Gladwin Memorial Fund, the income of which was to be used by the
department of Drawing.
The years directly following the war brought a renaissance in
education, accompanied by a searching for new and better college
programs. The Institute faculty devoted much time to analyses of its
curricula and carefully weighed various proposed changes and
additions. One of the proposals that caused much discussion was the
plan developed by Norton Company executives, a half-time school at the
Institute for the purpose of educating men who might become foremen or
shop executives. This won less favor with the faculty than with the
shop committee of the Trustees, to whom it was referred. It was soon
apparent to the latter group, however, that the available teachers
could not carry the additional load, and that additions to the staff
for this work would not be feasible, even if the faculty could be
convinced that such an adjunct was desirable.
In the early months of 1921 the Institute had offered extension
courses of its own design for the benefit of foremen and industrial
managers in the Worcester district. Three evening courses for this
group were advertised, only one of which caught the popular fancy. It
was a series of lectures and discussions on heat, metallurgy, strength
of materials, and mechanisms, conducted by Professors Plimpton, Roys
and A. L. Smith. About one hundred attended the series. Other courses
for the general public, on aeronautics, conducted by Dr. Ewell, and on
the modern theory of matter, had less popular appeal. The following
year the scope of extension work was increased to include lectures on
concrete by Professor French, on electric wiring and installation by
Prof. Francis J. Adams, on power development and distribution by
various staff members, and on chemistry in the textile industry by
Dr. W. L. Jennings.
Another innovation was introduced in the Electrical Engineering course
by Prof. H. B. Smith in 1921. At the end of the third year, students
were given the option of spending
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