Rose-Hulman Maintains Its Strong Commitment To Teaching

For more than five decades, I have witnessed Rose-Hulman change in various ways – all for the better – but there is one trait we have not altered, and that is the way it should be.   I’m talking about our commitment to teaching.  It remains as strong today as it was when I started as a student in the late 1940s.

When I was earning my chemical engineering degree, the only buildings on campus were the Main Building (now called Moench Hall), Deming Hall and Shook Fieldhouse.  What a change I have witnessed since my graduation in 1952.  Today, the campus map shows more than 30 buildings that serve academics, residential life and athletics.

Alumni returning to Rose-Hulman for the first time in 20 years could get lost on campus because of the physical transformations, but they would feel right at home in the classroom.   Sure, they might not be able to solve some of the problems as quickly as in their younger days, but they would instantly recognize the dedicated teaching that has been the hallmark of the Rose-Hulman education.

In my position as chairman of the board of trustees, I have the opportunity to meet with alumni from all generations. Discussions inevitably turn to Rose-Hulman and the experiences alumni had during their student days.  Those memories are peppered with recollections of rigorous classes and laboratories along with names of faculty members who made a difference.  My classmates talk about Doc Sousley, Ted Palmer, Oran Knudsen, Doc Strong and Hermie Moench, to name a few.  The names change as you move through the generations, but what they represent stands strong.

Our faculty are hired and retained because of their dedication to and passion for teaching.  They excel at helping our students learn.  When you ask our students what makes our faculty special, some common threads emerge.  The following is a list of faculty traits gleaned from students through the years:

• always ready to lend a helping hand;
• a caring attitude in and out of the classroom;
• dedication to undergraduate engineering, science and mathematics;
• cutting-edge expertise;
• the ability to understand where a student is having trouble;
• genuine interest in the lives of the students;
• motivator and facilitator; and
• tough, but fair.

That final trait is one that alumni cherish.  Rose-Hulman faculty set high standards that do not allow students to “skate through” their college experience.  In a recent national survey of select colleges, one of our students described the college’s academic environment as being similar to “taking a drink from a fire hydrant—full throttle, all the time.”   In my day, it was said “if work is a pleasure, you will have a great time at Rose.”

The intensity of the Rose-Hulman experience pays off for our graduates who move into business, industry and graduate school.  Many alumni report they feel they are better prepared than their peers from other colleges because of the rigorous standards put forth by our faculty.  Personally, I found my Rose-Hulman education readied me for the challenges of my law school education at George Washington University.

Our faculty challenge their students to achieve their full potential and they do more than spew facts and figures.  They provide the tools that enable students to analyze and properly define a problem, develop a solution and test results.

A trait that puts our faculty among the best is their accessibility.  Rose-Hulman faculty make themselves available to their students, whether it is during regular office hours or after hours.  That was the case when I was a student, and senior faculty assure me that has been the case as long as they have been here.

A prime example of that accessibility was cited in the spring issue of Echoes, which carried a feature story about mechanical engineering professor David Stienstra, the 2003 Dean’s Outstanding Teacher Award winner.  A student shared that he had 12 problems he couldn’t understand and went to Stienstra for help.  “Dr. Stienstra turned on his computer and went through each and every one of them with me,” the student recounted.  “It took about two hours….I appreciated his time and caring attitude very much.”

That is just one example. I could go through the annual rosters of our faculty members and cite many others.

Rose-Hulman faculty make a difference in the lives of their students.  Their commitment to teaching maintains a heritage that has been central to the success of the college since its inception.  Our faculty is the epitome of the maxim that teaching is a noble profession.  I hope that in 50 years, the chairman of the board will be able to write a similar column about our commitment to teaching that could be summed up in two words:  “Nothing’s changed.”