UD's Technical Institute: A history that leads to the present
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UD's Technical Institute: A history that leads to the present
Robert L. Mott and G. Wm Lawless
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March 10, 2021
Two longtime professors reflect on the founding of the Technical Institute at the University of Dayton and how the program began as a Marianist response to the needs of the community. Its roots can be found today in undergraduate and graduate programs within the School of Engineering. Former Technical Institute faculty would love to hear from their students.
From the late 1930s into the 1960s, the city of Dayton was a hotbed of major industrial activity. Corporations such as the National Cash Register Co., General Motors (five plants!), Monsanto Chemical, McCall’s Publishing and Duriron all called Dayton home. The workforce at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base added to the significant weekly payroll. This concentration of industry, much of it technical in nature, created an increasing demand on the University of Dayton’s night school, particularly during the post-World War II years. It was not only a matter of tailoring specific course offerings — a problem in and of itself — but there was also the further concern that students, being full-time employees, could not be expected to continue at night to complete a four-year degree program.