THE MIDDLE 50 YEARS

INSTITUTE MATURES AND PROSPERS INTO ELITE STEM COLLEGE

After moving to its present location in 1922, Rose Polytechnic  Institute settled into its new country home to enjoy the next 50 years of its history. This period, from 1924-1974, would be filled with fiscal challenges, expansion of student enrollment and campus buildings, technological adaptation, and strengthening of the strenuous academic programs that would become a hallmark of the college and a guiding force for its alumni to make a difference in their STEM career fields.  

The end of this era also brought forth a new name, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, following the generosity of Anton Hulman Jr. and his wife, Mary Fendrich Hulman, in turning over assets of the Hulman family’s foundation—valued at more than $11 million—to the Institute in 1971 to continue their family’s tradition of philanthropy toward the college. There had been other contributions by the Hulmans throughout the years, including support to build the first formal student union building.

This was a time of transformational change for the Institute—one of several throughout its 150-year history. The campus landscape expanded with new buildings for academics, residence life, and student services; enrollment slowly grew to exceed 1,000 students; and several new academic programs were added to the curriculum to meet the technical changes in society and growing demand for STEM graduates. 

Rose’s prestige also grew as the college started attracting students from throughout the country and world. Many of these students had strong academic backgrounds. In fact, by the mid-1970s, more than 90% of the Institute’s student body had been ranked in the top 5% of their high school graduating classes. 

These students were challenged by quality professors in every academic department, including an expanded humanities and social sciences area emphasized by President John Logan. Notable professors included Herman Moench, who had a glorious 56-year career as an electrical engineering educator and Institute administrator (twice serving as interim president); John L. Bloxsome, an English professor for 41 years who wrote a book chronicling Rose’s first 100-year history; Darrell Criss, computer science; Clarence P. “Doc” Sousley, a faculty member for 24 years; Ted Palmer in mathematics; Oran Knudsen in chemical engineering; Irv Hooper in mechanical engineering; Robert McCormick, civil engineering; and C. Leroy Mason, physics.  

And, of course, the staff increased to provide students with additional services and support. Former professor Ralph Ross became the first full-time Dean of Students, assisted by Jess Lucas.

Throughout this period, the personal touch continued to be a foundational spirit within the campus community.

A BUILDING BOOM EXPANDS ACADEMIC, RESIDENCE LIFE & STUDENT SERVICES

The Institute’s landscape expanded to provide the growing need of providing classrooms, laboratories, residence life, and student services as enrollment expanded at steady rates, starting in the late 1950s.

The first residence hall, Deming Hall, was opened in the fall of 1926, and also served as a student center and dining area, along with having several small classrooms. 

A building boom commenced in the late 1940s as the campus started spreading across its 123-acre site. Twenty old Navy barracks were erected on campus in 1946 for single and married student residence housing and two years later a surplus B-29 airplane hangar, donated by 1911 architecture alumnus Wilbur Shook, became a fieldhouse for athletics and recreation on campus. Its construction allowed for the former gymnasium on the top floor of the Main Building (now Moench Hall) to be remodeled into an auditorium for large campus meetings, special events, drama club performances, and club activities.

The campus’ first student center was opened in 1954, with spaces for students to gather and relax between classes. It was later replaced by a formal student union in 1966 with a dining room for students living on campus, a bookstore, and rooms for a growing list of student organizations. 

The following residence halls were constructed to provide on-campus housing for the growing student population:

• Baur-Sames-Bogart Hall–1956
• Speed Hall—1963
• Blumberg, Mees, and Scharpenberg Halls—1968

Three social fraternities—Triangle, Phi Gamma Delta, and Delta Sigma Phi—moved onto the east side of campus. 

Crapo Hall was opened in December of 1970 to provide additional classrooms for growing academic programs, especially the need for more foundational mathematics classes.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE ROSE SHOW

World’s fairs were in their heyday in the early 20th century, thrilling crowds with the wonders of the maturing industrial age. By 1927, Rose Polytechnic leaders chose to start their own miniature version of this global phenomenon, calling it The Rose Show, to impress the public with the remarkable work taking place by students on campus. Every two years from 1928 to 1940, this popular public event featured exhibits from each of the Institute’s academic departments and student clubs, along with outside companies and organizations. 

The early shows took place over three days and attracted thousands of visitors to campus. The first featured 225 exhibits and attracted 3,486 paid guests. By 1932, attendance reached its peak with 6,765 people visiting 285 exhibits. Attendance remained well over 5,000 until the last show of this original period. 

Featured exhibits from early Rose Shows included a modern sewage treatment plant, samples of X-rays and amplifiers, “Edisonia” (historical relics loaned by Thomas Edison), and a “Love-O-Meter.” 

For unknown reasons, perhaps due to World War II, The Rose Show disappeared after 1940 and—with the exception of a one-day “Little Rose Show” in 1952—would not return until the Institute’s centennial year of 1974. It would then appear intermittently for the next 27 years and has resumed again as an annual display of student projects, attended by campus and community guests.

Learn more about the current Rose Show at
rose-hulman.edu/roseshow.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS MEET GROWING TECH NEEDS

Mechanical engineering was the only major offered at Rose Polytechnic Institute during its early formative years, but that academic portfolio steadily expanded to meet the growing need of STEM professionals for America’s technological revolution of the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s.

Degrees in chemistry, mathematics, and physics were added to the curriculum in 1958 with biological engineering following in 1966.

The purchase of the college’s first computer in the fall of 1960, under the leadership of Darrell Criss, PhD, provided a foundation for computer science to be added to the curriculum in 1968, within the Department of Mathematics.

Meanwhile, a master’s degree was adapted in the early 1930s, even though records show that the Institute presented its first master’s degree in 1892 to Toro Tsuiji, the son of a member of Japan’s ruling legislature.

OPERATION CATAPULT INTRODUCES STUDENTS TO STEM, ROSE

The summer of 1967 brought the first group of rising high school seniors to campus for the pilot year of the new Operation Catapult summer STEM camp experience. The project-oriented program was popular from the start, with 67 students participating that first summer (higher than the original 40-student goal). Besides allowing students to study and do research in a STEM area of interest, the program also gave students a look at college life and an introduction to Rose-Hulman. It was founded by Director of Admissions Paul Headdy and math professor/alumnus Alfred Schmidt (ME, 1949).

After more than 50 years, Operation Catapult may now be the oldest of its kind in the country and attracts students from throughout the country and world. They work in teams with a faculty mentor to complete a variety of hands-on projects that could be pulled from the day’s headlines: autonomous vehicles, e-commerce, biofuels, and material sciences, to name just a few.

Learn more about Operation Catapult at
rose-hulman.edu/catapult.

WHAT'S IN A NAME

You may be familiar with the institution and buildings bearing their names, but do you really know about these influential people in Rose-Hulman history?

Herman Moench

This memorable educator—affectionately known as “The Master Teacher”—spanned nearly all this 50-year era in Institute history. First, Moench was on campus as a student, earning an electrical engineering degree with high academic honors, in 1929. Then he had a distinguished 56-year career as an instructor, professor, and administrator at his beloved alma mater before retiring in 1986. He twice served as acting president (1958 and 1961-62) and was Dean of Faculty (1962-65) and Senior Vice President/professor (1966-86). Moench’s numerous honors included an outstanding teaching award from the American Society of Engineering Education and being Engineer of the Year from the Indiana Society of Professional Engineers. It’s no wonder that Rose-Hulman’s main education building was named in his honor in 1977 and the Moench Distinguished Senior Commendation is presented annually at Commencement.

John Logan

Rose-Hulman had remarkable growth in enrollment (doubling to slightly more than 1,000 students), facility improvement, and academic prestige throughout Logan’s 14-year tenure as Rose president (1962-75). He emphasized a “liberal education in engineering and science” and helped bring additional financial resources to increase the Institute’s faculty, especially in areas of the humanities and social sciences. Logan also was a strong advocate
for expanding student organizations, intramurals, and athletics. Major capital improvement projects completed under his leadership included the Blumberg, Mees, and Sharpenberg residence halls, Hulman Student Union, Crapo Hall, and the Learning Resource Center (later was named in his honor).

Tony Hulman

Before becoming a successful Terre Haute businessman and philanthropist whose ownership helped turn the Indianapolis Motor Speedway into the Racing Capital of the World, Hulman served a brief stint as coach of the freshman football team at Rose Polytechnic Institute. He also carried on the Hulman family’s long relationship with the Institute by being a member of the Board of Managers and then with his wife, Mary, transferred all Hulman Foundation assets to the Institute, a gift estimated to have a $11 million value, as well as many other family contributions throughout the years. The college’s name was changed to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in recognition of this generosity. The Hulman family’s involvement with Rose continues today with Tony’s grandson, Tony George (HDENG, 2003), serving as a trustee.

Phil Brown

There may not have been a sport that Brown couldn’t coach, but the football gridiron is where he had his greatest success in leading the Fightin’ Engineers. Two of his teams have had the only undefeated seasons in Rose history (7-0 in 1941 and 8-0 in 1958) and he was named an All-American Coach in 1930 by the Cincinnati Enquirer. His 1958 team may have been led by Associated Press Little College All-American running back Carl “Rocky” Herakovich (CE, 1959), but it also had a resilient defense, outscoring the opposition by a 270-31 margin and allowing just 24 completed passes during the entire season. Overall, Brown had a 99-109-7 record in 31 seasons. The Institute’s football field was named in Brown’s honor in 1969 and he was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1985.