Digitalcommons@WPI

Worcester Polytechnic Institute DigitalCommons@WPI The eP ddler WPI Yearbooks 1-1-1979 The eddP ler 1979 The tudeS nts of Worcester Polytechnic Institute Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/peddler Recommended Citation The tudeS nts of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, "The eP ddler 1979" (1979). The Peddler. Book 9. http://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/peddler/9 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the WPI Yearbooks at DigitalCommons@WPI. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Peddler by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WPI. J^t ».' f' 'A' fL ^ - for cfSL?*--. - -l'*/./^! ^_ • *£v v3^ r ' * flfc- w '.ijuj - l^«^^ i > IF* B •i^fejjL s. , $jfc r k. ift- » --3 -: si 1 Lfii*A Jk "" HWBWanii wm:i btfal peddler 1979 ' ':. '-.^ . r Tk5 '' I . g$55 fc'-iw ^^i ;,^flMHi iM"! PCt'TECHNiC ;. ' *5s r^-#* ....i >.1 . 4 "*3»kii<._-,fci«£';! c.# 18 19 20 21 r 22 b 23 24 An Interview With President Edmund T. Cranch Q. ( Peddler): How does the role of being president of a small college such as WPI compare with being the dean of a school of engineering at a much larger institution such as Cornell? A (President Cranch): The difference lies primarily in two areas. One is the greater intimacy of a small college, while a second difference involves the greater freedom to define one's goals without having to mesh them as part of a much larger establishment. So in a sense you're more in command of the destiny of the educational program. In a small college you're not dependent on other schools or parts of a large university. Hence, in one sense there is greater flexibility. However, in a small institution size factors play a role. Some of these, such as the intimacy, are very positive. But the small college doesn't have all the adjacent fields and disciplines that can be drawn upon in a larger school. Though you may not draw on them that much, the diversity of disciplines is at least a psychological plus in a university of fifteen to twenty thousand students. Q: Had you thought about becoming a president of a college of some kind? A: In the last two years it became clear to me that I was going to make a decision in this direction in the near future. I had been putting off this kind of an opportunity for several years. I was reaching a stage where I was going to make a decision about what I will call a second career. I had a relatively long career as an academician and dean, and I wanted the next phase to be a worthwhile endeavor. The only question was how the elements would fall in place. Q: While at Cornell you gave quite a boost to the Master of Engineering proram. Why did you put so much emphasis on that program? A: There are several reasons for this. The Master of Engineering program at Cornell has a strong project component and I am an advocate of the project experience. In fact, that is clearly one of the attractive features of WPI. Now in the Cornell setting it was much easier and more appropriate to incorporate that component at the master's degree level than at the undergraduate level. Achieving undergraduate change in a large university is often much more difficult than achieving change in a smaller 25 institution. Another reason for emphasizing market became saturated, the master's work careers. Perhaps we are unnecessarily master's level work relates to the degree would be a very desirable degree overemphasizing certain topics, or there missing or development of graduate education since from the industrial point of view. I think may be some things that we're sufficient emphasis. As with all the early 1950's when engineering graduate that the events of the 1970's have not giving education came of age nationally. Prior to substantiated this belief. The validity of this new academic programs, once they are stabilized they can be World War II graduate work was not point of view is now being recognized introduced and viewed as a significant component in the nationally, for many schools are now surrounded by a kind of orthodoxy. We to watch out that such orthodoxies not life of most engineering institutions. World emphasizing master's degree programs. In a have deeply embedded that modification War II changed all that because sense this is analogous to the M.B.A. degree get so engineering systems and devices were very in Business Schools. Consequently, several of the Plan becomes exceedingly difficult. relevant to wartime needs. Hence, a definite factors were present in shaping my decision Modern education is a dynamic process and watershed occurred so that after World War to give a high priority to a Master of I am an enthusiast for the Plan. of program. II there was an awareness on the part Engineering Q: Do you see any future changes in faculties of the role of research and Now, one of the major difficulties at a the Plan that you will try to implement? 7 in industry. All of a sudden development private institution is the need to fund such A: Although I don't see any major attractive this became a very desirable and programs. The tuition level is high relative changes in the Plan, there are areas which goal for educational institutions. However, to public institutions. Further, the Ph.D. we must strengthen and perfect. All of what did these institutions do? programs which were created relied on higher education finds the IQP area a The vast majority of them copied the federal contracts to support the graduate difficult one in which to educate. It traditions that had been established prior to students. In fact, very few Ph.D. students in requires crossing disciplinary boundaries World War II in the natural sciences — engineering support themselves. Federal and the whole structure of higher education physics and chemistry — which themselves grants and contracts provide both tuition is discipline oriented. Educators have been were to some extent patterned after and a stipend on which to live. The whole so schooled in the notion that they must traditional scholarly work in the thrust of government funding from the have deep disciplinary expertise before they humanities. So the rapid development in 1950's to the present time has been to can express a valid opinion on a topic, that engineering graduate education of the support contract research at the Ph.D. they have a tremendous reluctance to nineteen fifties and sixties was concentrated level. However, most master's degree educate in the IQP area. Nationally, in the at the Ph.D. level. Ph.D. programs became programs do not emphasize research so that last ten years there have been many part of the fabric of higher education in these students do not qualify for research programs in this direction, but engineering during this period. The contract support. superficiality and the lack of focus have led master's level was given relatively little Consequently, before implementing a to considerable uneasiness on how one attention. In fact, in many institutions it master's program one must provide a should educate in this mode. that it not even was suppressed so was financial aid base that is per capita at least Consequently, I look for continued efforts viewed as a valuable goal to pursue. equal to that at the undergraduate level. At to strengthen the IQP area. I would also like The other important major change in Cornell one of my major priorities was to to see WPI expand and deepen its real life engineering education right after World War raise funds for financial assistance for MQP projects with industry. It is a II was the great expansion of the humanities master's degree students. marvelous opportunity for an institution to world in undergraduate engineering curricula, Q: How much of an example do you introduce the student to the real of together with an increased emphasis on the think a college president should set? engineering problems. He sees not only the so-called engineering sciences. As a result, Would you consider yourself the kind of technological factors necessary to getting the provided engineering done, but he also sees that other important many courses that had technological humanist that the Plan is job upper class relations, disciplinary depth, especially striving to produce? factors such as human depth, were forced out the communications, and economics often disciplinary of A: The president has a responsibility not curricula. Hence, although the education provide the governing constraint. The way only to support the main program was still years duration, the content problems are posed in an educational offour components of the WPI Plan but also to that education was changed substantially. institution leads one to believe that the of work with the faculty to improve and The disciplinary depth and sophistication deciding factors are technological, but real- perfect the academic program. However, in thai was included earlier could now only be world experience shows that engineering is saying that, one must be clear that the achieved if you added another year, a so- a multidisciplinary endeavor. I am a strong academic program is largely in the domain called fifth year. Some institutions supporter of the project mode in education. of the faculty and it is their responsibility to experimented with a fifth year at the opportunity for implement it. To me, the phrase A co-op program another undergraduate level. In fact, Cornell was "technological humanist" means an real-world experience.

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