Spring 1999
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Spring 1999 |
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The summit of educational excellence awaits Rose-Hulman. As we celebrate our 125th birthday, Rose-Hulman stands ready to take its place as the best of the best among undergraduate engineering, science and mathematics colleges. We find ourselves in such a position thanks to our strong heritage, which was planted through the vision of founder Chauncey Rose. Reflecting on our history brings to mind progress achieved through expedition mountain climbing where climbers advance through a series of camps that eventually lead them to the top of the mountain. Our base camp formed in 1874 when Chauncey Rose made his vision a reality with the founding of the Terre Haute School of Industrial Science, which was renamed Rose Polytechnic in 1877. Fortunately, Rose set the base camp high on the mountain, and our college started off as one of the best in its field. Students in the waning days of this century benefit from the strong foundation laid in the final two decades of the 1800s. Under our first president, Charles O. Thompson, Rose-Hulman set an educational course that stressed hands-on learning guided by top faculty in their respective fields. The focus of our education was broad-based engineering, science and mathematics. I am pleased we have not veered from that course. We still provide a hands-on environment where some of the nation’s brightest students interact with top-caliber faculty. Rose Poly/Rose-Hulman has always been dedicated to liberal education of engineers, mathematicians and scientists. We have an educational niche, and we succeed because we do not try to be all things to all people. Since our beginning, we have recognized we exist only to serve students. During the first quarter of this century, our climb to the summit continued as the college moved to its present site “in the country” from its initial location in north central Terre Haute. Rose Poly became a residential campus with one residence hall and one academic building. The personalized educational environment thrived in the college’s new surroundings. Bricks and mortar increased on the campus landscape through the years, but Rose-Hulman stayed focused on its mission that kept students first. In 1970, the Hulman family secured the future of the college by donating the assets of the Hulman Foundation to the Institute. The summit of educational excellence has always been in sight, and we have moved a few camps up the mountain during the last quarter of this century. In the 1980s, we initiated a planing process that enabled us to move our camp up the educational mountain. Of special note during that time is a gift from the Olin Foundation that allowed us to construct Olin Hall. It launched a movement to enhance academic facilities throughout campus. Next came renovation of Moench Hall, our oldest and largest academic building. Since then, Rose-Hulman has constructed the Olin Advanced Learning Center, the John T. Myers Center for Technological Research with Industry, and the Sports and Recreation Center. Renovation of the Hulman Union occurred during this period. Improved facilities cleared the way for our next move up the mountain. We were able to develop some of the most innovative curricula in engineering, science and mathematics. Much of what takes place at Rose-Hulman has become a model for educational excellence around the world. Our faculty continues to strive to do a better job of educating the top minds in the country. Progress to the next camp for our expedition culminated in the work of the Commission on the Future where more than 100 goals were established to guide us on the final ascent to the summit. This led to the “Vision to be the Best” fund-raising program, which has surpassed its first-phase goal of $100 million. The support and ideas generated from that effort have put us in a position to make our final assault on the summit. We know where we are going, but that final push will require additional resources. What remains to be accomplished? First of all, Rose-Hulman needs to make it possible for all of the best students to attend, regardless of financial resources. This will require an increasing emphasis on financial aid. As we look at our student body, we need to increase cultural and racial diversity. We have made great strides in gender diversity, but we must do more to truly reflect the world where our graduates will live and work. We also must continue to build on our curriculum through new, innovative approaches. We must do so through rigorous planning and assessment. When something works, incorporate it. When something does not achieve our educational mission, discard it. A special area of the curriculum we will need to develop is the life sciences. Of course, technical education requires continual equipment upgrades. To be the best, Rose-Hulman will need to keep its classrooms and labs updated with the newest equipment available. Much of how we approach the final assault on the summit depends on the direction being set by our planning processes. Last fall, faculty, staff and students conducted conclaves to consider our future direction. We called back the Commission on the Future of Rose-Hulman in February to assess progress made on its recommendations five years earlier. Faculty and staff are digesting the recommendations from those bodies of work. They all will be tied to an academic strategic planning process currently under way. As we approach the summit, challenges increase, the air gets thinner and our trek will require continued nerve. Further progress only will be made through creativity and innovation. Our final ascent will require all of us to work together. We must remember we would not be in our current position to reach the summit without the vision that has guided Rose-Hulman across 125 years. I hope that when our successors look back on this time 125 years from now, they will have found us faithful to that vision.
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