Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1968 [PAGE 955]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1968]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

903

I recommend approval, subject to further action by the Board of Higher Education. O n m o t i o n of M r . G r i m e s , t h i s r e c o m m e n d a t i o n w a s a p p r o v e d . DOCTOR O F P H I L O S O P H Y D E G R E E IN E N G I N E E R I N G ( S O L I D S AND F L U I D S ) , CHICAGO C I R C L E (14) The Graduate College and the Chicago Circle Senate recommend the establishment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (Solids and Fluids). This recommendation has been developed partly in recognition of the increase which has occurred nationally in recent years in enrollments at the graduate level in engineering. According to recent studies, this increase will have to accelerate in the future if national needs are to be met. It has been estimated 1 that the anticipated production of engineering doctorates will not be sufficient to satisfy the needs of industry and universities during the next decade. Studies by the American Society of Engineering Education indicate that persons receiving doctorates in engineering, given the opportunity, tend to remain in the vicinity of the university where they complete their degree. Therefore, it is anticipated that such a program at Chicago Circle will be of considerable value to existing local industry and serve to attract new industry. The proposed program is expected to help direct engineering research efforts toward the solution of the multiplicity of interrelated urban problems, such as air pollution, development of low-cost housing, and traffic control. Moreover, the departments which developed the proposal foresee it as an opportunity to the culturally disadvantaged: "The many openings in industry and government laboratories have provided opportunities to move quickly into reasonable income brackets and without penalty for prior social or cultural impediments. This upward mobility contributes to the solution of the problems of our urban setting. "The University of Illinois Circle Campus is singularly adapted to this function. The availability of a doctoral program on the campus would open up an opportunity for the more talented students coming from culturally disadvantaged backgrounds to move to the highest professional engineering level. Unquestionably, many of these would remain in the Chicago area, thereby contributing to the solution of urban problems and at the same time to the industrial capability of the area. Moreover, job opportunities are abundant, especially in view of federal antidiscrimination statutes applying to the very industries into which engineering Ph.D.'s may be expected to move." The initial response to the existing Master of Science programs in engineering, which were initiated in September, 1967, has been sufficient to justify the expectation that there will be a strong response to the proposed Ph.D. program. A further justification for offering work at the doctoral level in engineering is that the students enrolled would help supply the graduate teaching assistants needed for the increasing undergraduate enrollment. The program itself, developed cooperatively by the Departments of Energy Engineering and Materials Engineering, is designed to promote flexibility through an organization based on functional divisions, rather than traditional departmental lines. Within this framework, initially, majors will be offered in continuum mechanics, gas dynamics, heat transfer, plasma dynamics, soil engineering, and structures. The degree candidate will be required to meet the admission standards and degree requirements generally prevailing within the Graduate College of the University of Illinois. The Chancellor at the Chicago Circle campus, the Dean of the Graduate College, and the Executive Vice-President and Provost concur in this recommendation. The Senate Coordinating Council indicates that no other Senate jurisdiction is involved. I recommend approval subject to further action by the Board of Higher Education.

On motion of Mr. Hahn, this recommendation was approved.

1 Preliminary Report on the Goals of Engineering ciety for Engineering Education.

Ed tcation, October, 1965, American So-