Holdings Engineering Dean's Office Historical File Finding Aid Title: Historical File, 1908-2006
ID: 11/1/60
Primary Creator: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. College of Engineering
Extent: 2.3 cubic feet
Arrangement: By subject.
Date Acquired: 04/29/2013. More info below under Accruals.
Subjects: Engineering, College of, History of Engineering
Languages: English
College of Engineering Historical File (1908-2006), inlcudes correspondence, publications, reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, transparencies, and programs created by the Dean's Office in order to document its history. Materials relate to the publication of Ira O. Baker's History of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois; the establishment of the Engineering Open House; the activities of College administrators to collect information about the College's history; the history of the Locomotive Laboratory (1939); the creation of an industry association program in the Experiment Station; the debate over abolishing the Experiment Station (1988); the construction of the Grainger Engineering Library (1986-1993); a symposium in celebration of John Bardeen's eightieth birthday (1988); student protests during the Vietnam War (1970); the careers of deans of the College (e.g. William L. Everitt, Mac Van Valkenburg, and William Schowalter); a debate reagarding the work of the University of Illinois Long-Range Planning Committee (1970); the establishment of the William L. Everitt Professorship (1987); and the dedication of the Electrical Engineering building as the William L. Everitt Laboratory (1988).
Organized when the University opened in 1868 and formed as a college in March, 1873, the College of Engineering operates an experiment station, twelve departments, and a graduate program.
The duties of the Dean of the College of Engineering have evolved from being chairman at faculty meetings to being chief administrator for and representative of the College within the University system.1 In this capacity as chief administrator, the Dean has the power to create positions and offices under his direct control in order to meet his obligations to both faculty and students.2
The Measurement Program was created in 1948.3 It is a branch of the Engineering Experiment Station, which was founded in 1909 and placed under the control of the Dean of the College.4 It functions as a service group for the entire campus by calibrating and repairing optical and electrical laboratory equipment used for experimentation or instruction.5
Student Placement is an office providing information and assistance to graduating students seeking employment.6 This office developed as a result of the University's policy of leaving employment counseling to the deans of the colleges.7 Its budget and staff are incorporated into the general administrative allocations of the College.8
The Bioengineering office was created in 1973 when the Urbana-Champaign Senate approved a recommendation from the College of Engineering for the establishment of a bioengineering option. Because students in any of the engineering curricula are eligible to participate in this option, this office was placed under the control of the Dean of the College.9
1. Ira O. Baker and Everett King. A History of the College of Engineering of the University of Illinois, 1868-1945, p. 114-116.
2. Statutes, September 1, 1957, p. 10.
3. Board of Trustees Transactions, 44th Report, June 15, 1948, p. 1289.
4. Ira O. Baker and Everett King. A History of the College of Engineering of the University of Illinois, 1868-1945, p. 116.
5. Interview with the Acting Director, February, 1980.
6. Interview with the Assistant Dean, February, 1980.
7. Annual Register, 1943-1944, p. 109.
8. Board of Trustees Transactions, 41st Report, June 24, 1941, p. 317.
9. Board of Trustees Transactions, 57th Report, March 21, 1973, p. 234.