President Glennan's Term, 1947-1966
A successful businessman, Glennan transitioned to academic leadership because of his strong belief in the value of education. Despite his lack of academic experience, Glennan was able to profoundly impact the trajectory of the School by leading it to become a nationally recognized science and engineering school. He did so by expanding the academic programs and research, increasing the number of faculty and students, and vastly expanding the campus footprint. He was able to achieve success at CIT despite taking two leaves of absence during his presidency, the first leave to serve as the commissioner of the Atomic Energy Commission and the second leave to serve as the first administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). His leadership positions during these two leaves of absence greatly enhanced the reputation of Glennan and CIT.
From his industrial experience, Glennan believed that engineers needed a substantial education in humanities and social sciences, a belief that aligned with the conclusions of his predecessor, President Wickenden. Glennan initiated a self-survey in 1948 to investigate the best approach for renewing the curriculum. The study resulted in two structural shifts in education at Case. The first shift was the creation of the Division of Humanities and Social Sciences and the agreement that 20 percent of the curriculum be dedicated to these disciplines. The second shift was to move to a more cross-disciplinary approach to engineering that resulted in the creation of several interdisciplinary centers:
- Engineering Design Center (established in 1959; renamed the Electronics Design Center in 1981)
- Systems Research Center (established in 1959)
- Computing Center (established in 1956; formally dedicated in 1958; renamed the Andrew R. Jennings Computing Center in 1963)
- Center for Materials (established in 1962).
During his tenure, Glennan created extensive incentives to attract faculty and students. By 1963, faculty numbers increased by 60% and had nationally ranked top-ranked salaries and excellent fringe benefits. Glennan also created financial opportunities for students so that by the 1960s, 53% of undergraduate students were receiving financial aid, and 57% of the graduate students were assistants and fellows. Twenty-seven percent of the students were receiving support from foundations, industry, or government, and only 16% were self-supporting. At the time of Federation in 1967, Case had 2,500 US and international students, of whom 750 were graduate students.
The campus saw the addition of several new buildings:
- Charles M. White Metallurgy Building
- Olin Laboratory for Materials
- Lester M. and Ruth P. Sears Library-Humanities Building (formally dedicated with this name 6/15/1966; was first formally dedicated 5/18/1961 as the Library-Humanities Building)
- William E. Wickenden Electrical Engineering Building
- major addition to the Albert W. Smith Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Building (informally known as the Chemical Engineering Building, and the Laboratory of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering between 1939-1955)
- Frank Adgate Quail Building,
- Propulsion and Aerodynamics Lab - aka Jet Propulsion Lab (existed 1955-1966 and demolished for the construction of the Glennan Building)
- Tomlinson Hall - started under President Wickenden but dedicated under President Glennan
- Sam W. Emerson Physical Education Center
- Strosacker Auditorium
- two residential halls (Yost Hall and Pardee Hall)
- major addition to the Rockefeller Physics Building
To support the goal of changing Case from a regional to a national school and increase enrollment, Glennan expanded the campus by developing two residential areas consisting of the Murray Hill Quadrangle and the Carlton Road Quadrangle. The Murray Hill Quadrangle included four dormitories, four fraternity houses, and a commons, and the Carlton Road Quadrangle included four fraternity houses, a commons, and three dormitories. Off-campus, Case also owned the Warner and Swasey Observatory in East Cleveland, the Nassau Astronomical Station at Montville, OH (dedicated 9/7/1957), and the Tudor Arms Hotel, purchased in 1966 in collaboration with Western Reserve University.
All these expansion efforts were sustained financially by grants and low-interest loans from the government, tuition, endowment income, gifts, and continuous fundraising campaigns. Glennan also created the fee-based Case Associates Program that encouraged companies to partner with CIT faculty in research that resulted in strong income revenue for Case school. However, by the early 1960s, research contracts and grants were the largest sources of annual operating income.
Glennan’s presidency continued to extend collaboration and partnership with Western Reserve University as the two institutions advanced towards Federation. Examples include the establishment of a single health service for students at both institutions and the joint utilization of some athletic facilities and libraries. Academic cooperation started in 1960 with the adoption of a common calendar that facilitated cross-institutional course sharing such as students at Western Reserve taking Astronomy at Case, and Case students studying geology at Western Reserve. The two institutions were partners on several grants. Two of these grants, one in 1964 from the National Institutes of Health and the United States Public Health Service and one in 1965 from the National Science Foundation, were granted for the establishment of a biomedical engineering program, with expectations that both institutions would cooperate towards that goal. The consolidation of the departments of chemistry, physics, and mathematics from the two institutions in 1966 was another step toward that goal.
