of with an architect-engineering firm, I was to arrived from California two weeks before higher education issues as a university work on another Saarinen design, Dulles the fall term started with the first delivery, president and then who succeeded me in International Airport in Washington, yet and with great effort, we managed to get 1994 as chairman of the National Science another project somewhat ahead of its time all of the computers operating before the Board. with its soaring architecture and mobile students arrived. Although the Apple Lisa airport lounges. 3 was never a major commercial success, for Actually, since the West Engineering many years it remained the state-of-the-art. Building had originally been constructed in 2 The Michigan Alumnus, October, 1949, p.93 Even when it became obsolete it had a use. 1904, I suppose it would be more correct to The College presented Chuck Vest with an classify it as Edwardian in era. Whatever. It 3 The Michigan Alumnus, December, 1950, Apple Lisa converted into a planter when he was still almost a century out of date with p.15 left to become president at MIT! contemporary engineering needs. 150 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

2 One piece of evidence of just how lead the College? Answer: Three ...and still receptive the students were to this plan counting!” was an editorial in the Michigan Daily that concluded: “The University’s engineering 3 Charles Moore was not only the most school has tried something different. It is distinguished graduate of the University’s purchasing a new, sophisticated computer School of Architecture, but was important network, and giving engineering students to the University in other ways as well. unlimited access to it. The system has its When we awarded him an honorary degree price-an extra $100 per term-but it is worth in 1994, he noted that his great-great it. The school could have forced all students grandfather had been the Regent of the to buy their own computers. But this will University who had made the formal motion provide a far more sophisticated system. to admit women. And financial aid can cover the tuition hike in some cases.” Chapter 9 3 Ironically, the completion of the EECS Building and its dedication in September of 1 Larry Downs and Chunka Mui, Killer App 1986, which marked the official completion (Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press, of the North Campus move, occurred just 1998). after I had moved over to the provost’s office on State Street. Chuck Vest was 2 Thomas S. Kuhn, The Nature of Scientific the new dean, and he had the honor of Revolution (Chicago: The University of presiding at the EECS dedication and Chicago Press, 1962) hosting the celebration of the completion of the move. Anne and I stood in the 3 An unfortunate example of the latter back of the audience at the dedication (an approach is the massive investment the experience that would become even more University made in recent years to build common when we stepped out of the a new Life Sciences Institute. Although presidency ten years later this is an important area, and although the University investment has been massive (largely depleting the reserves Chapter 8 of the University Hospital), this is not an investment in strength. In fact, many other 1 Interestingly enough, a similar situation institutions with clear advantages (including arose in the late 1960s when two law faculty Nobel Prize winning faculty) are investing members, Robben Fleming and Allen far greater sums, making it highly unlikely Smith, were president and provost. Fleming that the effort will succeed. The University always delights in telling the story of being would have been far wiser to invest in areas introduced by the dean to the LS&A faculty, of existing strength such as the clinical who told them not to worry, since although sciences, and then to evolve from these into Fleming was also a lawyer, like Smith, he broader areas of the life sciences. wasn’t a very good lawyer. 4 Morgan, Robert P., Proctor P. Reid, 2 At the time, not only was Glenn Knoll Wm. A. Wulf, “The Changing Nature of Interim Dean, but Bill Martin, another Engineering”, ASEE Prism, May-June, 1998, faculty member from nuclear engineering, pp. 13-17. was associate dean. When rumors about the possibility of my returning to the role began 5 Bordogna, Joseph, Eli Fromm, Edward W. to circulate, the running joke was “Question: Ernst, “Engineering Education: Innovation How many nuclear engineers does it take to Through Integration”, Journal of Engineering Education, January, 1993, pp. 38. 151

A Personal History of the College of Engineering Index

Academic Affairs Advisory Cooley Laboratory 25 Faculty challenge 66 Committee 46 Cooley Memorial Hall 17 Faculty rebuilding 85 Anderson, Henry 8, 13 Cooley, Mortimer 5, 7, 13 Farris, Hansford 41 Angell, James Burrill 5 Cosovich, Jon 63 First century of College 1 Apple Computers 97 Crawford, Ivan 8, 14 First lady 115 Applied mathematics 106 Cultural change 105 Fogler, Scott 58 Applied physics 106 Curriculum Committee 43 Forces of darkness 108 Architecture 11 Cycle nature of support 17 Ford Nuclear Reactor 22 Atkins, Daniel 58, 96, 117 Davis, Joseph 4 Frieze, Henry 17 Atomic Energy Commission 1 Dean announcement 49 Frye, Billy 39, 43, 47 Attwood, Stephen 14, 19 Dean search 46 Fund-raising 77 Automobile industry 78 Dean’s Office (new) 70 Future of UM Engineering 140 Automotive Laboratory 24 Dean’s Office (old) 50 FXB Building 99, 119 Banks, Peter 16, 118 Deaning ix G. G. Brown Laboratory 26 Blanchard, James 89 Deans of UM Engineering 12, 131 General Motors Institute 75 Bollinger, Lee 128 Deans Team 57 GI Bill 20 Bordogna, Joseph 138 Decline and fall of College 36 Good, gray Michigan 1 Brinkerhoff, James 63 Dennison, Charles 4 Greene, Charles 4, 6, 12 Brown, George Granger vii, 14, 19 Development 77 Haddad, George 86 Budget cuts 87 Director, Stephen 16, 77, 118 Halo (on Michigan Stadium) 128 Budget Priorities Committee 46 Dow Building 68 Hancock, Walton 58 Buildings of College 143 Dow-GGBL Connector 98 Harden, Elaine 51 CAEN (Computer Aided Duderstadt, Anne viii, 33, 111, 115 Harger, Harold 39, 51 Engineering Network) 96 Early years of College 3 Haven, Erastus 3 Caltech 32, 109 East Engineering 7 High Tech Task Force 73 Camp Davis 4 East Hall 6 Higher Education Act 20 Campus politics 43 Ebb and flow 131 Highway Safety Research Canale, Brad 79 Economic challenges 56 Institute 26 Centennial celebration vii EECS Building 106 History of College 1 Central Campus 2 E-mail 83 History of engineering 3 Chairman’s Advisory Committee 57 Engineering Building I 88, 99 Honor code 11 Chaos 101 Engineering departments 8 Humanities Department 76 College Executive Committee 52 Engineering education 134 Inauguration speech 116 Commencement 105 Engineering farewell picnic 111 Industrial Technology Commitment from top 80 Engineering Gap 48, 61, 65 Institute 73, 121 Computer Kickoff Sale 98 Engineering Shops 6 Institute of Science and Computer tools 82 ERIM 23 Technology 26 Consistency and persistence 80 Executive Officers 59 Intellectual change 101 Conway, Lynn 58, 95, 100, 104 External Review Committee 59 Intellectual property 104 152 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Invisible hand 113 Plan (Strategic Plan) 59 Technology transfer 104 Joint Capital Outlay Committee 89 Planning documents 80 To Do Lists 95 Kennedy, Richard 63 Post-War Decades 19 Van Wylen, Gordon 15, 19 Knoll, Glenn 44, 118 Powers, William 40, 96 Venturi, Robert 128 Kuhn, Thomas 102 President appointment 114 Vest, Charles 16, 57, 88, 117 Lansing politics 88 Project Michigan 23 VisiCalc 82 Lawrence Livermore Laboratory 35 Provost activities 113 West Engineering 7 Lessons for the future 129 Provost appointment 110 White, Albert E. 9 Lessons learned 80, 132 Provostess 111 Willow Run Laboratories 23 Lin, Maya 120 Public higher education viii Wilson, Linda 108 Lisa computers 82, 97 Rackham Executive Board 46 Winchell, Alexander 3 Los Alamos 31 Rackham Graduate School 45 Wood, DeVolson 17 LS&A bonds 106 Ragone, David 15, 38 Yale University 30 Lurie Bell Tower 120 Replacement Hospital Project 27 Lurie Engineering Center 120 Research centers 104 Lurie, Robert and Ann 120 Research environment 71 Making the case 62 Research Excellence Fund 90 Media Union 122-125 Research incentives 46 Michigan Research Corporation 105 Revolution 40 Michigan Terminal System 96 Robotics Institute (see ITI) 73 MIT of Midwest Plan 146 Rover Program 31 MIT president 118 Saarinen, Eero 25 Molin, Keith 88 Sadler, Charles 8, 13 Moore, A. D. 10 Salary programs 64, 67, 86 Moore, Charles, 120 Scientiﬁc blacksmith shop 5 Morrill Act of 1863 6 Senate Assembly 47 National Medal of Technology 36 Shapiro, Harold 47, 62 National Science Board 95 Signiﬁcance of College NERVA rocket engine 32 To Engineering Education 9 Nichols, Ralph 88 To Nation 11 North Campus 1, 24 To University 11 Completion 98 Sinnott, Maury 39 Fund-raising 38 Smith, Roger 76 Evolution 119 South College 5 Move 38, 68 Space Physics Research Institute 122 North Woods Project 126 Speed and timing 80 Notebooks, Duderstadt viii Spivey, Allen 63 Nuclear Engineering 1, 34 State budget woes 56, 87 Out-of-the-box 81 State politics 88 Overberger, Charles 63 Stearns Building 69 Peck, William 4 Strategic intent 60 Phillips, Richard 96 Strategic Plan 59 Phoenix Laboratory 22 Student computer fee 97 Phoenix Project 21 Tappan, Henry Philip 3 Pierpont Commons 119 Teamwork 81 153

Plan (Strategic Plan) 59 Technology transfer 104 Planning documents 80 To Do Lists 95 Post-War Decades 19 Van Wylen, Gordon 15, 19 Powers, William 40, 96 Venturi, Robert 128 President appointment 114 Vest, Charles 16, 57, 88, 117 Project Michigan 23 VisiCalc 82 Provost activities 113 West Engineering 7 Provost appointment 110 White, Albert E. 9 Provostess 111 Willow Run Laboratories 23 Public higher education viii Wilson, Linda 108 Rackham Executive Board 46 Winchell, Alexander 3 Rackham Graduate School 45 Wood, DeVolson 17 Ragone, David 15, 38 Yale University 30 Replacement Hospital Project 27 Research centers 104 Research environment 71 Research Excellence Fund 90 Research incentives 46 Revolution 40 Robotics Institute (see ITI) 73 Rover Program 31 Saarinen, Eero 25 Sadler, Charles 8, 13 Salary programs 64, 67, 86 Scientiﬁc blacksmith shop 5 Senate Assembly 47 Shapiro, Harold 47, 62 Signiﬁcance of College To Engineering Education 9 To Nation 11 To University 11 Sinnott, Maury 39 Smith, Roger 76 South College 5 Space Physics Research Institute 122 Speed and timing 80 Spivey, Allen 63 State budget woes 56, 87 State politics 88 Stearns Building 69 Strategic intent 60 Strategic Plan 59 Student computer fee 97 Tappan, Henry Philip 3 Teamwork 81 154 A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE UM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The images that illustrate this story are from :

University of Michigan Photo Services Bentley Historical Collections and Duderstadt personal photo library

Aerial photos of North Campus are courtesy of Laramie Photographic through an arrangement with the College of Engineering Media and Marketing group.