Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology

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Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology

Former name	Terre Haute School of Industrial Science (1874–1875) Rose Polytechnic Institute (1875–1971)
Motto	Latin:Labor et scientia
Motto in English	Work and Knowledge
Type	Private university
Established	1874; 150 years ago(1874)
Accreditation	Higher Learning Commission
Academic affiliations	AITU MUPEC
Endowment	$209.8 million (2020)[1]
President	Robert A. Coons
Provost	Rick Stamper
Academic staff	196 (fall 2022)[2]
Undergraduates	2,169 (fall 2022)[2]
Postgraduates	19 (fall 2022)[2]
Address	5500 Wabash Avenue , Terre Haute, Indiana , IN 47803 , United States
Campus	Suburban: 1,300 acres (530 ha)[2]
Colors	Red and white[3]
Nickname	Fightin' Engineers
Sporting affiliations	NCAADivision III–HCAC[4]
Mascot	Rosie the Elephant
Website	rose-hulman.edu

Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology(RHIT) is aprivate universityinTerre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1874 with only threebachelor's degreeprograms. It has since grown to twelve academic departments with over thirty undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, andengineering management, leading to bachelor's andmaster's degrees.

Rose–Hulman's curriculum focuses on both career preparation and undergraduate-driven research in STEM-fields. It isclassifiedamong "Special Focus Four-Year: Engineering and Other Technology-Related Schools".^{[citation needed]}

FounderChauncey Rose, along with nine friends, created theTerre Haute School of Industrial Sciencein 1874 to provide technical training after encountering difficulties in recruiting local engineers during construction of his railroads. Mr. Rose donated the land, at 13th and Locust St., and the majority of the funds needed to start the new school. A year later, the cornerstone of the new institution was laid and the name was changed toRose Polytechnic Institutedespite the objections of the president of the board of managers and chief benefactor, Mr. Rose. The original campus was a single building, with no dormitories or recreational facilities.^[5]

The first class of 48 students entered in 1883, chosen from 58 applicants. All students were male, and 37 came from Indiana. All but four chose to major inmechanical engineering, withcivil engineeringandchemistrythe only other majors. Nearly half of the original students would eventually leave their studies before graduation for several reasons, including poor grades or conduct.^[6]The first president wasCharles O. Thompson, who modeled the education of Rose Polytechnic after eastern institutions, making it the first private engineering college west of the Alleghenies.^[5]

During the early years of the school, finance was a major concern. Many faculty and staff accepted pay cuts to stay at the institution.^[5]

In 1889 the school awarded what it considered to be the firstchemical engineeringdegree in the country.^[7]In 1897John B. Peddlewas appointed professor of machine design, a post he held until 1933. In 1910 he published theConstruction of Graphical Charts, which was the first book in the English language treating the art of graphical representation.^[8]

In 1917, the school, having grown to more than 300 students, moved from 13th and Locust Street to a new site consisting of 123 acres (0.50 km²) of farmland east of town, donated by theHulman familyof Terre Haute. The old location was used continuously by the Vigo County School District from 1922 to 2013; as of 2020 the Terre HauteBoys & Girls Cluboccupies the site. The cornerstone of the new campus was laid in 1922. The new campus consisted of an academic building (now known as Moench Hall) and the institute's first dormitory, Deming Hall, both of which are still in use today.

Early life at Rose consisted of social fraternities, athletics, and the occasional "high jinks". A popular "high jinks" involved the sophomore class inviting the freshmen class to a baseball game but were told to "leave their pipes with the nurse". The freshmen would produce the pipes at a specific time and a brawl would ensue.^[5]

During World War I, Rose Polytechnic trained students in technical subjects such as vehicle maintenance, and created anReserve Officers' Training Corps(ROTC) Engineer unit which later became the Wabash Battalion Army ROTC program. During World War II the ROTC unit was replaced with an Army Specialized Training Unit and students could enter and graduate after every quarter to support the war effort. This enrollment schedule continued through the post-war years until 1951.

In recognition of the Hulman family's significant contributions and continued financial support, in particular a $15 million addition to the endowment, Rose Polytechnic was renamedRose–Hulman Institute of Technologyin 1971.^[5]

During the 1960s and 1970s, growth accelerated under president John A. Logan. Five new residence halls, a new student union, library, and a student recreation center were all constructed between 1963 and 1976. Permission was sought and received to increase the student population to 1000.^[9]

The quarterly cryptology journalCryptologiawas founded and published at RHIT from 1977 to 1995, at which time it was moved to theUnited States Military Academy.^[10]

For most of its history, Rose–Hulman was a men's only institution with some cooperative arrangements withSaint Mary Of-The-Woods Collegewomen's school andIndiana State University. It voted to becomecoeducationalin 1991, with the first full-time women students starting in 1995.^[11]In 1984, recognizing the importance of the personal computer, Rose–Hulman started making the Zenith Z-150 desktop computer available to the students at a reduced cost, although they were not required to have it. In 1995, the college required all incomingfreshmento purchase a laptop computer designated by the school, becoming one of the first schools to do so.^{[citation needed]}

In the decade following 1995, Rose–Hulman's growth was aided by a majorfundraisingcampaign, "Vision to be the Best". Originally a $100 million campaign over ten years, it met its goal in half the time. The goal was extended to $200 million, and by the end of the campaign in June 2004, over $250 million had been raised. In 1997, many physical changes were made to the Rose–Hulman campus. Using a gift from theF. W. Olin Foundation, an expansion of Olin Hall known as the Olin Advanced Learning Center opened. Additionally, The John T Myers Center for Technological Research opened, with space for research laboratories, presentation rooms, classrooms, and academic offices. Shook Field House was replaced by the $20 million Sports and Recreation Center, which theNational Football League'sIndianapolis Coltsused for their summer training camp from 1999 to 2010. In 2002, Hatfield Hall, a theater and alumni center, was opened.

After the 2004 retirement of institute presidentSamuel Hulbert, who had led the school since 1976, the college faced a leadership crisis. Soon afterJohn J. Midgleyarrived as the new president, rumors of conflict between Midgley and the administration started to circulate. Students, some wearing T-shirts proclaiming "Hit the Road Jack", held a rally calling for Midgley's resignation.^[12]Midgley resigned as president of the institute on June 11, 2005, less than a year into his presidency, after the faculty,^[13]staff, and Student Government Association approved votes ofno confidence. During the succeeding academic year, Robert Bright, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, served as interim chief executive officer.

In 2006,Gerald Jakubowski, Vice President and Professor of Engineering atArizona State University, became the 13th president of the institute, taking over July 1, 2006.^[14]He resigned in 2009,^[15][16]and the Board of Trustees electedMatt Branamto serve as interim president.^[17]He became president later that year. Branam died of a heart attack in April 2012,^[18]and the cabinet subsequently selected Robert A. Coons as the institute's interim president. In 2013, the Board of Trustees namedJames C. Conwellas the institute's 15th president, starting May 1, 2013.^[19]

In 2017, the school acquired 4.5 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi) from the former home of Mari Hulman George.^[20]

In 2018, Conwell resigned as president, and Senior Vice President Robert Coons was appointed to serve as acting president and then, in November 2018, as the university president.^[21]In the same year, the Hulman Memorial Student Union was renovated and renamed the Mussallem Union after the primary donors, the Mussallem Family. The Mussallem Union is centrally located on campus and provides student meeting spaces, dining areas, conference rooms, health services, bookstore, and administrative space.^[22]

In 2019, an expansion of the Branam Innovation Center (BIC), the Kremer Innovation Center (KIC) opened. The BIC and KIC provide rapid prototyping and manufacturing options to students, in addition to housingthermofluidsand wet lab facilities, conference rooms, classrooms, and project team workshops.^[23]

In 2021, the New Academic Building was opened, with funding provided by a $15 million lead gift by an anonymous donor.^[24]The New Academic Building is home to the Engineering Design program, chemistry laboratory facilities, food science laboratory, breakout and study rooms, as well as a large atrium. Together with Moench Hall and the Myers Center, a new courtyard was opened.^[25]The New Academic building is the first building in the state of Indiana to apply forWELLrecognition.^[26]

The curricula at RHIT concentrate on engineering and the natural sciences. The school's primary focus isundergraduate education, though there is a small graduate program formaster's degreestudents. There are no doctoral programs. As of 2021, Rose–Hulman has 189 faculty members, 99% of whom hold aPhD. The current student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1.^[2]Admission to the institute remains competitive due to its self-selecting admissions class and applicant sharing withPurdue, and other top universities.^[27]In 2022, 602 freshman students enrolled out of 3,353 accepted applicants.^[2]The school operates on threeacademic quartersplus an optional summer session.

Rose–Hulman is a member of the College Consortium of Western Indiana. This membership allows students who are full-time at their home institution to take classes at the other member institutions ofIndiana State UniversityandSaint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

Rose–Hulman has been regionally accredited by theHigher Learning Commissionsince 1916, with the most recent reaffirmation of accreditation having occurred in the 2014–2015 accreditation year.^[28]The Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Design, Engineering Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering, and Software Engineering programs are accredited by TheAccreditation Board for Engineering and Technology(ABET).^[29]

In addition to institutional membership in the American Society for Engineering Education, the institute is also a member of the Association of Independent Technological Universities, a group formed to further the interests of private engineering schools.^[30]

As of 2021, the institute has been ranked first among engineering colleges that do not offer a doctorate degree byU.S. News & World Reportfor 24 consecutive years.^[31]Each individual program assessed has also been ranked first since the magazine has published individual rankings. These programs are the Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical, and Biomedical Engineering programs (Biomedical Engineering programs have only received assessment in the 2015 rankings).^[32][33]

The student body tends to come mostly from theMidwestern United States, though, as the school has gained prominence, it has gradually attracted a more geographically and ethnically diverse applicant pool. 39% of students are from the state of Indiana with large numbers of students from the nearby states of Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota.^[34]

The school has several competition teams that operate out of the Branam Innovation Center. They compete in collegiate series such as Formula SAE, Shell Eco-Marathon, Human Powered Vehicle Challenge, Rose Rocketry, AIAA Design/Build/Fly, Chem-E-Car and various robotics competitions among many others.

There are eight socialfraternitiesand three socialsororities, some of which have their houses on campus. The fraternities are:Alpha Tau Omega,Delta Sigma Phi,Lambda Chi Alpha,Phi Gamma Delta,Pi Kappa Alpha,Sigma Nu,Theta Xi, andTriangle. The sororities areDelta Delta Delta,Chi Omega, andAlpha Omicron Pi. As of 2003, nearly 69% of the students were members of Greek social organizations.^[35]There are also four gender-inclusive professional fraternities:Alpha Chi Sigma,Alpha Phi Omega, Delta Rho Sigma,^[36]andKappa Theta Pi.

The Homework Hotline provides free homework help and tutoring to Indianamiddle schooland high school students.^[37]The program started in 1991 and is funded by theLilly Endowment, Inc.and Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology.^[38]

Rose–Hulman Ventures serves as a source of internships and job opportunities with startups and established companies of all sizes for Rose students and alumni.^[39]Rose–Hulman Ventures was established in 1999 with a $30 million grant from the Lilly Endowment and received a $24.9 million follow-up grant in 2002.^[40]

The team's sports teams are called theRose–Hulman Fightin' Engineers.

The school is served by an independently funded, student-runnewspaper,The Rose Thorn, that focuses on campus news.^[41]

Rose–Hulman has anamateur radioclub, theRose Tech Radio Club(call signW9NAA), that maintains a dedicated on-campus station.^[42][43]

TheRose–Hulman Film Clubproduces student-directed short films.^[44]

The campus radio station wasWMHD-FM90.7FM, "TheMonkey". The station originallybroadcastwith a very low power transmitter andantennalocated on campus, but later operated with an off-sitetransmitterat 1400 watts. Thestudiofacilities for the station were in thebasementof the BSB residence hall. The station was operated entirely by student volunteers, and all disc-jockeys choose their own format and playlists. In August 2014, the station was sold toIndiana State University.^[45]

• Tim Cindric1990 (Mechanical Engineering), president ofPenske Racing^[46]
• Barzilla W. Clark,16th Governorof Idaho^[47]
• Ernest R. Davidson1958,National Medal of Sciencewinner
• Lawrence Giacoletto1938, Transistor pioneer
• Marshall Goldsmith1970, NotedManagement consultant
• John Hostettler1983, FormerU.S. CongressmanfromIndiana
• Curtis Huttenhower2000, professor atHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Don Lincoln1986, Particle Physicist
• Chris Mack1982, NotedLithographyexpert
• Art Nehf1914,Major League Baseballpitcher
• Abe Silverstein1929,Aeronautical engineer,NASAcenter director, andGuggenheim Medalwinner
• Mike Thomas 2000, co founder ofMonomi Park, software engineer forSlime Rancher^[48]
• Mat Roy Thompson1890–1891, Civil Engineer and builder ofScotty's Castle
• Jim Umpleby1980,Caterpillar, Inc.CEO as of January 2017
• Bernard Vonderschmitt1944, co-founder ofXilinx
• Robert L. Wilkins1986, Judge,United States District Court for the District of Columbia^[49]

• Association of Independent Technological Universities

• Pickett, William B.(1999).To Be the Best: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 1974-1999. Louisville: Four Colour Imports.ISBN0-91-441401-1.OCLC42520799.

• Official website

39°28′57″N87°19′27″W / 39.48250°N 87.32417°W /39.48250; -87.32417