4 references to the word “engineering” were removed from the program. Major areas in engineering, i.e. civil-structural engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering, were modified to read as “emphasis areas” without the E-word. In 1960, Harry J. White, a renowned scientist in air pollution and conservation at Research Cottrell Inc., was named to head the Applied Science program. Charter faculty members were Fanger, Hsu and White. The Applied Science program was restricted to upper division coursework and given departmental status separate from the Engineering Department, which continued to offer lower division engineering courses. In 1962, in response to increasing demand for lower division engineering courses, Chik Erzurumlu and Tom Mackenzie were added to the Engineering Department. At this juncture, the feeder aspect of the lower division engineering pre-professional program proved to be unworkable as the new Applied Science program began to starve for upper division registrants. In 1964 the two departments were merged under the existing Applied Science title, without the inclusion of the E-word. The Breakthrough. PSC became a University (PSU) in 1969, but with severe curricular constraints, particularly in graduate education. By 1969 it had become evident that professional accreditation of programs under Applied Science, i.e. Civil-Structural, Electrical, and Mechanical, could not be accomplished without program curricula entitled “engineering.” As a result of the discontent expressed by students and the professional engineering community in the late 1960s and early 70s, the Portland Area Committee on Engineering Education (PACEE) and the student engineering clubs made a united appeal before PSU’s administration that reverberated all the way to the Chancellor’s Office. With the full support of Joseph C. Blumel (then Vice President for Academic Affairs), the Chancellor appointed a blue ribbon team of consultants, headed by Stanford University’s Engineering Dean Fred Terman, to review the engineering education needs of the Portland metropolitan area, with special emphasis on PSU’s readiness to offer accreditation-eligible engineering programs. The team’s 1973 report stated that engineering education was effective at PSU, it was serving a disadvantaged and place-bound student clientele, and it would be a disservice to the students and the Applied Science faculty to not appropriately identify the course offerings and the program as engineering. In a nutshell, the report said, “Let’s get on with it,” meaning a departmental name change and engineering program identifications. The proposal received the approval of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education (OSBHE) and was sent for review to the Oregon Educational Coordinating Commission (OECC). Adding more drama to the E-word battle, the OECC staff recommended against the proposal. However, during the November 1973 meeting of the Commission, thanks to convincing testimony by Vice President Blumel, Portland’s industrial and professional engineering community and PSU students, the OECC rejected the recommendation of its staff, and approved the proposed name change: Department of Applied Science and Engineering. A year later in 1974, without fanfare, the department’s name improved to Engineering and Applied Science when the Structural Engineering program received accreditation from ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. And the rest, as they say, is history. --Chik Erzurumlu PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. RAPS club reports . . . cont. from page 2 influence on writers such as Montaigne and Shakespeare and even Thomas Jefferson. Looking ahead to November, we will read Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. –Mary Brannan Bridge Group fans the deck Oct. 9 The RAPS Bridge Club meets at 1:00 pm Tuesday, Oct. 9 at Friendly House (corner of NW 26th and Thurman). For information about the group, please call Colin Dunkeld, 503-292-0838. Newcomers are always welcome. If you would like to play, please call before noon Friday, Oct. 5. This gives us time to invite guests to join us if we need to make up a table. –Colin Dunkeld RAPS Hikers walk city streets, forest trails Friday, Oct. 12 the RAPS Hikers walk the #2 loop described in Laura Foster’s Portland Hill Walks, starting at Wallace Park in Nob Hill and passing through Kings Heights and the Pittock Mansion. Combining city streets and the Forest Park Wildwood Trail, the walk covers a distance of 4.75 miles with an elevation gain of 820 feet. Foster describes historical details seen along the walk. Meet at the corner of NW 25th Ave and Raleigh Street at 9:30 am on the 12th. We will lunch at one of the many restaurants along 25th Ave. RSVP by Thursday, Oct. 11 to Diane Sawyer at diane_sawyer@comcast.net or 503-646-8782. –Larry Sawyer
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