The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D. “The Lowell Institute School is a new chapter in the Lowell Institute’s distinguished history. In 1836, John Lowell, Jr., endowed the Lowell Institute to fulfill his vision for the future of our Commonwealth: that citizens from all backgrounds could receive an education that would help them improve themselves, their communities, and their nation.

“The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University carries that vision into this new century, giving talented men and women from New England and beyond a unique chance to complete their bachelor’s degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These fast-growing fields are essential to America’s future.”

Dr. John G. LaBrie Dean of the Northeastern University College of Professional Studies Vice President for Professional Education “One of the exciting things about the relaunch of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University, focusing on STEM fields, is that it brings forward a concept that A. Lawrence Lowell had over 100 years ago when he founded the Lowell Institute School at MIT, and adapts it to the modern economy.

What employers are talking about these days is that there are jobs available, but that our workforce isn’t adequately trained to fill those jobs. I think it’s very exciting that the Lowell Institute School can play a role in finding that link and fulfilling the need.”

William A. Lowell, Trustee of the Lowell Institute

ISBN: 978-0-692-50755-1 Cover illustration: iStock Printed in the U.S.A.

Conn & Mangawang

Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D., is associate dean of academic and faculty affairs at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies and also oversees the university’s graduate programs in education, including the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), the Master of Education (M.Ed.), and the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) programs. Dr. Mangawang has an extensive background in higher education, having served in various roles and capacities spanning both student and faculty affairs at colleges and universities.

Prior to arriving at Northeastern, she served as a dean of student affairs at Bowdoin College and then as a resident dean at Harvard University, where she was a scholar in residence teaching courses in the history of art. Most recently, Dr. Mangawang served as an assistant provost for faculty affairs at Boston University, supporting a full-time faculty of over 1,200. At BU she oversaw faculty orientations and the faculty promotion and appointment process, and she also designed an Emerging Leaders program to advance young faculty talent. Dr. Mangawang earned her A.B. from Dartmouth College, her M.Ed. from the University of Vermont, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College.

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D., is an assistant teaching professor in Northeastern’s Doctor of Education program.

Previously, Dr. Conn was an assistant research professor of biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine, a biochemistry lecturer at the Boston University School of Dentistry, and the principal investigator of a Parkinson’s disease research laboratory at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Bedford, Massachusetts. She has professional experience in the fields of biochemistry, neuroscience, and elementary education. Dr. Conn earned her B.S. from the University of Kansas, her Ph.D. from the Boston University School of Medicine, and did postdoctoral training in neuroscience at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Bedford, MA.

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D.

Northeastern University is embarking on a new chapter in the Lowell Institute School’s distinguished history of providing educational opportunities in engineering technology to adult learners of diverse educational backgrounds. This new vision includes expanded training to meet the needs of the critical areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It provides a focus on degree completion for non-traditional students who have some undergraduate experience and want to matriculate to a bachelor’s degree, and it harnesses Northeastern’s long-standing commitment to serving students with comprehensive programming that scaffolds, structuring learning and supporting students from start to finish.

In addition, it leverages Northeastern’s expertise in finding innovative ways to deliver content in face-to-face, online, and hybrid experiences, using adaptive technologies.

We hope that you as our readers will appreciate the well-defined and distinguished legacy of the Lowell Institute and Northeastern University, and will join us in our optimism about the powerful impact that the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University will have on future generations.

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D.

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Lowell Family l i

ii l A New Chapter in STEM Education

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D.

The Lowell Family l i i i

All images reproduced courtesy of the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, except the following: pages 1 and 33, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.; page 77, Mary Knox Merrill, Northeastern University, 2011; author photos, Northeastern University.

Design: Tides Edge Design ŠNortheastern University College of Professional Studies, 2015.

All Rights Reserved.

Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or likewise.

ISBN: 978-0-692-50755-1

iv l A New Chapter in STEM Education

Contents Foreword Preface Part One: The Early History up until 1903

1

Chapter One: The Lowell Family

3

Introduction The Lowells of England The Lowells of New England Chapter Two: The Life and Death of John Lowell, Jr.

13

Introduction The Life of John Lowell, Jr. The Vision of the Lowell Institute Dedications to John Lowell, Jr. Chapter Three: Establishment of the Lowell Institute and Early Lectures 25

Introduction The Establishment of the Lowell Institute Part Two: The Lowell Institute School at MIT (1903–73)

33

Chapter Four: The Work of Charles Francis Park (1903–44)

35

Introduction Social, Political, Historical Context The Boston YMCA Evening Institute for Young Men Opening of the Lowell Institute School for Industrial Foremen Lowell Institute School Alumni Association (LISAA)

The Lowell Family l v

Chapter Five: The Work of Arthur Lawrence Townsend (1944–59) 51

Introduction Social, Political, Historical Context Changes in the Lowell Institute School under Townsend The Growth of Northeastern University 59

Chapter Six: The Work of F. Leroy Foster (1959–73)

Introduction Social, Political, Historical Context Changes and Challenges for the Lowell Institute School The Growth of Northeastern University Part Three: The Transfer of The Lowell Institute School to Northeastern University (1973–2015 and Beyond) 77 Chapter Seven: The Work of Bruce D. Wedlock, MIT (1973–96) 79

Introduction Enrollment Crisis and Responses at Northeastern University Final Years of The Lowell Institute School at MIT Chapter Eight: The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University (1996–2014) 89

Introduction Transitioning the Lowell Institute School to Northeastern The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University 1996 to 2006 The Growth of Northeastern University Chapter Nine: Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry (2008 to Present and Beyond)

105

Introduction The Lowell Institute School of the College of Professional Studies A New Strategic Vision for the Lowell Institute School Notes

119

Foreword

T

his book reads for me, as I hope it will for you, as a story about old friends. Joined initially and serendipitously by timing, interests, and passions, like lifelong friends, the Lowell Institute and Northeastern University came together around a timely and fervent interest in supporting the professional and educational needs of those eager to learn. Specifically, this is the story of the Lowell Institute’s longstanding commitment to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and Northeastern’s well-established history of providing rigorous educational opportunities to ambitious and diverse learners.

Like lifelong friends, while their paths may have diverged at times, the Institute and the University have remained aligned and seem destined to remain so because of their shared values and esprit de corps. In my mind, the most powerful qualities of lifelong friends are their generosity of spirit and unwavering commitment to supporting one another to be their very best. The Lowell family and Northeastern have consistently reciprocated that type of support in many ways. The most recent example, and the focus of this book, is the launching of the Lowell Institute School, which represents a new, more formal union of Northeastern University and Lowell Institute School’s kindred spirits and keen commitment.

Happy reading, yours very truly,

MYA M. MANGAWANG, PH.D. NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Associate Dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs Director, Graduate School of Education

viii l A New Chapter in STEM Education

Preface Northeastern University (NU) is currently embarking on a new chapter in the Lowell Institute School’s (LIS) distinguished history of providing educational opportunities in engineering technology to adult learners of diverse educational backgrounds. Our new vision includes expanded training to meet needs in the critical areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We believe that in order to appreciate fully how the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University is positioned to provide this innovative educational experience, one must have an understanding of how the school has evolved and how it has changed over time in response to the needs of industry and society. Our telling of this story is meant both to document the past and point to the future in order to highlight the ways in which the Lowell Institute School has met, and is well positioned to continue to meet, the needs of our STEM industries for years to come.

While many aspects of the School’s history have been shared in different ways by various authors, an account that combines these stories into a comprehensive narrative that spans the period from the arrival of the Lowell family in New England through today has not yet been published. We have intentionally woven together the voices and contributions of multiple stakeholders from books, articles, pamphlets, journal articles, newspaper articles, unpublished documents, letters and diaries, memoirs, paintings, prints, cartoons, photographs, and Internet resources to tell this story. In addition to the publications listed in the reference section of this book, much of the material was found in the Archives and Special Collections of the Northeastern University Library, which houses the Lowell Institute School Records from 1883 to 2008 and the Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records from 1905 to 2001.

The story of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University is told chronologically through an account of events that took place under the leadership of the different directors of the Lowell Institute The Lowell Family l i x

School. Part I tells the early history up until 1903 by introducing the Lowell Family, the life and death of John Lowell, Jr., and the establishment of the Lowell Institute and early lectures. Part II tells the story of the Lowell Institute School at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through the work of Charles Francis Park (1903–44), Arthur Lawrence Townsend (1944–59), and F. Leroy Foster (1959– 73). Part III recounts the final years of the Lowell Institute School at MIT under the direction of Bruce D. Wedlock (1973–96), the transfer of the Lowell Institute School to Northeastern University, and how the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern is shaping the future of STEM education and industry.

We hope that readers will appreciate the longstanding, positive legacy of the Lowell Institute and Northeastern University and will join us in our optimism about the powerful impact that the new Lowell Institute School at NU will have on future generations.

The authors are indebted to several individuals who helped to see this book to completion. We would like to thank Giordana Mecagni, Head of Special Collections and University Archivist, and Michelle Romero, Assistant Archivist both of the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Department, for all of their assistance in helping to access the archival materials related to the Lowell Institute School.

We would also like to thank Carla Kindt, Director of Development at Northeastern University, and Vincent Lembo, Vice President and Senior Counsel for Northeastern University, for sharing both their personal narratives and documents related to the Lowell Institute School. Lastly, the authors are indebted to the work of Julianna Nielsen and Lucie Teegarden of Sloane Intercultural, and Bill and Linda Lundborg of Tides Edge Design, who allowed for the original text of this archival research to be brought to life and shared as a beautifully published book.

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D.

x l A New Chapter in STEM Education

Part One The Early History up until 1903

Odeon Theater, Boston, Massachusetts, 1838

The Lowell Family l 1

2 l A New Chapter in STEM Education

Chapter One

T he Low ell Family

INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces the now well-renowned Lowell Family. Nine generations of the family flourished in England prior to Percival Lowle’s decision to move his family to New England, specifically to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. While the exact causes that led him to leave England remain unclear, Percival’s choice was made fundamentally to fulfill the motto written on the Lowell family crest, which has been translated as “seize your opportunity.”

THE LOWELLS OF ENGLAND

Some speculate that the Lowell ancestors were of Norman origin and came over from Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066, as evidenced by the Lowell family name first appearing on the Battle Roll of William the Conqueror.1 There is some conjecture that William the Conqueror may also have been a Lowell ancestor, as a relative and councilor of William the Conqueror had the surname of Lupus.

The name Lowell is derived from the Latin Lupus, meaning wolf. It has even been suggested that the founder of the Lowell line was master of the wolf hounds to one of the old Norman kings, a post of much distinction. Others have suggested that the Lowell family was of Welsh origin, as Lowle is a contraction of the Welsh name Llewellyn.2 Various spellings of the Lowell family name have been recorded, including Lowel, Lowle, and Lowell. Ample evidence suggests that within the family name, v, w, and u were used interchangeably, creating great confusion. The Rev. John Lowell (fifth American generation) has The Lowell Family l 3

been credited with changing the family name from Lowle to Lowell in an attempt to reduce this confusion and to create uniformity.3 From the invasion of England by the Normans in 1066 to the 1280s, there is a gap in recorded family history. Whatever family changes that occurred during this hiatus of some four or five generations are a matter of conjecture. The first recorded member of the Lowell family in England is William Lowle, whose birth, estimated in 1288, occurred in Yardley, in the County Worcester, England. After his death, the Lowell family remained in Yardley for several generations, then moved west to Somersetshire and finally to Bristol, Gloucestershire, prior to the family emigration to New England.4 The Story of the Family Coat of Arms In the fifteenth century, the Lowles became armigers. Armorial bearings were symbolic of family prestige, which among other things included the right to bear arms, a privilege in ancient times accorded only to the highborn and those of distinctive rank. In the classification of Coat of Arms, the one associated with the Lowell genealogy is of high antiquity, dating back to the age of the conquest. Rev. John Lowell, the pastor of the first Church of Newburyport, was reported to have had an image of the crest on his signet ring.5 The crest has been described as “sable [with a] dexter hand couped at the wrist grasping three pointless darts . . . one in pale and two in saltire argent.�6 However, James Russell Lowell believed that the salient feature of the coat of arms was not three pointless darts, but instead, three bird bolts. In heraldry, sable belongs to the class of dark tinctures similar to the black fur of the mammal that inhabited forest environments and was historically hunted for its highly valued fur; argent refers to a silver color and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called metals.7 The crossed (saltire) darts are clasped in the right (dexter) hand, cut off at the wrist (couped). The crest bears a stag’s head cabossed with a broad arrow above the head. There is a motto sometimes used on a scroll running across the bottom and up the sides of the shield. This Latin motto, 4

l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Occasionem Cognosce, is variously translated “know your opportunity,” or “avail yourself of the opportunity,” or “seize your opportunity.” 8 The Rev. John Lowell translated it as “catch the opportunity.” 9 The shape of the shield is probably immaterial. The blunted spear points indicated severe service in battles where the sharp points were broken off or battered by shooting them against the steel armor of the enemy, hence a blunted arrow was thought to indicate greater honor, just as a sword nicked and broken in battle means the greater honor to its owner.10 THE LOWELLS OF NEW ENGLAND

Like many families who left England for North America in the seventeenth century, the Lowells emigrated to New England in search of “liberty of thought and action, economic and political”11 as a part of what is known as the Great Migration of Puritans (1620–1643).12 During this period about 20,000 people migrated mainly from two regions of England northeast and southwest of London to settle within the English Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The colony was formed in 1630 by the Massachusetts Bay Company, after a failed attempt by the Dorchester Company in 1624 to create a settlement on Cape Ann. In the early years, the colony was supported by the investments of wealthy immigrants from England who were involved in the early industries of shipping and trade of goods, including fur, lumber, and fish, with the West Indies and England.13 Percival Lowle (first American generation) Percival Lowle14 was the founder of the American family. He was born in 1571 somewhere in North Somerset, most probably at KingstonSeymour, England. At the early age of twenty-six, he was appointed Assessor of Kingston-Seymour, a post his father had held before him.

After his father’s death, Percival moved with his growing family, including sons John and Richard, to Bristol, where they founded a large mercantile establishment under the firm name of “Percival Lowle and Co.” The Lowell Family l 5

In his late sixties, Percival made up his mind to leave “Old England” forever and to take up residence in New England. His reasons for leaving England are unclear, as he was then successful and his age and circumstances might have led him to stay and retire in ease in Bristol. There is some indication that Percival may have been already acquainted with Governor Winthrop, the wealthy English Puritan lawyer who was one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Percival sailed from London on April 12, 1639, on the ship Jonathan, together with his wife Rebecca, his sons John and Richard and their wives and children, his daughter Joan and her husband John Oliver, his partner William Gerrish, his clerk Anthony Somerby, his brother Henry, and Richard Dole “who served as apprentice to John Lowle.”

They reached Boston on June 23, 1639, after a voyage of nine weeks and settled in the little village of Newbury, some forty miles north of Boston. As a family of means, the Lowles were not granted free land and contributed fifty pounds to the common stock, receiving in return one hundred acres of marsh and meadow. Percival eventually purchased more land.

Lowell family historian Ferris Greenslet writes that after the death of his wife and elder son, Percival spent his time “signing petitions, writing an occasional poem, and in general playing the honorable and unlaborious role of elder statesman . . . . Little is known about his later life except that in 1649 his signature appeared with that of Thomas Parker and James Noyes on a petition to the General Court petitioning that Plum Island might be used as a common and exclusive pasturage for all Newbury. . . . In the same year, Percival wrote the Elegy on the deathbed of Governor Winthrop that was printed some years later as a broadside by the Harvard College Press.” 15 Percival died at the age of ninety-three on January 8 at Newbury and was buried there in a little burying ground just north of the Old Town Green.

6

l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

John Lowell (second American generation) Percival’s son Richard was not in good health, so John, at the age of forty-four, took over the family coat of arms.16 John had been born in England in 1595 and had apprenticed himself in 1619, when twenty-four years old, to Richard Baugh of Bristol, England, who was a “Glover.”

John was admitted as a citizen of Bristol in 1629. Richard Dole, who apprenticed with John for seven years, came to New England with him and became a merchant of wealth and prominence.

John and his wife and four children came with Percival to New England in 1639. Well educated for those early days, John was a man of prominence and influence in his community. He was appointed as freeman (1640), constable (1641), deputy in the General Court (1644), and town clerk (1645), and as one of three court commissioners for Newbury “to end small Causes,” a sort of justice of the peace, with authority to settle civil disputes not involving more than twenty shillings. He held this position and the position of town clerk until his death in Newbury, Massachusetts, on July 10, 1647.

John Lowell (third American generation) John was born in England in 1629 and was ten when he made the transatlantic voyage from England to New England with his father, John, and grandfather, Percival.17 John was a cooper and left Newbury for Boston where he first married, where his two eldest children were born, and where his first wife died. As a cooper, he made barrels and casks for the export trade in salt fish and rum. John moved to Scituate, Massachusetts, where he married his second wife and had five more children. Following the death of his second wife, he married a third time and moved to Rehoboth, Massachusetts, where he had five more children. On March 2, 1669, while in Rehoboth, he received a grant of land by the court. John died in Boston on January 7, 1694.

The Lowell Family l 7

Ebenezer Lowell (fourth American generation) Ebenezer Lowell was born in Boston in 1675.18 He was married by the Reverend James Allen on January 30, 1694, to Elizabeth Shiler of Hingham, Massachusetts. Ferris Greenslet records that Ebenezer Lowle was a “cordwainer . . . a dealer and worker in cordovan leather, not a cobbler or mere journeyman shoemaker, but a manufacturer of shoes in an age when sole leather was worn out fast.” As such, he served as a pioneer in one of New England’s important industries. “He also had a sideline, selling drink as a retailer, perhaps as an aid to the fitting and sale of shoes. He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company.” Ebenezer died in Boston on September 10, 1711, at the age of thirty-six.

Reverend John Lowell (fifth American generation) Reverend John Lowell, pastor of the first Church of Newburyport, Massachusetts, was born in Boston on March 14, 1704.19 John was the younger son of Ebenezer and the first of the family to be given a college education, entering Harvard College at the age of thirteen.

At the beginning of his post-graduate courses, “John was appointed a Scholar of the House, which brought him some modest financial grants and the honor of being described as ‘Sir.’ During the next three years he assisted in the founding of a student society for the promotion of literature and piety. He took his second degree in June of 1724 and defended his thesis, which has been translated as ‘Can the spiritual state of small or unborn infants be investigated by the natural reason?’ ” John was a thrifty man and purchased many properties. He was scholarly, “liberal in his views, generous in his impulses, renowned in his profession, and one of the most eminent men of his day.” He preached his first sermon in Watertown, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1724. He was ordained on January 19, 1726, and when less than twenty-two years old, became the pastor of the Third Church of Newbury or the First Church of Newburyport. “From the beginning his ministry was successful. He seems to have been particularly active 8

l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

in the department of pastoral care.”20 He continued as the pastor of that church for forty-two years and delivered his farewell sermon, The Advantages of God’s Presence with his People in an Expedition against their Enemies, on May 22, 1755.21 John died on May 15, 1767, at the age of sixty-three years. He was buried in the Old Hill Cemetery at Newburyport.

Judge John Lowell (sixth American generation) Judge John Lowell, the second and surviving son of Reverend John Lowell,22 was born in Newburyport on June 17, 1743. A 1760 graduate of Harvard College, he settled in Newburyport before moving to Boston in 1776. Although he made a vow with his college friend the Honorable John Jackson never to marry, he ended up marrying three times, the first time in a double ceremony on the same evening in Salem, Massachusetts, along with Jackson and his bride.

In 1792, Harvard College honored him by awarding him an L.L.D. He served Harvard as a Fellow from 1784 to 1802. President Washington appointed him as a judge of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts in 1789, and in 1801, President Adams appointed him Chief Justice of the U.S. Circuit Court, which included Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. In 1776, he was elected Representative of the General Court from Newburyport and in 1778 from Boston. In 1779 he was chosen to be a member of the convention for framing the constitution of Massachusetts. He took a leading role and caused to be placed in the constitution the clause “All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential and inalienable rights among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties.”23 In 1782 and 1783 Judge John Lowell was elected a delegate to Congress.

He introduced into the Bill of Rights the clause by which slavery was abolished in Massachusetts and advocated its adoption in the convention.24 When it was adopted he exclaimed: “Now there is no longer slavery in Massachusetts, it is abolished and I will render my services as a lawyer The Lowell Family l 9

gratis to any slave suing for his freedom if it is withheld from him.”25 For eighteen years he was a member of the corporation of Harvard College and was one of the founders of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society.26 John died suddenly in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on May 6, 1802, at the age of fifty-nine, after suffering for several years from gout.

Judge John Lowell had three sons, John, Francis, and Charles. Of the three, the eldest, John, also known as the Rebel, was an eminent lawyer and writer on political and agricultural subjects. The only son of John was John Amory Lowell who would go on to be the first trustee of the Lowell Institute. The youngest son of Judge Lowell, the Rev. Charles Lowell, was an eminent Boston minister and the father of several distinguished children, the youngest of whom was James Russell Lowell.

Francis Cabot Lowell (seventh American generation) Born in Newburyport on April 7, 1775, the middle son of Judge John Lowell, Francis Cabot Lowell was a merchant who was educated at Harvard College in mathematics and mechanical interests.27 Francis traveled extensively through England and Scotland during 1810 and 1811 and while there, during the War of 1812, conceived of the idea of manufacturing cotton goods in this country.

After returning from Scotland in 1812, Francis and his brother-in-law founded The Boston Manufacturing Company. “They purchased the property of an unsuccessful paper-cum-spinning mill at Waltham, Massachusetts, where for a mile or two the Charles River quickens its pace to provide waterpower.”28 Francis Cabot applied what he had learned from his trip and reimagined the power looms he had seen overseas with innovations for American use. The mill became very successful, producing over thirty miles of cotton cloth each day. Soon after the establishment of the Waltham mill, a new mill was established on the banks of the Merrimack River with the financial support of the Lowell family. The city that grew around the new mill was later named Lowell, in honor of the memory of Francis Cabot.29 10 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

For Francis Lowell, the two years following the war were professionally busy and lucrative. Personally, he was much less fortunate. His wife died in May of 1815 and soon after he himself became an invalid. He tried the waters of Ballston Spa, but came back from his stay sicker than when he went in. “He died in Boston on August 10, 1817, at the age of forty-two. In his short life he had done more than any other member of his effective family to swell the pocketbook of New England and shape its economic future.�30

The Lowell Family l 11

12 l A New Chapter in STEM Education

Chapter Two

THE LI FE A N D DEATH OF JO HN LOWELL, JR.

INTRODUCTION

This chapter traces the life and death of John Lowell, Jr. John’s life, while short, was action-packed and included a mix of success, tragedy, adventure, and benefaction. His life is recorded in a mass of letters and a set of morocco-bound diaries and journals. Within this chapter, large sections of John Lowell’s will have been transcribed and included to give a deeper appreciation of the man, his life, and his vision for public education. John’s life was influenced by the lyceum movement, which flourished in the United States, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest, from the mid-nineteenth century until the early twentieth century.1 During this period, hundreds of informal associations were established for the purpose of improving the social, intellectual, and moral fabric of society. The lyceum movement was characterized by the delivery of different lectures and performances that were targeted to an adult audience. John Jr.’s life was also impacted by his father’s work in the cotton industry, thus setting the stage for the future vision of the Lowell Institute School, which was designed to provide an education for industrial foremen.

THE LIFE OF JOHN LOWELL, JR.

The Honorable John Lowell, Jr., a member of the eighth Lowell generation in this country and the eldest son of textile manufacturing pioneer Francis Cabot Lowell, was born on May 11, 1799, in Boston.2 John was born three months premature and was not expected to live.

Despite being sickly in his youth, in the autumn of 1810, at age eleven, John Lowell, Jr., sailed with his father for Glasgow. They set up house The Life and Death of John Lowell, Jr. l 13

in Edinburgh, where John attended two years of high school. Like his father, he became a successful merchant; he was “by nature a statesman, whom the caprice of fortune had made a merchant.” 3 After their return to Boston in 1812, John entered Harvard College in 1813, but after two years of study there, at the age of sixteen, Lowell dropped out and chose to pursue his passion for travel to “qualify himself to be a captain and to come forward in the world in that way.”4 Over the next two years, in 1816 and 1817, he visited India twice, following the routes of Marco Polo. Upon his return to Boston, in better health and with a substantial inheritance from his father in his possession, he started his business life as a merchant and a manufacturer of cotton cloth. Lowell found success as a merchant and was repeatedly elected to the City Council of Boston and the Massachusetts State Senate.

An avid supporter of the lyceum movement in Boston and a founding member of the Boston Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Lowell showed an early interest in adult education for the public.5 At twenty-five, he fell in love with his cousin by marriage, Georgina Margaret Amory. They married in Boston on April 6, 1825. They “took a honeymoon trip in a chaise through Newburyport to Portsmouth, returning by Haverhill and to the newly built city just christened Lowell after his father.” They lived at first in a house on Colonnade Row and later on Bedford Place at the other end of town on the bank of the Merrimack in Lowell.6 During his five years in Lowell, John’s family and fortune grew. John Jr. occupied his free time reading upon the subjects of science, travel, and biographies. In the autumn of 1829, he became involved in public affairs and spent that fall in Richmond listening to the convention debates calling for the making of a new constitution for the Commonwealth of Virginia. John’s good life was shattered when, in November 1830, Georgina died of scarlet fever. Within the next eighteen months their two little girls, aged two and five years, also died of the same disease.7

14 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Devastated by the loss of his family, Lowell decided to sell his houses, put his business affairs in the hands of his cousin, John Amory Lowell, and once again travel the world. Before traveling, on November 8, 1832, John drafted a will in which he appointed John Amory Lowell and Francis C. Lowell to be executors.8 The will stated that half of his estate was to be held and distributed to support his extended family and loved ones, and half of his estate was to be used to support the funding of public lectures.9 The First Will’s Provisions for Family John’s first will made provisions for his family and friends. In particular, he requested that a monument be erected in the Mount Auburn Cemetery for his recently deceased wife, Georgina Margaret Amory, and their children, Georgina Margaret Amory Lowell and Anna Cabot Lowell.10 He also stipulated that if he married again, at the time of his death, half of the estate reserved for extended family and loved ones would go to his surviving wife and any children they might have had.

The other half of those funds were then directed to be invested in a trust with income dividends and interest distributed to his immediate family, including the children of his late sister Susan Cabot, who was married to John Amory Lowell in 1822, and to his brother Francis C. Lowell and any children he might have.11 The First Will’s Provisions for Public Lectures After providing for his extended family and loved ones, John stipulated that the remaining half of his estate be used to support the funding of public lectures.

And the remaining half part or moiety of all my said estate I give and devise unto my said brother John A. Lowell . . . and in the event of his having deceased before me, then to my said brother Francis C. Lowell, to hold in trust to appropriate the residue of any said dividends and interest to the maintenance and support of public lectures, to be delivered in the said city of Boston upon The Life and Death of John Lowell, Jr. l 15

Philosophy, natural history, and the arts and sciences, or any of them as the said trustee or his successors in said trust shall from time to time think expedient, for the promotion of the moral, intellectual, and physical instruction and education of the inhabitants of the said city giving to the trustee or trustees for the time being, full power and authority to prescribe such terms and rules of admission to the said lectures as they may think expedient for the public good; The said trustee and trustees being [in] all respects governed by any directions I may leave in writing.

I do hereby constitute and appoint the Trustees of the Boston Athenaeum for the time being to be visitors of said trust fund, with power to require accounts of the administration thereof and to compel the appropriation thereof to the uses aforesaid but without any power or authority to prescribe or direct by whom the said Lectures shall be given, nor the subjects thereof : —considering it best to leave that high personal responsibility upon the trustee or trustees of the fund for the time being. If no successor [is] appointed at the death of the trustee then the trustees of the Boston Athenaeum shall appoint one or two suitable persons to be trustee or trustees.

In order to preserve the several trust funds herein-above created . . . I order and direct that the trustees . . . shall retain and reserve from out of the annual income, dividends and interest thereof, one-tenth part of such income, dividends and interest, and shall add the same to the respective principal funds from which the same shall have accrued; and shall hold such additions when made to the same uses and upon the same trusts as are declared of and concerning the said principal funds.12 The Final Travels of John Lowell, Jr. After drafting his initial will and transferring his businesses to his closest friend and cousin, John Amory Lowell, John Lowell, Jr., determined to fulfill a boyhood plan of following the Marco Polo route to China.13 He 16 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

left the U.S. on November 21, 1832, after passing a considerable part of the summer in the Western states, and sailed on the ship Henry G. bound from New York to Le Havre. He carefully worked out a plan to proceed by leisurely stages through France—with a side trip to England—to Italy, Greece, to Asia Minor, thence following the Anabasis of Xenophon’s Ten Thousand in reverse, first to Teheran, where he would spend the winter learning Persian, then over the Marco Polo overland route to the lands of Cathay. While en route, he wrote in his journal that he was feeling better.

Thanks to Him to whom I owe all; I have not felt so well for years. Good appetite, good sleep and a quiet mind are restored to me. But what shall I do in this world? What object have I to live for? No one depends upon me; no one loves me as I am wont to be loved. I have lived in vain. Monotony and listlessness remain in store if I live; and if I die, am I prepared for the next world?

Hope faints within me; the elasticity of youth is gone.14 John Jr. arrived in France in the northwestern town of Le Havre on December 11. From there he made his way to Paris and settled into an apartment on the Rue de Rivoli. John spent this time in Paris getting to know the city and its inhabitants, attending different dinner parties and dances almost every evening of the week.15 He relocated to London on May 1, 1833, and took up residence at the Clarendon Hotel in Bond Street. From there he took daytrips to the nearby cotton mills of Manchester and Birmingham and explored the potteries of Derbyshire, inspecting their structure and management, of which he shared his observations with his close friend and relative, John Amory Lowell.

From London, John Jr. went on to spend a month in Ireland and then returned in the fall of 1833 to Edinburgh, Scotland, where his father had taken him as an adolescent. There, despite suffering from severe headaches, he immersed himself in the study of mineralogy and the Italian language. He returned in early November 1833 to London, where he finalized preparations and collected necessary letters of intro-

The Life and Death of John Lowell, Jr. l 17

duction and support from Lord Glenelg, president of the India Board of Control, for an extensive trip to Asia, from which he never returned.

Early in December 1833, John Jr. left by way of Holland and Belgium for Paris, where he was to embark on his ill-fated trip. Although misfortune did not allow for his original itinerary to be fulfilled, he wrote of his plans in a reply letter dated December 19, 1833, to the chargé d’affaires of the United States at London.

I leave Paris . . . in five or six days, and proceed rapidly through France, Italy, and Sicily, resting a few days at some of the principal towns. I expect to reach Malta by the beginning of April. From Malta we shall endeavor to make a short visit to the Pyramids, by the way of Alexandria and Cairo, and from thence go to Jerusalem, by way of the desert of Suez. Taking shipping at some port in Syria or Palestine, we shall follow the coast to Smyrna. Should this route be inexpedient, on account of want of time, fear of plague, or political disturbance, we shall visit Greece before proceeding to Smyrna.

From the last-named place we shall proceed to Constantinople, where we intend to arrive as early as the middle of July or first of August; because it would be very disagreeable to be overtaken by cold weather in the mountainous regions of Armenia, Koordistân, or Georgia. In August, we shall proceed from Constantinople to Trebizond on the Black Sea, probably by water. From Trebizond we shall start on horseback, and, placing our baggage on mules, follow for a time nearly the route of the ten thousand Greeks under Xenophon, and rest a short time at Teflis, the capital of Georgia.

We shall leave Teflis as soon as possible, and stop next at Teheran, the capital of Persia. Here I propose to pass two or three months, both because, in all probability, the season will be unfavorable for traveling, and because I should like to obtain a slight knowledge of the Persian language. From Teheran we shall cross Persia, passing through Ispahan, the ruins of Persepolis and Shirauz,—the city of gardens,—and Busheer on the Persian Gulf. Thence I take ship for Bombay.16 18 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

John Jr. set out from Paris to Italy by way of Nice and Genoa in the early part of February 1834. While in Florence, he commissioned Horatio Greenough to make a statue of him to be presented to the Boston Athenaeum. When he arrived at Rome he hired, for five hundred dollars and all expenses, the Swiss artist Gabriel Gleyre to travel with him for the purpose of creating sketches and watercolors of the “scenery, ruins, and costumes, throughout his whole tour.”17 After visiting Naples, John Jr. crossed to Sicily and spent a month there touring the island. Although altering his original plan, he was determined to tour Greece before visiting Asia Minor and traveled through the Ionian Islands to Albania and then to Yanina. He then took passage to the island of Syra in the first week of September of 1834. Despite being delayed there for more than two weeks due to a lack of wind, he arrived in Smyrna on September 24, 1834. There he explored the valley of the Meander and the ruins of Magnesia, Tralles, Nysa, Laodicea, Tripolis, and Hierapolis before descending into the basin of the River Hermus to visit Philadelphia and the house of Croesus. It was from there, with the help of a “Toorkman” girl and a Greek boy, that he traveled to Thyatira and Magnesia ad Sipylum and crossed the steep pass of the Sipylus into the plain of Smyrna.18 During his stay at Smyrna, John updated his original will. In a codicil dated October 2, 1834, John set aside funds for a monument to be erected in memory of his wife and daughters, and outlined arrangements for how his estate should be distributed if he should die married without children, married with children, or unmarried with no children.19 From Smyrna, John Jr. was unable to execute his original itinerary due to an outbreak of the plague in Constantinople and the lateness of the season in which he had arrived on the coast of Asia Minor. This prevented him from following his plan of entering the Black Sea and crossing to Persia by way of Armenia and Georgia. Instead, he waited until the plague had abated in Constantinople in late November and traveled there briefly before returning to Smyrna, where he intended to travel to Alexandria in Egypt. From there he aimed to sail the Nile The Life and Death of John Lowell, Jr. l 19

as far as Cairo and to enter Syria by way of the Suez desert, crossing the Euphrates and taking passage in the Persian Gulf for India.20 John Jr. and crew set sail for Alexandria on December 9, 1834, in the Greek brig the Bellerophon, and “stocked it with hogsheads of wine, boxes of bacon, macaroni and cheese, and an Arab horse.”21 They sailed for eighteen days along the coast of the Islands of Mitylene, Samos, Patmos, and Rhodes before arriving in Alexandria. From there they sailed up the Rosetta branch of the Nile to Cairo. After a brief stay at Cairo, John Jr. continued down the Nile to Thebes in a chartered dahabeah, described as a “long, narrow boat, with [a] cabin and awnings, propelled by very large sails, when the wind is favorable, and poled or drawn along by hand, when it fails or is adverse.”22 Along the way, on February 18, 1835, he met up with Mohammad Ali, the king of Egypt, who dissuaded him from attempting to transverse Syria on land and instead suggested that he travel by way of the Red Sea and Mocha and offered to accompany him that far and provide letters of protection.

Before reaching Thebes, “as a consequence of exposure to the evening air and the general effect of the climate,” John was stricken by dysentery and intermittent fever. Upon his arrival at Thebes, his fever lifted temporarily and he was able to explore the ruins of a palace at Luxor.

His fever soon returned, and after “assembling the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities ever up to that time collected by an American”23 he began to have “serious apprehensions in his mind.”24 In his convalescence, he began to complete his will and set forth the principles for the trust that would become the Lowell Institute.

Last Update to the Will John Jr. wrote John Amory Lowell on April 1, 1835, elaborating on his will and directing that the letter be added as a codicil to that document.25 In this letter he wrote that when the funds of his trust warranted it, in addition to the popular lectures there might be more “erudite and particular” courses; that, at these, the scholars could be 20 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

charged a small sum “not exceeding the value of two bushels of wheat for the course of six months.” He also appointed the Trustees of the Boston Athenaeum as “Visitors” and directed that the trustee should deposit with them, within a week after his accession to office, the name of his successor. “In selecting a successor, the trustee shall always choose, in preference to all others, some male descendent of my grandfather, John Lowell (the ‘Old Judge’) provided there be one who is competent to hold the office of trustee, and of the name of Lowell .”26 The Death of John Lowell, Jr. Toward the final days and weeks of his journey, John was eager to reach India during the cool season, but news reached him that it was dangerous to return to Cairo because the plague had broken out there.27 He decided on an alternate route, joined forces with a young English explorer, and penetrated Ethiopia on his Arab horse as far as the site of the ancient city of Meroe. By this time his dysentery had returned and he was suffering from a very painful disease in his eyes.

He set forth to cross the Nubian Desert on camelback. The trip took fourteen days to reach a small port on the western coast of the Red Sea, where the travelers chartered a schooner to carry the crew and their possessions to Mocha.28 They sailed on December 16, 1835. Six days later, the vessel was shipwrecked.29 On the evening of December 22, 1835, they drifted among the shoals. He wrote in his journal of this event the following: At the end of several hours, we struck a coral reef. Then all hands jumped overboard to push the vessel off the rocks . . . I retreated to my covered litter . . . and put what gold was not already in my broad Turkish girdle, into my pocket. I did the same with my letters of credit. The water now entered fast through all the seams in the larboard side of the vessel. The men could not bail the schooner fast enough, as she continued to strike, it was evident that the leak would become worse. Yani now called out “They are throwing our cases overboard!” and true enough; the The Life and Death of John Lowell, Jr. l 21

hold of the little vessel had been crowded with my effects and I now saw them floating alongside. . . . I kept nothing back, except my trunks of wearing apparel, my books, my writing materials, a leather bag, into which I had thrust my journals, my pistols, certain gilt French Bagatelles for presents, and a few other articles.30 The crew in this moment threatened to abandon the vessel and took a raft that John Jr. had made and tied with a cord for the purpose of saving his effects. He ordered the men to leave the raft and threatened to shoot the first man who attempted to move it.31 In the end all the ship’s company reached shore without loss of life and, returning in small boats, rescued the more important baggage.

John Jr.’s strength began to fail as a result of exposure, exhaustion, and his previous illness. He boarded a boat in Mocha and arrived in Bombay on February 10, 1836, gravely ill.32 He had cousins in Bombay who, upon hearing of his arrival, came to care for him, but he succumbed to his illness and died on March 4, 1836, shortly after arriving in Bombay, India, at thirty-four years of age.33 Although he was buried in Bombay, there is a monument to him in Lot 217 on Willow Path of the Mount Auburn cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. John had purchased the lot in the fall of 1831, shortly after the death of his wife. The monument dedicated to John Lowell, Jr., is surrounded by an exceptional and unique cast-iron fence and is located near the lots of his relatives, including Charles Lowell (Lot 323) and Augustus Lowell (Lot 3401).

John Amory Lowell became the first trustee of the Lowell Institute in July 1836 when the news of his cousin’s death reached Boston.34 John Amory Lowell assumed the duties of the trustee under the will, but a further provision of that document directed that the estate be kept intact for two years. There were other legal steps to be taken so the Lowell Institute did not offer its first lecture until December 1839.

22 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

THE VISION OF THE LOWELL INSTITUTE

The bequest of John Lowell, Jr., which ultimately led to the establishment of the Lowell Institute, was at the time the largest gift that had ever been appropriated in this country, by a private individual, for the endowment of any literary institution.35 The institution he founded was unique. Oliver Wendell Holmes said: “No nobler or more helpful institution exists in America than Boston’s Lowell Institute.” Lowell envisioned an educational institution dedicated to providing lectures to the people of Boston regardless of their gender, race, or economic status. For that reason the lectures were to be free of cost and open to everyone. By the terms of the will, the trustee for the time being was required to appoint as his successor some descendant of the grandfather of the founder and of the name Lowell, if a suitable one could be found. Funds from the trust were to be used for instruction only, not infrastructure, and the cost of courses should not exceed the cost of two bushels of wheat.

DEDICATIONS TO JOHN LOWELL, JR.

The lasting impact of the vision of John Lowell Jr.’s vision for public education is captured in the following poem, which was written by A. B. McKechnie, Class of 1910 of the School for Industrial Foremen at MIT and presented at the Graduation Exercises on May 21, 1947.36 OUR FOUNDER It was many, many long years ago, in 1836 That the Lowell Institute Idea was born In the mind of one John Lowell, a young man of vision rare, Who wished his fellow men a brighter dawn.

So he wrote in legal language: “I hereby give and grant For public lectures in my town.”

It never was for him to know that our beloved school Would be the fairest jewel in his crown.

The Life and Death of John Lowell, Jr. l 23

Oh Lowell: Oh Lowell: ’tis a name that we always adore.

With fond memories of thy glory To dwell within our hearts forever more.

Now there are many, many fine eager lads, an education want, But who because of life’s unplanned turmoil Soon learned that if in later years they would control their fate Must spend their early days in work and toil.

But this thought did not daunt them; they were made of fiber strong And nightly proved their courage true; So they gained an education, which now makes them learned men; They are the boys of our own P.D.U.

24 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Chapter Three

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LOWELL INSTITUTE AND EARLY LECTURES

INTRODUCTION

A brief survey of New England public intellectual life in the early to mid-nineteenth century provides important background to help us appreciate fully how the Lowell Institute came into existence.1 When British troops came to New England during the Revolutionary period, they introduced the first theatrical performances staged in America.2 When theatrical plays were attempted in Boston during the autumn of 1792, it was found necessary to call them “moral lectures” in order to secure public interest, as the Puritan majority rejected all worldly amusements, including the playhouse.3 Eventually, the performances that took place at the theater buildings, which boasted refreshment rooms and allowed free admission to women in the third row, were seen as immoral, and the theaters were taken over for other purposes.

In 1839, it was openly declared by the Baptist denomination of the Tremont Temple that “there was never to be another theatre in Boston.”4 As a result of the closure of the playhouses, lectures were the remaining recreation left to New England residents. The demand for these lectures was so high that during the winter of 1837-38 over thirteen thousand people attended twenty-six courses of lectures delivered in Boston.5

Establishment of the Lowell Institute l 25

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LOWELL INSTITUTE

Upon John Lowell, Jr.’s, death, John Amory Lowell (son of John the Rebel), John Jr.’s cousin and intimate friend, oversaw the execution of his will and established the Lowell Institute. John Jr. and John Amory, both grandsons of the Old Judge and born only a few months apart, had been raised almost as brothers and were also connected by marriage when John Amory married John Jr.’s sister, Susan Cabot.6 In addition to serving as the first trustee of the Lowell Institute, John Amory also was a banker, the treasurer of four large cotton mills, and a high-ranking member of the Harvard Corporation. John Amory Lowell served as trustee of the Lowell Institute for more than forty years, from 1836 to 1881, at which time he passed the trusteeship to his son, Augustus Lowell, who served as the second trustee for nineteen years, from 1881 to 1900.7 It took several months to settle John Jr.’s estate, but when John Amory took over the $250,000 fund he invested it wisely, yielding an annual budget of nearly $18,000 to sponsor the public lectures outlined in the will.8 In addition to managing the investments of the fund, John Amory’s role as the Institute’s trustee was to be responsible, after seeking the advice of a cabinet of advisors and hiring a staff, for making up a yearly list of preferred speakers and, of equal importance, a list of those whom he did not intend to ask.9 He also quickly realized he would need to find a good auditorium in which to host the lectures. He made plans to rent the Odeon Theater, which held about two thousand seats, for six years for that purpose. He invited his previous tutor and then Governor of Massachusetts Edward Everett to give a eulogy to John Jr. and to describe the vision for the lectures his Institute would sponsor.10 Everett’s address was delivered first on December 31, 1839, and then repeated to an overflow crowd two nights later.11

26 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Popular Lecture Courses The following evening, January 3, 1840, the first official lectures were delivered by Professor Benjamin Silliman of Yale, on the topic of geology. These lectures were followed by talks by John J. Audubon on ornithology, by the Rev. John G. Palfrey on “Evidences of Christianity,” and by Thomas Nuttall on the topic of botany. The demand for these early lectures was so great that a crowd waiting for tickets outside the Old Corner Bookstore crushed in the windows, and other arrangements had to be made for distribution. Thomas Nuttall’s lecture on botany alone yielded twelve thousand applications, and tickets to the most popular lectures were by drawing. People would arrive hours before the lectures to get good seats, often occupying themselves with tasks such as knitting, sewing, and reading. The only seats unavailable to the public were those in “the pit” which were reserved for members of the Lowell family. Lectures, which began on the hour after bolting the door to the theater, were limited to sixty minutes. “When a gentleman of some reputation, five minutes later, tried to kick his way through the entrance, he was taken to the lockup and compelled to pay a fine.”12 A total of one hundred talks had been given by the Institute by the end of the first year: sixty-four lectures with thirty-six of them repeated. The famous British geologist Sir Charles Lyell opened the second year of lectures (1840–41) and was generously compensated two thousand dollars for his time. Lectures were given in the Odeon until 1846, when they were moved to the Tremont Temple, and later in the Marlboro Chapel until 1879, when it was closed to educational purposes and “given up to traffic.”13 As the popularity of the lectures grew, John Amory appointed a curator to help with the advertising, distribution of tickets, arrangements in the hall, and the needs of speakers. The first curator, who served for only three years, was Jeffries Wyman, the eminent comparative anatomist.

His successor in 1842 was Dr. Benjamin E. Cotting, “who for a period of fifty-eight years attended from the first discourse nearly every lecture delivered.”14 Establishment of the Lowell Institute l 27

The Lowell Institute Helps Start MIT In April of 1842 two brothers, Henry Darwin Rogers and William Barton Rogers, came to Boston to present their work at the third annual meeting of the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists, where they gave a paper “On the Structure of the Appalachian Chain as Exemplifying the Laws which have Regulated the Elevation of Great Mountain Chains Generally.”15 They made such an impression with their presentation that John Amory Lowell invited Henry Rogers to deliver a series of lectures before the Lowell Institute.

Henry Rogers moved to Boston in 1846. He was interested in establishing a school of arts and discussed with Mr. Lowell the possibility of establishing the school as a part of the Lowell Institute.16 Rogers believed that the school of arts might eventually develop into a polytechnic institution in Boston, and a proposal was brought to Mr. Lowell’s attention.

Since the will of John Lowell prohibited money from the trust to be used for bricks and mortar, the polytechnic institution could not be established under the will.

On March 8, 1846, Henry Rogers wrote from Boston to his brother William Rogers, then a professor at the University of Virginia, as follows: I have to speak of another interesting matter. Mr. Lowell with whom I have been talking, after mentioning the feature in the Lowell will which enjoins the creation of classes . . . to receive exact instruction in useful knowledge, requested me to give him, in writing, the views I had just been unfolding of the value of a School of Arts as a branch of the Lowell Institute. . . . How much I want you near me at this time to aid me in digesting and submitting my views on this important scheme with Mr. Lowell! If you and myself could be at the head of this Polytechnic School of the Useful Arts, it would be pleasanter for us than any college professorship . . . . At no distant day, if not indeed soon, Mr. Lowell will, I hope, organize such a branch of his Institute; and if he does not, you and I can surely get one founded here by going about it in the right way.17 28 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

In the spring of 1853, William Rogers came to Boston to join his brother and worked diligently on his plans for creating a polytechnic institute in Boston. Within two years William was able to fulfill his dream of creating an institute of technology and the new school was built in the Back Bay section of Boston on land that had been granted for educational purposes by the state legislature. As the aims of the school that Henry Rogers planned were consistent with the aims of the Lowell trust, John A. Lowell made a financial contribution of $100,000 toward the fund that the Commonwealth for Massachusetts required be established for the school. John Amory Lowell was also the first vice-president of MIT.18 The School of Industrial Sciences, which was to become the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was opened in February 1865 in leased rooms in the building of the Mercantile Library Association on Summer Street and in the dwelling of Judge Jackson. The objectives of the school and the courses that it offered were, as described in the First Annual Catalogue: First. To provide a full course of scientific studies and practical exercises for students seeking to qualify themselves for the profession of the Mechanical Engineer, Civil Engineer, Practical Chemist, Engineer of Mines, and Builder and Architect. Second.

To furnish such a general education, founded upon the Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences, English and other Modern Languages, and Mental and Political Sciences, as shall form a fitting preparation for any of the departments of active life. Third. To provide courses of Evening Instruction in the main branches of knowledge above referred to, for persons . . . who are prevented by occupation or other causes, from devoting themselves to scientific study during the day, but who desire to avail themselves of systematic evening lessons or lectures.19 It is interesting to note that the Third Aim of the Institute as stated in the First Annual Catalogue was later carried out through the programming provided by the Lowell Institute School.

Establishment of the Lowell Institute l 29

Lowell Lectures and MIT After the establishment of MIT and the growth of its campus, the Lowell Institute lectures were moved to Huntington Hall in the Rogers Building of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.20 In 1866, John Amory collaborated with MIT to provide more advanced lecture courses so as to fulfill the provision in the will which stated that “besides the free courses given for the general public there may be others given, more erudite and particular, for students.”21 (These courses were open to the public and were typically given in the evening. The courses varied from year to year but included instruction in “mathematics, physics, drawing, chemistry, geology, natural history, biology, English, French, German, history, navigation and nautical astronomy, architecture and engineering.”)22 These higher lectures for the average citizen closely resembled what the leading colleges and universities at the time were establishing in what is known as university extension programs.23 The Lowell Institute Free Drawing-School In 1850 and 1851 the trustee of the Lowell lectures, John Amory Lowell, became gravely concerned that the teaching of drawing in the United States was extremely poor. After a trip to Europe in search of the best lecturers obtainable, he decided to open a school of drawing in the old Marlboro Chapel.24 The school was the first of its kind in this country and encouraged students to do freehand sketching directly from objects themselves, rather than from paintings and other reproductions. The school was not received with great favor at first in the Boston area, but continued until 1879 when the chapel burned.25 The Lowell School of Design In 1872 the Lowell School of Design was founded. Courses in the design of fabrics were given, and the designed patterns could be woven on looms available to the school. This project continued until 1901, when the work was taken over by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, at which time the trustee of the Lowell Institute became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Museum.26 30 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Other Advanced Courses The Lowell Institute supported during this time a number of organizations, including the Boston Society of Natural History and the Wells Memorial Workingmen’s Institute, which respectively furnished instruction in science to the schoolteachers of Boston and instruction on practical and scientific subjects through lectures for workingmen.27 Dr. Abbott Lawrence Lowell In 1898, A. Lawrence Lowell, son of Augustus Lowell (trustee 1881– 1900), became a member of the Corporation of MIT and upon the death of his father on June 21, 1900, succeeded him as trustee of the Lowell Institute.28 Dr. A. Lawrence Lowell instituted a number of changes, one of them being the formation of the School for Industrial Foremen to replace the Series of Advanced Lecture Courses, already mentioned, which had been given by professors of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for more than thirty years.

Serving a Population of Students with Unmet Needs A. Lawrence Lowell concluded that the popular lectures sponsored by the Lowell Institute, although very well done, were not reaching the kind of student who would benefit most. “There was ample opportunity for people with money to go to college. For the tradesmen there were trade schools, but there was no opportunity for the foremen, to improve themselves in their daily work. Dr. Lowell felt it would be better to replace these supplementary lectures, on more or less unrelated topics, with lectures organized into a well-planned curriculum.” 29 He felt that a better curriculum would help to encourage those men who worked as foremen to return to school. Having a better educated class of foremen also benefitted the community socially, as an intermediary class between the employer or engineer, on the one hand, and the workmen, on the other.

Dr. Lowell presented this plan to Henry S. Pritchett, who had recently been inaugurated as the president of MIT. Pritchett appointed Professor Establishment of the Lowell Institute l 31

Charles F. Park ’92 to draw up plans that would enable men working in industry to take evening instruction in subjects that would be most useful for them in their daily work. The plan called for students to attend school two hours a night, three or possibly four evenings a week, to receive instruction, with lectures, recitations, drafting exercises, and laboratory work in industrial topics. Courses of instruction would be coordinated into a two-year program, at the end of which the men would receive a certificate stating that they had satisfactorily completed either the electrical or mechanical course. Professor Park was then appointed as the director of the new Lowell Institute School for Industrial Foremen.30 The Lowell Institute School for Industrial Foremen The first night the school opened, 165 men attended to hear Professor Park describe the school in detail and how it would be operated.

The school began by offering two evening courses, one mechanical and the other electrical, each extending over two years. The subjects in the first year for both courses were Practical Mathematics, Elementary Physics and Electricity, Elements of Mechanism, and Drawing.

Second-year courses in the mechanical program were Mechanics; Valve-gears; Elements of Thermodynamics, the Steam Engine and Boilers; Elementary Hydraulics; Testing Laboratory; Steam and Hydraulic Laboratory; and Mechanism Design and Elementary Machine Design. Second-year courses in the electrical program included Valve-gears; Elements of Thermodynamics, the Steam Engine and Boilers; Steam Laboratory; Direct Current Machinery; Alternating Currents; Electric Distribution; Electrical Testing; and Dynamo Laboratory. Of the ninety-seven men who returned the second night in 1903, the first-year course was completed by sixty, and fifty-five were admitted to second-year studies. The following fall, fifty registered and thirty men graduated, of whom fifteen had taken the mechanical course and fifteen the electrical course.

These men represented the Class of 1905, the first one of the Lowell Institute School.

32 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Lowell Institute School

Dr. A. Lawrence Lowell, President of Harvard University, Trustee of The Lowell Institute, 1900-43.

Cartoon representing the first and second year curriculum of early years of the LIS at MIT from the 1903-1928: Twenty-fifth Anniversary Program, May 24, 1928.

Cartoon from The Lowell Book 1918 yearbook.

The Lowell Institute School

Cartoon from the Lowell Book 1917 yearbook.

A classroom for the LIS at MIT.

Charles F. Park, Director of The Lowell Institute School, 1903-23.

The Lowell Institute School

The electrical laboratory used by LIS students during the early years of the LIS at MIT.

General Electric Apprentice Program’s graduation, 1955.

Alumni Association of the Lowell Institute membership card, 1938.

The Lowell Institute School

Seal used to represent the LISAA at MIT.

The Lowell Institute School charm and pin, designed by the LISAA at MIT.

Inside cover of The Lowell Book 1914 yearbook.

The Lowell Institute School

Banner of the LIS at MIT.

Lowell Institute School school ring, designed by the LISAA at MIT.

Part Two The Lowell Institute School at MIT (1903–73)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, ca. 1900

The Lowell Institute School at MIT l 33

34 l A New Chapter in STEM Education

Chapter Four

T HE Wor k of Char l es Fr anc is Par k (1903–4 4)

INTRODUCTION

The early years of the School for Industrial Foremen showed great growth and graduated a committed network of students who organized to form the Lowell Institute School Alumni Association, which has played a key role in supporting the school over its long history. In addition to telling the story of how the Lowell Institute School at MIT grew, this chapter explores how classes designed and developed with the direction of Palmer Speare at the Boston YMCA, which were originally supported by the Lowell Institute, blossomed into the Evening School of the YMCA and later became part first of Lincoln College and then of Northeastern College and eventually Northeastern University.1 SOCIAL, POLITICAL, HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The social, political, and historical landscape of Massachusetts provided fertile ground for the work of the Lowell Institute to take root and flourish in the years following the Civil War. There was a need and desire to offer academic programming to underserved students and to meet the growing demands of industry. Industrial development in Massachusetts had accelerated after the war, and the expansion of manufacturing had brought wealth and a higher standard of living to many. Families who were blessed with either family prowess or fortune generally had access to advanced education in one of the many colleges and universities that were established in Boston between 1850 and

The Work of Charles Francis Park l 35

1890. These colleges were intended to prepare young men for work in professional fields and to be scholars in academia; however, most young men of the time were forced to begin working at an early age to support themselves and their families.2 By the 1890s educational institutions began to emerge to help meet the needs of men and women seeking vocational skills and the related industries that employed them. For example, in 1870 John Simmons endowed Simmons College with the vision of preparing young women for independent livelihood by offering programming “for the purpose of teaching medicine, music, drawing, designing, telegraphy, and other branches of art, science, and industry.” For young men, the Boston Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), which would later grow into Northeastern University, was providing vocational training in the form of special courses in Law, Elementary Electricity, and Advanced Electricity under the auspices of the Evening Institute of the Boston YMCA.3 THE BOSTON YMCA EVENING INSTITUTE FOR YOUNG MEN

The Evening Institute of the Boston YMCA was an outgrowth of the original vision of the association, which was to improve the “spiritual and mental condition of young men.”4 With this purpose in mind, from 1851 to 1896, the school offered courses of lectures and classes that were primarily supplementary in character and were not intended to prepare a man either for any particular line of work or for admission to colleges or other schools. For example, in 1895 and 1896, there were “twenty-four classes, with an enrollment of 733 different students with courses in Bookkeeping, Vocal Music, Mechanical Drawing, Male Chorus, Grammar, Spelling, and Composition, Parliamentary Law, Penmanship, Shorthand, French, English Literature, Banjo, German, Electricity, Common Arithmetic, Business Arithmetic, Elocution, and Orchestral Music.”5 During these early years the only entrance requirements were that an applicant must have reached

36 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

a certain minimum age and was asked to join the YMCA and pay the typical membership fee. To encourage students to complete their course of study, the Institute had them submit a one dollar fee, which was held on deposit and returned to the student should he attend at least seventy-five percent of the classes in which he was enrolled.6 In May 1896 it was decided to strengthen the educational work of the association by employing a full-time educational director, who would oversee merging the various classes into a carefully organized and supervised Evening Institute for Young Men.7 Frank Palmer Speare, who would be inaugurated on March 30, 1917, as the first president of Northeastern University, was appointed the first educational director of the Boston YMCA in fall 1896.8 Speare brought to the association his experience as a teacher in both public and private schools as well as in the YMCA evening school.9 In addition, he brought important and impactful personal qualities, including “abundant enthusiasm, lofty idealism,” and compelling advocacy for the power of education.10 Speare immediately implemented several distinctive reforms, including the establishment of a series of lectures on the topic of law, funded by the Lowell Institute, which would evolve into a School of Law (1898).11 Speare’s vision for organizing the Institute’s offerings into Schools was expanded to include the Automobile School (1903), the General School, the Evening Polytechnic School (1904), the School of Commerce and Finance (1907), the Association Day School (1909), and the Co-operative Engineering School (1909).12 Of particular interest and relevance to understanding the events associated with the transfer of the Lowell Institute School from MIT to Northeastern University (Part III) is the story of the development out of the Evening Polytechnic School (1904)13 of the School of Engineering Technology (1927), which was at various times also known as Lincoln Institute14 or Lincoln College.

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The Evening Polytechnic School, 1904 The Evening Polytechnic School arose out of Frank Palmer Speare’s efforts to reorganize the technical courses offered by the Boston YMCA Evening Institute for Young Men. At the time of his reorganization, the array of offerings was extensive and included “Art, Architecture, Automobile Engineering, Chemistry, Clay Modeling, Designing, Higher Mathematics, Marine Engineering, Naval Architecture, Navigation, Seamanship, Steam and Structural Engineering, and Surveying.”15 The focus of the Evening Polytechnic School became more specialized when in 1905 the Automobile School was withdrawn from the Polytechnic School to become a separate unit and when the School of Advertising and a School of Applied Electricity and Steam Engineering were started.

As the Polytechnic School added courses, the curricular programs expanded as well to meet the growing needs of industry for men trained in mechanics, electricity, surveying, and related skills. By 1921 the School offered three-year programs leading to diplomas in “Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Structural, Industrial, and Automotive Engineering.”16 The work of the School extended beyond the Boston campus to locations in Worcester and Springfield as well as in New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The Lincoln Institute/Lincoln College/ School of Engineering Technology The Lincoln Institute was established in 1927 to carry on the technical offerings of the Evening Polytechnic School. The Institute provided associate degree programs in the evening for employed men who were already working in the fields of engineering.17 By 1940 work was also credited toward the degree of associate of engineering, and by 1955 the Institute itself was conferring two degrees: an associate degree in engineering in five areas and an associate degree in science in one area. Lincoln Institute [College] continued to grow between 1960 and 1975 and became a baccalaureate degree-granting, fully accredited, 38 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

undergraduate college.18 Included among the highlights of this transformation were the change of name from Lincoln Institute to Lincoln College in 1963; the establishment of a bachelor of science degree with specialization in technology (B.E.T.); the extension of some Lincoln programs into the day Cooperative Plan of Education; and finally the 1971 reorganization that brought together the administrative structures of Lincoln College and the College of Engineering at Northeastern (established in 1909) into the School of Engineering Technology.

OPENING OF THE LOWELL INSTITUTE SCHOOL FOR INDUSTRIAL FOREMEN

Frank Palmer Speare’s vision for creating a cohesive curriculum for underserved students to meet the growing demands of industry was serendipitously also shared by Professor Charles Francis Park, who served as director of the Lowell Institute School for Industrial Foremen from 1903 to 1923. Professor Park was a graduate of MIT (Class of 1892) and served MIT in a number of capacities including as an assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1892 to 1894; as an instructor from 1894 to 1900; as a faculty member from 1900 to 1934; as director of mechanical laboratories from 1911 to 1934; and as Emeritus Professor of Mechanism from 1934 to 1944.

The evening School for Industrial Foremen was opened on October 2, 1903, to provide knowledge in the areas of science, art and industry for working men. Students who wished to enter the school were required to complete a one-page application for admission.19 Insight into what the school was like for its first students can be gathered from the words of Walter E. Barnes, who as a member of the first graduating class of 1905 was asked to share his story in a speech delivered at the Lowell Institute School Graduation Exercises of 1945.

About August 1, 1903, notices were sent out to leading industrial concerns in this territory, describing the purpose and requirements of the school and inviting them to send in prospective

The Work of Charles Francis Park l 39

students whom they could recommend. As a result, one evening about October 1st of that year, the first meeting was held. Well over 300 men showed up that night. I was lucky enough to be one of those 300, but it was just by luck. The company I worked for was small and had not received the notice. I had not heard of the proposed new school, but one evening I read in the paper that the school was to start that night—that they already had more candidates for admission than could be accommodated and no more candidates would be accepted. But I was interested in the school—it seemed to offer something worthwhile, something I lacked, and I tried to figure out how I could get in. The article in the paper named Prof. Park as Director.

I had made the acquaintance of Mr. H. Park, head of the Hancock Inspirator Co. I knew that Mr. Park was the father of Prof. Park.

I went to see Mr. Park that forenoon—told him my story and asked for him to phone Prof. Park and see if I couldn’t get in. Mr. Park was an extremely nice gentleman and he did so right then.

Prof. Park said for me to come along and that was how I came to be in the group the first night.

Prof. Park called the 300 men together and outlined the courses of study, emphasizing the amount of homework that would be necessary and the necessity of regular attendance. The men were given a trip through the Tech. laboratories. On October 5th, the first regular class in instruction was held….The youngest man in that first class was 17, and the oldest 54.20 Another account of the early years at the Lowell Institute School that captured in particular the rigors of working all day and commuting to classes late at night was shared by Charles A. Richardson, Class of 1929, in a speech at the Lowell Institute School Graduation Exercises of 1963. “I attended Lowell, while working for Stone and Webster, Inc., and while living on the South Shore in the Town of Scituate. For two years I left home at 6:30 a.m. with an hour’s train ride into the South Station and was at work at 7:45 a.m. Each night after dinner at 40 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Thompson Spa, I would get a subway train to Kendall Square and attend classes until 9:00 or 9:30 p.m., then get back to South Station to get the 11:18 train back to Scituate to arrive home about 30 minutes after midnight.”21 Entrance Examinations During the first year, because the Lowell Institute School was in a formative stage and because of the limited time available, applicants were not required to take entrance examinations. Starting in 1904 entrance to the school was predicated upon review of a formal examination. Provisional entrance was sometimes granted to students who had not passed the exam if they maintained a specified standard of scholarship.22 Throughout the years, as the curriculum changed and the content and rigor of the classes grew, the standards for admission also changed. At first, arithmetic, elementary algebra, plane geometry, and simple mechanical drawing were the entrance requirements. However, by 1951 it was deemed necessary to include algebra through quadratics and trigonometry as requirements for admission. In his book About One of the Orphans of MIT, Mr. L. J. Ronsivalli, who attended the school from 1959 to 1961, shared that the “entrance to the Lowell Institute School required taking a lengthy and very difficult entrance examination or proof of having earned a college degree.”23 In later years the State Department of Education offered a course in mathematics to help prepare prospective students to pass the Lowell Institute School entrance examinations.24 Growth of the Lowell Institute School Under the leadership of Professor Park, the school registration grew steadily except during World War I.25 In 1923 the name of the school was changed from the Lowell Institute School for Industrial Foremen to the Lowell Institute School under the Auspices of MIT when participants complained that the word “foremen” was too restrictive. The course offerings expanded in 1924 from the initial mechanical and electrical courses to include graduate courses, in later The Work of Charles Francis Park l 41

years called Supplementary Programs. The subjects presented in the Supplementary Programs were designed to provide graduates of the Lowell Institute School with an opportunity to take more advanced work in fields of their particular interest. Because of rising costs, the number of such programs was eventually reduced to only three each year. The subjects presented attracted many students and the registration averaged about 120 students each year. Many interested and well-qualified applicants were even turned away at that time in an effort to limit the size of each class.

The Institute during 1930–31 saw its largest registration, with 572 students enrolled in the first-year courses and 263 students enrolled in the second-year offerings. These remarkable registration figures of that era were due primarily to unemployment caused by the Great Depression. Overtime was practically nonexistent, and jobs were at a premium. During the depression, men were known to take as many as five supplementary courses a year and as many as fourteen courses in three years. Because the school was essentially free—besides purchasing their books, students paid only a $5.00 registration fee, equivalent to the cost of two bushels of ripe wheat—men flocked into the classes.26 Teaching Staff Courses at the Lowell Institute School under the leadership of Charles Francis Park were primarily taught by MIT faculty of professional and instructor ranking. When professional teaching staff were not available, MIT graduates and Lowell School graduates were employed. Importantly, these teaching assignments for MIT faculty were occasionally seen as a distraction to some untenured members of the MIT faculty, as teaching in the Lowell School did not always contribute to their promotion process. In later years, teaching staff were also brought in from other institutions of higher education, including Northeastern University.27 Completion of the courses resulted in non-transferable credits that contributed to the awarding of a certificate of completion, but not a 42 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

degree. The fact that the school did not award degrees would later prove to be a great challenge. Credits were awarded based on courses taken. No credit was given if attendance was less than a year, and a grade of eighty percent or better was required to pass a course.

Student Body Over time the background of the applicants changed considerably.

From 1905 to 1914 forty-six percent of the students were high school graduates; in 1950, eighty-two percent of the students were high school graduates; while in 1957, eleven percent had college degrees.

The college men were usually liberal arts majors who had gone to work for a company that was essentially industrial, technical, or scientific in its work. These men wanted the language and training of engineering to help them in their jobs.

Industry Partnerships Many of the students who attended the Lowell Institute School were supported financially by the companies for which they worked.

Students in the Lowell Institute School came from many different corporations within the metropolitan Boston area and represented engineering and small machine companies employing from five to one hundred persons. “Occupationally they may be machinists, stock clerks, carpenters, laborers, steel fitters, telephone installers, telephone repairmen, inspectors, checkers for drafting offices, assembly draftsmen, or designers.�28 The General Electric Apprenticeship Program One of the earliest industrial partners with the Lowell Institute School was the General Electric Corporation, which sent many of its employees to the Lowell Institute School as part of their Apprenticeship Training Program in plants in Lynn, Massachusetts. Enrollment records show that many General Electric employees were a part of Lowell Institute School’s first graduating class, and as many as thirty The Work of Charles Francis Park l 43

to sixty-five employees attended each year. In later years, graduation from the Lowell Institute School was compulsory for completing the apprenticeship requirements at Lynn, and by the time of the 50th Graduation Exercises of the Apprentice Program, 2,033 men had graduated from Lynn’s Apprentice Course.29 Apprentices from the United States Navy Yard and the Watertown Arsenal in Boston also attended the Lowell Institute School, totaling as many as thirty students each year during the period of highest registration. Additional students were employees of the New England Telephone & Telegraph Company.30 LOWELL INSTITUTE SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (LISAA)

The Lowell School Alumni Association (LISAA) was founded in June 1905 by members of that year’s graduating class. The first meeting of the association was held in Everett, Massachusetts, at the home of alumnus Oliver Macy and was attended by fourteen recent graduates. During the meeting, three men were appointed as a committee to draw up a constitution, nominate officers, and recommend a “class tax,” or membership fee, of fifty cents.31 The meetings provided a forum for reviewing committee annual reports, selecting and installing new officers and committee members, discussing old and new business, and socializing with fellow members.32 Bylaws and Constitution, Officers, and Committees With the adoption of its first Constitution in 1906, the association was officially named the Alumni Association of the Lowell Institute School for Industrial Foremen. Its mission was to ‘”further the well being of the school by maintaining and increasing the interest of the graduates in the school and in each other; by increasing the influence and reputation of the school in the industrial community and by assisting in the work of the school in all ways possible.”33

44 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Constitution laid the foundation for the association’s administrative structure and functions and stipulated that all Lowell Institute School graduates were considered members; the officers of President, Vice President, and Secretary were to be elected by ballot at the association’s annual meeting and would constitute the core of the Executive Committee; the Secretary was to perform the additional duties of Treasurer; and the payment of $10.00 up front conferred Life Membership in the association.34 In 1908 the LISAA Executive Committee made the office of Secretary a permanent, paid position and established an Auditing Committee with the purpose of examining all records and accounts of the association. Over time, the association expanded its committee roster to include a Nominating Committee, Reorganization Committee, Membership Committee, Planning Committee, Publication Committee, and Student Relations Committee.35 The Alumni Seal As befit the LISAA’s innovative spirit and affinity for design, the members crafted their own logo. The original was modified sometime before 1922: the S in the center circle became more pronounced and the number of stars represented in the seal was reduced from six to three.

Alumni Association School Pin In 1908 the Association designed and the school adopted a school pin, which incorporated the image of the original seal.36 The pin was described as being “made of gold and enamel. The triangle, the large circle outside of it, the small circle inside, the stars, and the letters L I are gold. The area between the outside of the triangle and the large circle is blue. The area between the inside of the triangle and the small circle is white. The area occupied by the L is cardinal red and that occupied by the I is silver gray. The words ‘Science, Art, Industry,’ are in black. The material and workmanship is first-class in every respect The Work of Charles Francis Park l 45

and the pin is attractive in appearance. Its outside diameter is 21/32 of an inch, or approximately half the size of the cut. The fastening is a safety clasp of standard pattern.�37 Only graduates of the Mechanical, Buildings, or Electrical Courses were originally eligible to wear this pin, although this rule was modified when these courses were later eliminated.

School Ring Later on, students who wished to acknowledge their accomplishment of successfully completing the Lowell program could do so by purchasing a School Ring.38 The design of the ring reflected the input of a number of interested alumni. The ring incorporated two bushels of wheat on the side to reflect the desire of John Lowell, Jr., that the cost of instruction should never exceed that current market value. The Lowell School seal and the year 1903 made up the central feature of the ring. A graduation date could be engraved on the inside of the ring, if desired.39 Annual Banquets Upon graduating from the Lowell Institute School, members of the Class of 1905 gave a banquet honoring Trustee A. Lawrence Lowell and the school faculty for their efforts on behalf of the student body.

This event inaugurated the institution of an annual alumni banquet to which the school’s trustees, faculty, and the president of MIT were traditionally invited.40 In later years, the members of the fifty-year class were invited to attend the event as guests.41 In 1941 a banner bearing the Lowell Family Crest was donated by the Class of 1941 and was presented at the Annual Banquet.42

46 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Lowell Book At the annual banquets, members of the graduating class would present a yearbook they called The Lowell Book. The experiences of the students who attended the Lowell Institute School at MIT under Professor Park’s leadership are documented and shared in the many publications of The Lowell Book (published each year except for a gap between 1931 and 1948), which contained anecdotes, poems, and cartoons by the graduating class of students presented to their peers and mentors at the graduation ceremonies.43 The Lowell Song The school had its own song, which was published in the Lowell Book from 1930-31.44 “LOWELL INSTITUTE, WE LOVE THEE” (Tune: “Battle Hymn of the Republic”) 1.

We meet again with song and word Past friendships to renew, Again we greet our many friends And good Professors, too, Past moments now are brought to mind When we did toil and grind And burn the midnight oil.

CHORUS. Lowell Institute, we love thee, Wher’er we are we praise thee, Lowell Institute, we love thee, Thy fame we’ll carry on.

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2.

There’s Dr. Lowell and Charlie Park Both men we like to meet We come to see and hear you And it surely is a treat.

We owe so much to this good school.

So let the rafters ring As to you now we sing.

3.

Let’s not forget the good ol’ Profs Who’re here with us tonight, You’ve helped us in our many tasks And made our work seem light.

We hope that you will meet with us For many a year to come, To you this song we sing.

Charles Park Memorial Fund Charles Park retired as director of the Lowell Institute School in 1943 and fell ill shortly thereafter, passing away in 1944. To honor his memory, the LISAA formed a committee that included long-time LISAA members A. B. McKechnie ’10, F. J. Emery ’17, F. A. Giersel ’27, R. B. Cheney ’17, and B. K. Thorogood ’07. The committee was responsible for establishing the Charles Francis Park Memorial Fund, which was to be used primarily to provide a means whereby graduates of the school could express their gratitude for the benefits derived from their Lowell School education by the presentation of awards which perpetuate the memory of Professor Park.45

48 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Charles Francis Park Medals The Charles Francis Park Memorial Fund provided for two types of medals to be awarded: one silver, to be awarded annually for academic excellence to a member of the graduating class who, among other things, has benefited the most by the work of the school and who “typifies the type of man for whom the school was founded”; and the other gold, to be awarded, “as occasion might arise but not more than once a year, to an alumnus or other individual whose accomplishments have been annually noteworthy.”46 A number of factors entered into the selection of the recipient of the student medal, including current grades, previous education, type of work pursued while going to school, and progress and development. F. Leroy Foster, who would become the third director of the Lowell Institute School and who would also go on to be awarded the Charles Francis Park Gold Medal, described the criteria for selection in a letter dated April 5, 1966, to Professor Hesselschwerdt.

“Park Memorial Fund regulations indicate that consideration shall be made only of those whose scholastic standing has been above average, who have shown the most development as a student and have indicated by their interest, attitude, and cooperation a conspicuous concern in the activities of the school.”47 The selection was made by an alumni committee from a number of recommendations made by the director and faculty of the school.48 The first presentation of this medal was made at the Lowell Institute graduation in 1946 to Martin Graham, a graduate of the two-year Mechanical Course.49 These medals were of such size that they were supported by ribbon in the school colors (cardinal red and silver-grey), or the medal could be worn as a watch charm. While the medals were sponsored by the LISAA, they were presented by either the Lowell Institute Trustee or the director of the Lowell Institute School at graduation.50

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Other Uses of the Charles Francis Park Scholarship Fund Eventually, surplus funds from the Charles Park Memorial Fund were used to support a variety of other items including the Charles Francis Park Scholarship Fund, Gavel, Endowed Instructors, Oil Portraits, Alumni Newsletter, and Proctoring LIS exams, among other things.

The Charles Francis Park Scholarship Fund provided tuition assistance to eligible alumni seeking further education.51 The eight-inch, rosewood gavels with a gold-tone band were given to the outgoing presidents of the LISAA.52 Funds were also used to endow instructors of the Lowell Institute School,53 to pay for oil portraits of each of the directors of the school, and to sponsor the publication of the LISAA Alumni bulletin, the Alumni News, which was published from 1957 until 1996 when the Lowell Institute School was transferred to Northeastern University.54

50 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Chapter Five

T H E Wor k of A r t hur Lawr en ce Tow nsend (194 4–59)

INTRODUCTION

With the retirement of Charles Francis Park also came a change in leadership of the trusteeship of the Lowell Institute from A. Lawrence Lowell to Ralph Lowell in 1943. The trusteeship of the Lowell Institute came to Ralph Lowell by an unusual course. The provisions of John Jr.’s will stated that within a week of a trustee taking over the Lowell Institute, a sealed envelope containing the name of the next trustee was to be delivered to the trustees of the Boston Athenaeum.

In most cases, the successor trustee has always been a son of the current trustee, but since Lawrence had no children, he was forced to choose another male relative of the Lowell line. It is unclear who was Lawrence’s first choice for trustee, but in the 1920s he put forth the name of his cousin Guy Lowell; however, Guy suffered a fatal stroke in 1927, and Lawrence had to put forth another name. His choice was his second cousin Ralph Lowell. Lawrence did not tell Ralph for a full decade, but on August 1, 1938, in declining health, he granted Ralph “full authority to act in his stead.”1 Ralph Lowell appointed Arthur Lawrence Townsend to take over leadership of the Lowell Institute School upon the retirement of Dr. Park. Professor Townsend, who received his S.B. degree from MIT and who later served as head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at MIT and instructor of a Lowell Institute School course on steam power, took over the leadership of the Lowell Institute School as acting director in January 1944, then became permanent director in October 1944.

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SOCIAL, POLITICAL, HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The outbreak of World War II (1939–45) and the six years of war that followed affected institutions of higher education across the nation, including the Lowell Institute School and Northeastern University.2 It was a period of constant adjustment and readjustment to the demands of total war. In the postwar period, increased emphasis was placed, particularly by larger companies, on training programs for their new employees. As was later noted, “The aim of these programs [was] to attract to the company people who have proven their ability to learn and then to introduce them to the problems that are peculiar to that particular company.”3 Recognizing a need to help returning veterans access the higher education they would need to reenter the workforce, Congress passed legislation in 1944 that provided benefits to World War II veterans through the G.I. Bill of Rights, formally named the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act. Veterans of the Korean War (1950– 53) also benefited from government funding to access higher education.

CHANGES IN THE LOWELL INSTITUTE SCHOOL UNDER TOWNSEND

The war and the periods of recession that followed impacted the Lowell Institute School’s enrollment. Although registration was at a high level throughout the Depression years with graduating classes from 150 to in excess of 200 during much of that time, during the war registration dropped so that in 1945 only thirty-six regular course certificates were awarded. In the postwar period, classes were largely populated by veterans, although many returning soldiers, with the aid of G.I. funds, were able to access more expensive, degree-granting colleges and universities.

In his annual column in the Alumni News, Professor Townsend reflected on trends in enrollment under his leadership.

52 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

[In 1958] the school is proceeding in the usual even tenor of its ways, and there appears to be no outstanding event or significance of events that would have “news value.” As I have mentioned earlier, there is nothing wrong with the school, which a few high grades students would not correct. It is expected that the so-called recession will reduce the hours worked a week by many people and perhaps will reduce to “zero” the employment-time of others. It is a strange thing but the registration in the Lowell Institute School seems to be the reciprocal of business prosperity.

During the late ’20s and early ’30s when the country had a real depression, the Lowell Institute School was bulging at the doors.

During the high productivity which we just passed, the Lowell School registration, although comfortable, was somewhat smaller than we would like to have it.4 The war also impacted the curriculum offered. At the end of World War II, Professor Townsend was appointed to the faculty committee to study revisions to the postwar courses taught at MIT. He was quick to recognize that the trend toward emphasizing engineering science in postwar engineering curriculums would place increased responsibility on the technical institutes for technical manpower thoroughly trained in the practice as well as the theory of engineering. He developed the Engineering Science Management War Training Program (ESMWT) to meet this need of modern technology and introduced these courses at the Lowell Institute School.5 The First Woman Graduate of the Lowell Institute School in 1954 Just as the Lowell Institute School was impacted by political and economic realities of the time, so too was it impacted by changes in society. During World War II, with men away serving in the military, manufacturing jobs opened up to women, and these women also needed the specialized training that the Lowell Institute School was offering. The first woman to graduate with a two-year certificate in

The Work of Arthur Lawrence Townsend l 53

1954 was Dorothy Carlsen Davisson, a New Jersey native who later became a resident of Waltham, Massachusetts.

In his speech that evening, Dr. Townsend observed that “it is most interesting and significant to observe that for the first time in the history of the school, a young lady is to receive a graduate certificate. In spite of some prejudices and misgivings she has held her own among her classmates with honor and respect. Engineering is not exclusively a man’s world.”6 Dorothy Davisson went on to be employed as a junior detail draftsman in the Equipment Engineering Division at Raytheon.

Decline in General Electric Apprentice Program Participation Just as the Lowell Institute School responded to changes in demand by admitting women, it also began to see changes in its relationships with some of its industrial partnerships. After several years of success, the partnership between the General Electric Apprentice Training Program and the Lowell Institute School began to be strained. For many years attendance at the Lowell Institute School was compulsory for completion of the Apprentice Program, but over time the enthusiasm of the G.E. employees for the school began to decline, in part due to aspirations of some employees to obtain a “somewhat higher level of studies which could lead to a degree.”7 The desire of some Lowell Institute School students to leave the school in favor of degree-granting programs was acknowledged and addressed by Townsend. “I would like to emphasize one point with respect to the Lowell Institute School program as compared to places which offer associate degrees as the result of four to five years evening study. Speaking wholly in the professional sense—that is, in purely professional engineering subjects taken by Lowell Institute students, these students are much further ahead professionally than are the graduates of the associate degree-granting institutions even after four years of instruction. This can be shown very clearly by looking at the catalogues and comparing the intensive and professional status of the courses offered in the two kinds of schools.”8 Furthermore, he com54 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

mented that instruction at the Lowell Institute School is “not of The Technical Institute Type. It is strictly of MIT caliber, given by the same teachers as the day school, same text-books, same classrooms, and laboratories. Most importantly, the same philosophies attend this work as in the day school. It is our intention to give these night school students the same type of thinking instruction . . . but cannot have the same contact hours for a degree.”9 The growing dissatisfaction of the General Electric Apprentice Program’s students did not go unnoticed by the faculty and director of the Lowell Institute School, and in a letter dated June 12, 1952, to Mr. L. G. Dickerman, Superintendent of Apprentices at the General Electric Company, Professor Townsend shared his concern. “I want to express through you to Mr. Currier certain objections of our faculty members with our reference to your apprentice men attending the Lowell Institute School. Of late there has been an increasing number of men from Lynn who have openly admitted they have no real interest in coming to the Lowell Institute School, are not particularly interested in what the school has to offer and are only doing so because they ‘have to.’ This type of student has a very bad effect on the classroom, on the other students and other apprentices.”10 General Electric eventually announced its intent to end the program in April 1964, in part because only about one-quarter of the apprentices finished the program and ended up with jobs at the company.11 The Last Years of Dr. Townsend’s Leadership of the Lowell Institute School Toward the end of his leadership of the Lowell Institute School, Professor Townsend received the James H. McGraw Award in Technical Institute Education for 1957. The award, at that time $500, was made annually for outstanding contributions to the field of education, administered by the Technical Institute Division of the American Society for Engineering Education and sponsored by the McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.12

The Work of Arthur Lawrence Townsend l 55

Dr. Townsend died rather unexpectedly on August 17, 1959. In its newsletter the LISAA stated, ”The Lowell Institute School suffered a loss of a dedicated director, a beloved friend, and a warm, sincere counselor when death claimed Arthur L. Townsend. His contributions to the field of education had won for him national acclaim in later years. Those fortunate enough to have associated with him in any way soon realized that beneath his austere and often brusque exterior there dwelt a man deeply concerned with the welfare of his fellow man.”13 Arthur Townsend Scholarship for LIS Graduates Studying at MIT In his will, Dr. Townsend set aside funds to be used exclusively for MIT scholarships, with preference to be given to worthy, well-qualified graduates of the Lowell Institute School “who are in good standing preferably in mechanical or electrical engineering.”14 The LISAA directly received and administered the $25,000 gift to support the Arthur Townsend Scholarship for Lowell Institute graduates studying at MIT.15 THE GROWTH OF NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

As happened at the Lowell Institute School, the end of World War II and the period following the Korean war also impacted both enrollment and programming at Northeastern University. The availability of G.I. funds for education following World War II boosted enrollment for the university. In the academic year 1944–45, 267 veterans of World War II were enrolled at Northeastern.16 In 1950–51 the veterans numbered 6,900, or fifty-three percent of the total enrollment of the university. When the Korean War ended in 1953, the university helped returning soldiers by establishing a Veterans’ Guidance Center to work with students and government agencies. Registration that year showed 1,900 veterans of World War II and 2,100 veterans of the Korean War.17

56 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Carl Stephens Ell (1940–59) Carl Stephens Ell (also known privately as “Mr. Northeastern”) was inaugurated as the second president of the university on November 19, 1940.18 Under his leadership the campus experienced a construction boom that led to six new buildings, including a graduate center (Churchill), the library (Dodge Hall), the Science Hall (Mugar), the physical education center, Hayden Hall, and the Student Center Building and Alumni Auditorium.

By the time Dr. Ell assumed the presidency, major programs of the YMCA Evening Institute had become Northeastern College of the Boston Young Men’s Christian Association, with the Co-operative School of Engineering as the most conspicuous and promising unit.

Dr. Ell’s affiliation with the YMCA Evening Institute began in October 1910 when, after graduate work at MIT, he began teaching a class in surveying, which later turned out to be the first class in civil engineering in what is now called the College of Engineering.19 Because the YMCA at that time had no civil engineering equipment, classes were moved to 387 Washington Street “where the B.L. Makepeace Company was located to rent equipment such as surveying rods, tapes and chains and then proceed[ed] up to Winter Street to the Common for field work and surveying exercises around the Frog Pond.”20 Dr. Ell went on to lead the Department of Civil Engineering in 1912 and became dean of the School of Engineering in 1917 and vice president of the university in 1925.

Distance Education Under Dr. Ell’s leadership Northeastern University expanded the ways in which it offered programming to students. In September 1946, Northeastern had joined with Boston College, Boston University, Harvard, MIT, and Tufts to form a cooperative broadcasting council, which was funded by the Lowell Institute under the leadership of Ralph Lowell. As a founding member of the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council (LIBC), Northeastern was able to The Work of Arthur Lawrence Townsend l 57

broadcast lectures by radio. Northeastern later established Network Northeastern, which used the microwave-based Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) system to broadcast courses to subscriber companies and to the Burlington and Dedham campuses. The network telecast live classroom instruction to remote sites where students interacted with instructors via a telephone-based talkback system.

Network Northeastern broadcast educational programs to over thirty local corporations. Network Northeastern also delivered graduate level and short courses throughout the United States via satellite.21 The vision and desire to expand access to its course offerings to students beyond the main campus in innovative, alternative formats for the delivery of instruction helped to meet the growing demands of students and industry.

58 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Chapter Six

T H E Wor k of F. Leroy Fos t er (1959–73)

INTRODUCTION

Although Ralph Lowell continued on as trustee of the Lowell Institute until 1978, in 1959 he began to prepare for his son John to eventually succeed him by designating him his “unofficial co-trustee,” and the two worked closely together to manage the Lowell Institute School. Upon the vacancy created by the loss of Dr. Townsend, Ralph Lowell asked Dr. F. Leroy Foster to serve first as acting director, then later as permanent director of the Lowell Institute School. Between 1960 and 1970, however, the Lowell Institute School lost much momentum as the school struggled to meet the changing needs of students and industry that had changed dramatically since World War II. Several factors contributed to this decline, including competition by degree-granting, private, and public two-year colleges and failure of the school to carry out regular curriculum revisions in the ever-changing technical fields.

This enrollment crisis commanded the attention and intervention of the MIT provost. A number of alternative proposals to reinvent the school were presented, many of them aligned with other initiatives at the Institute to serve underrepresented and minority populations of students who needed job training and access to greater economic opportunity.

SOCIAL, POLITICAL, HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Midway through the 1900s, the U.S. experienced a transformation as mass protests against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern states came to national prominence. The U.S. government responded to this movement in part by enacting legislation to The Work of F. Leroy Foster l 59

protect civil rights and equal opportunities for all of its citizens. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The law was enacted to end unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace, and by facilities that served the general public. The Vocational Education Act of 1963 provided grants to states to maintain, improve, and develop vocational/technical education programs. The funds were earmarked for occupations in demand as well as for vocational education and the organization of residential vocational schools. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was authorized as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty to support work-training and work-study programs. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was enacted on April 9, 1965, to help improve those local schools serving concentrations of children from low-income families. It provided $100 million per year for grants to school libraries, public and private, and a similar sum for the establishment of ”supplementary educational centers” providing educational services not otherwise available through local schools, including guidance, remedial training, social work, academic services, special equipment, instruction or personnel, educational radio and television, and pilot educational programs. With these funds, institutions of higher education including MIT began to offer programming to meet these needs. Some of this programming was considered for the Lowell Institute School as it faced an enrollment crisis.1 CHANGES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE LOWELL INSTITUTE SCHOOL

In September 1959, F. Leroy Foster (nicknamed “Doc”), MIT Class of 1925, was asked by MIT President Julius Adams Stratton (president 1959–66) to become the acting director of the Lowell School, and in May of 1960, he was appointed director by Dr. Ralph Lowell, the Lowell Institute Trustee. In addition to serving as director of the Lowell Institute School at MIT from 1959 to 1973, Dr. Foster was also director of the Division of Scientific Research at MIT. Prior to this 60 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

he served as head of the Mining Summer Camp at Dover, NH, 1927– 31; director of the Division of Industrial Cooperation, 1932–56; and Professor of Mining 1931–40.2 Dr. F. Leroy Foster When Dr. Foster took over in 1959, two two-year programs, referred to as the Mechanical Course and the Electrical Course, were offered in much the way as they had been offered for the previous fifteen years, with the first-year subjects identical for both programs. Each program led to a certificate at the end of two years. The first-year curriculum included some mathematics (calculus and analytic geometry), some physics, and a great deal of what was labeled as mechanisms. With the advice and counsel of several young MIT staff members, changes in the first year were immediately implemented. The second-year instructors indicated that there was a need for more college mathematics and more basic physics, particularly in the fields of heat, electricity, and magnetism. The fee for students in 1959–60 was $5 per year for the two-year program and $5 per course for the Supplementary programs, with costs supported by an annual contribution from the Lowell Institute of about $25,000 per year.

Dr. Foster wrote of the changes to the first-year math and physics program to the LISAA. “ The first-year program of study is now devoted to Mathematics and Physics over the entire thirty weeks. The need for these basic subjects is so great that even this liberal allotment of time will provide our students with a bare minimum of preparation in these areas. The reputation of our Mathematics courses is such that this year three medical doctors are enrolled, two from the Harvard Medical Center and the third from the Beth Israel Hospital.”3 Enrollment Crisis Although within Dr. Foster’s first five years as director the number of registrants in the first year averaged about one hundred, by 1965, enrollment had dropped to seventy-one, and in 1966, to fifty-three.

The Work of F. Leroy Foster l 61

Significantly as well, many of these students desired one subject only, which they planned to use in connection with proposed studies at another school. In 1965–66, there was a marked drop in the first-year registration, prompting Dr. F. L. Foster to report that the registration for the school year 1966–67 clearly indicated that the school had reached a point in its history when serious consideration needed to be given to its future.4 Alternative Visions for the Future of the Lowell Institute School In response to the downward trend in student enrollment, a number of different proposals described below were put forward on how to reorganize the Lowell Institute School, including plans for offering graduate courses, for eliminating the mechanical and electrical courses in favor of courses in computer science, for transforming the Lowell Institute School into a two-year degree-granting college, for serving underserved and underrepresented populations, and for creating a Cooperative Educational Program. Despite a considerable amount of effort and time spent in writing these proposals, none was formally embraced or endorsed.

Plans for Offering “Graduate” Courses In the fall of 1966, Dr. Foster asked Ralph Lowell to turn to new MIT President Howard Wesley Johnson (president 1966–71) for assistance and advice. Professor N. H. Frank was asked by President Johnson to consider the enrollment problem, and personnel at the Lincoln and Instrumentation Laboratories were also asked for suggestions. In his report of October 1967, Professor Frank recommended: 1.) that the resources of MIT’s Lincoln and Instrumentation Laboratories be included in the planning for the Lowell School; 2.) that the Lowell School undertake a program of “graduate” technical work to fill the gap between the associate and baccalaureate degrees; 3.) that a twoyear “undergraduate” program be developed as the capabilities and needs of the graduate program were defined.

62 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Ultimately, Dr. Ralph Lowell found this proposal unacceptable. In a letter to Dr. Foster dated December 11, 1967, Ralph Lowell wrote: “Sorry to have been so long [in my reply] . . . only on December 7 [was] I able to conference with President Johnson . . . . He is working on a very interesting proposition which he will talk to me about further in a week or two. I am afraid, however, that it does not include the Lincoln Laboratory suggestion which, because of the ‘grad’ side of it, seems to both my son and me to be beyond the scope of the Lowell Institute.” Although he indicated he expected to have discussions with President Johnson about an alternative proposal, it appears he did not follow the matter further.

A Shift away from Mechanical and Electrical Courses In the fall of 1968, the applications for the two-year program reached such a low figure that the Mechanical and Electrical Courses were closed. Dr. Foster wrote to the LISAA in the Alumni News.

It is with great reluctance the Director was forced to make the decision to withdraw the regular first-year program of the twoyear mechanical and electrical courses and concentrate on the School’s efforts on the computer programs. . . . The past year has seen several groups at MIT expressing interest in the future of the Lowell Institute School, but as yet no recommendations to the MIT Administration have brought any results. Our inability to grant an associate’s degree continues to pose the greatest problem for the future regardless of what educational areas we may enter. The members of the Alumni Association are much aware of this problem and have established a working committee for its study. A questionnaire sent to all active Alumni in late May brought many replies and the large majority indicated the degree program was most necessary. It was agreed that the Mechanical and Electrical courses would be discontinued with the graduating class of 1969.5

The Work of F. Leroy Foster l 63

Courses in Computer Programming Announced In July of 1968, a fifteen-week course in the field of computer programming (to be held one evening a week) was announced. The course was designed for the underemployed and disadvantaged, with the only requirement for admission being a working knowledge of ninth-grade mathematics. The response was overwhelming, with telephone inquiries and applications numbering in the hundreds. Because a considerable amount of individual instruction seemed essential for this program, registration was limited to about sixty students, although the number of applicants was twice this number.6 Establishment of a Two-Year Certificate Program in Computer Technology In response to the high interest in the computer programming courses, and with the help of Professor John J. Donovan, a two-year program in Computer Technology was planned to begin in the fall of 1969. Dr. Foster wrote: “This year has been truly a year of transition and change.

With the approval of the Trustee, a new two-year program in Computer Technology was established, this move having been based upon the experience of 1968–69 in which we offered several computer programming subjects and had been overwhelmed with applicants. . . .

During the past year, the top administration at MIT has taken a real interest in the activities of the Lowell School . . . . The MIT Academic Council (top administrative officers) has approved the proposal.”7 Challenges to the Two-Year Computer Technology Program In a column addressed to the LISAA, Dr. Foster wrote: “There is no question that the new two-year program in Computer Technology has excited much interest since well over one hundred applications have been received. Unfortunately all of them cannot be accepted because there is at the moment one limiting factor, the effect of which we have not yet been able to minimize . . . each student should actually be able to operate a computer. . . . Computer time is expensive and 64 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

much personal instruction is required. Since the School operates with limited funding, the number of students must be tailored to fit the available resources.”8 Despite an initial enthusiasm for the Computer Technology Program, he went on to say, “The number of applicants for the two-year Computer Technology program was disappointingly small last fall . . . . It appears increasingly evident that few people are interested in a two-year program that results only in a certificate. Most Lowell School graduates have found that they can compete on equal footing with holders of associate degrees but attitudes of prospective students seem to have changed. Many now feel the degree is a prestige item.”9 A Proposal for an Urban Science Technology Education Center for Disadvantaged Youth In March 1969 a proposal was submitted from the Department of Opportunity Development at MIT that outlined a plan for the Lowell Institute School to meet the needs of disadvantaged youth of the Greater Boston school system by providing programming to students oriented toward engineering and physical sciences who had received inadequate education and counseling and who could not afford the high costs of post-high school education. The proposal outlined a vision for the Lowell Institute School to provide instruction and curriculum supports to high schools and to provide community members with opportunities for continuing education, lab work, or work-study programs.

It was suggested that all community activities of MIT and the Lowell Institute School be coordinated by the Urban Studies Center at MIT including its Pre-Technical Post High School Division. The authors of the proposal felt that in order for the proposal to be successful, the Lowell Institute School should become a two-year accredited college with four divisions or departments incorporated within the concept of an Urban Science Technology Education Center. This Center would offer courses that had vocational demand and were not duplicated by other institutes in the immediate area, in subjects such as computer The Work of F. Leroy Foster l 65

technology, industrial management, business management, marine engineering, geology and geophysics, electrical engineering, quality control technology, and training administration. Despite a great deal of time and effort devoted to the development of this alternative proposal, it was ultimately not adopted.

Lowell Cooperative Program In May 1969 an alternative proposal was assembled that expanded upon the early decision to drop the Mechanical and Electrical options and to search for new directions and programs for the Lowell School.

In collaboration with Dr. F. Leroy Foster, MIT President Howard Johnson began work on developing the Lowell Cooperative Program.

Funding for the program would be sought from a “private foundation� to supplement the funds then provided by the Lowell Institute.10 The vision for the Lowell Cooperative Program was informed by several MIT faculty who served as a part of an Ad Hoc Lowell School Steering Committee. The committee recommended that the Lowell School should seek its student body from job-based persons, generally between eighteen and thirty-five, who were self-motivated and who desired upward mobility or lateral mobility. The proposal recommended that the Lowell School would offer training in a wide variety of high priority, community-oriented areas for paraprofessionals (i.e. persons in fields just below the professions, such as technicians, first-level managers, etc.) in order to make Lowell programs relevant and meaningful to the students of Lowell and to the industrial community into which they would graduate. With this in mind it was proposed that the Lowell School become a kind of central educational clearinghouse into which individual, highly developed curriculum packages could be placed.11 The first curriculum package, proposed to be offered in the fall of 1969, was a two-year program in Computer Technology and Programming, encompassing four one-semester courses developed and refined by Professor Donovan along the lines of the computer offerings of 1968–69. Other new packages proposed included: a.) Housing and 66 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Construction; b.) Education (offering an associate degree in teaching); c.) Medical Engineering; d.) Management; and e.) Humanities (with courses such as Value of Man and Use of Leisure).12 It was proposed that the under this vision the supervision of the Lowell School would come from a director and a Visiting Committee to the Lowell School. The Visiting Committee would be composed of nine people, three from the MIT community, three from the job sector, either public or private, and three from the “community,� including alumni of the Lowell School. The role of this Committee would be to evaluate and initiate programs in terms of their relevance to the constituent parts and ensure that the appropriate resources were available. No program would be allowed to run longer than five years without evaluation, and after the first five years, the program would be reviewed every two or three years.

Increased Support from the Lowell Institute The Academic Council of MIT ultimately approved the Lowell Cooperative Program and President Johnson then reached out to Ralph Lowell in June 1970 for his support and for an increase in funding from $25,000 annually to $29,000. In addition he also asked Dr. Lowell if he would be interested in serving as the chair of the Committee to oversee the new Lowell Institute School Program.

Ralph Lowell responded in a letter to Dr. Johnson on June 20, 1970.

He said that he had discussed the proposal with his son John, who was to become his successor as Trustee, and that they were in agreement to raise their contribution to $29,000. He also said that while he appreciated being asked to chair the advisory board, in light of the fact that he was turning eighty in two weeks, it was more sensible to have a younger chairman, but he would be glad to serve on the board and to keep John abreast of further developments of the plan. Ralph later suggested in a separate letter to President Johnson that his son John serve as chair of the Advisory Board.

The Work of F. Leroy Foster l 67

Upon approval by the Academic Council and Ralph Lowell, additional funds for the cooperative program were sought from the Kennedy Memorial Foundation, whose financial support would be crucial in moving the Lowell Cooperative program forward. A meeting was scheduled in late July with the executive director of the foundation, Thomas W. Morse, to discuss final plans of the Lowell Cooperative Program. Thomas Morse stated that he was happy to receive the proposal for consideration by the Trustees of the foundation and that he would present it in their next meeting in the fall. He noted that the proposal was timely because the Trustees were very gratified with the results to date of a somewhat similar program at Wentworth Institute that they were supporting.

Despite such optimism, the Trustees of the Kennedy Memorial Foundation ultimately rejected the Lowell Cooperative Program proposal in November 1970. “Your proposal for a grant to establish an expanded Lowell Cooperative Program is a fresh approach to the ever increasing desire on the part of those concerned to offer to minority groups in the local ghetto neighborhoods a program for self improvement.

Unfortunately current funds are not available to assist in your efforts to raise $300,000. The Foundation’s commitments are made principally in the Boston area and are primarily for capital expenditures, with a percentage of the total available for the funds being set aside for the benefit of the blacks.”13 Without the financial support of the Kennedy Memorial Foundation the Lowell Cooperative Program was unable to be implemented.

Graduation of the Last Class in the Mechanical and Electrical Courses and Uncertainty for the Future On May 29, 1969, the Lowell Institute School graduated its last class of the Mechanical and Electrical Courses. “The number of applicants for the regular two-year program reached such small proportions last fall that we felt justified in cancelling these two courses and it now seems certain that they will not be re-offered, at least in the foresee-

68 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

able future. . . . Just what the future may hold for the School cannot be indicated at this time. However, plans are being formulated and recommendations will be going forward to the Trustee, Dr. Lowell, in the near future.”14 Graduations Cancelled Due to the ending of the Mechanical and Electrical Courses, graduations were cancelled for 1970. In a letter addressed To Whom it May Concern, Dr. Foster announced: “For the first time in the history of the Lowell Institute School, there was no graduation in 1970. [The] 1969 Graduation Exercises included the last graduating class in the two-year Mechanical and Electrical Courses (for the time being).

The fall of 1969 saw the start of the two-year Computer Technology Course; thus, there was no second-year program in the school year of 1969–1970. However the Annual Alumni Banquet including the 50th Class Reunion was held as usual.”15 Although graduation did appear to take place in 1971 for graduates from the Computer Technology Course,16 the Graduation Exercises for 1972 and 1973 were canceled. In a letter dated May 4, 1972, to Lowell Institute School students, Dr. Foster wrote: “Due to size of Graduating Class [8 students]: This letter is being written to all of the students who are expected to graduate this month from the Lowell Institute School Computer Technology Course. There will be no formal graduation exercise this year due to the size of the graduating class. Instead a dinner [at the Faculty Club] will be held in honor of the graduates to which members of the instructing staff will be invited and there will be other special guests as well.”17 In 1973 certificates were awarded in a similar fashion. At this time, Dr. Foster was beginning to transition into retirement. In a letter dated April 30, 1973, John Lowell, who was invited to attend the dinner, suggests that Dr. Foster “invite Bruce Wedlock [who would later take over as director] to attend in my place. Perhaps he would be able to offer a few comments on the future direction of the School.”18 The Work of F. Leroy Foster l 69

Decrease in LISAA activity Although the LISAA was active in the beginning of the 1960s organizing a job placement program for Lowell Institute School Students,19 the Lowell Institute School Alumni activity waned considerably during the early 1970s and all correspondence to/from the Secretary-Treasurer ceased in 1974.20 A Need for Leadership and Direction With the rejection of the Urban Science Technology Education Center and Lowell Cooperative Program proposals, efforts were made to explore what options were next available to support the Lowell Institute School. A Technical Training Advisory Group at MIT was assembled to put forth recommendations to overcome the challenges it saw for the School. The committee reported that “administrative difficulties have all but prohibited the translation of any substantive suggestions [for the School] into actual operations. . . . The issue has not and has never in recent years been one of a lack of mission or needs for Lowell-type programs in any sector. It is a matter of will, of leadership, and a mandate from the Institute to implement a range of programs under the Lowell umbrella. . . . ” The report went on to say that the issues of economic conversion facing the nation are massively complex and will require “Lowell-level workers and that the approaches of Wentworth Institute, Northeastern University, and the ‘new’ approach of the Minuteman Regional Voc/ Tech school cannot possibly be fully equipped to meet this need . . . .

The needs are serious . . . but a marginal, bits and pieces, part-time, night school such as Lowell now is, is certainly no answer to the challenges or opportunities.”21 In a letter from Timothy Bird of the Office of the Provost dated March 25, 1971, doubts were cast on whether the Lowell School could be re-activated on a substantial scale given the MIT climate. Follow-up letters from the Provost’s Office stated: “If a serious, educationally

70 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

significant technical program for Lowell cannot be developed at present, then I plan to push for a more modest, community-related set of services akin to the present computer science approach . . . . The Lowell motor is idling on one cylinder and I must know whether to turn it off for the time being or rev it up on a new course.” Provost Timothy Bird then wrote to Dean Paul E. Gray on April 21, 1971, stating that the inability to rejuvenate the Lowell School was related “primarily to a lack of clarity concerning goals, objectives and capabilities.”22 Dr. Foster’s Final Vision for the Lowell Institute School In a letter to MIT President Jerome B. Wiesner (president 1971– 1980) dated February 24, 1972, Dr. Foster shared his ideas for the future of the Lowell Institute School. He reported that the two-year evening program with classes three evenings each week was losing its appeal because the school offered only a certificate, and that the computer technology courses that started with more applicants than the school could handle now had markedly decreased applicants. He shared that he had hoped to appeal to minority groups and underemployed, but having done this the school had not been successful in attracting representatives of minority groups who were lacking the proper educational background to obtain employment. He suggested that this was still an area in which the school could do a considerable amount of good.

He went on to say that suggestions had been received that the Supplementary courses that had proved attractive during the prior fifteen years might offer specialized subjects that would be presented one evening a week for fifteen weeks; however, budget limitations prevented this from moving forward. He added that a program suggested for physical plant supervisors held promise and that the school might also want to offer programs that would train medical and food science technicians. He expressed that there were continuing opportunities in computer subjects such as COBOL and FORTRAN in which students would actually have opportunities to use computers, and also in various businesses and the electrical field.

The Work of F. Leroy Foster l 71

Dr. Foster decided at this time to step down as director of the school and a number of names were put forward to the provost of people who could possibly serve as part of a “new wave” of Lowell School directors, including Bruce Wedlock, who would succeed Dr. Foster as director.

Dr. Foster wrote to the LISAA: “A change in the direction and the goals of the School is needed in a time when a new director will be taking over the administration of the School. The present director will be retiring as of June 30, 1973, and the way is clear now for a new man to take over with a completely clear field in which to operate. Over the past several years MIT, by its own admission, has not given the school the attention it deserves. As a result of action taken by Mr. John Lowell in the Spring of 1972, a group of the top administrators headed by Chancellor Paul Gray have undertaken to secure the services of a new director who will undertake to start programs considered of real value by both MIT and the Trustee of the LI.”23 In his final report to the Lowell Institute Trustee, Dr. Foster wrote that “a high level MIT committee formed by Chancellor Paul E. Gray set about selecting a new Director for the School in late May of 1972.

However it was late in November before assurance could be given that the first choice of this group, Dr. Bruce D. Wedlock, was willing to accept the appointment. On December 1, 1972, Dr. Wedlock became the Director-Designate of the School and as of July 1, 1973 became Director. Unlike previous arrangements where the Director was a part-time appointment of the Lowell Institute, Dr. Wedlock has a full-time appointment in the MIT Provost’s Office and his salary is paid by MIT.”24 No applications were accepted in fall 1972 for the new two-year computer program in Computer Technology. Dr. Foster wrote, “It seemed inappropriate to burden the new director with a second-year class in Computer Technology in the first year of his Directorship, especially if the program failed to fit with his plans. Looking ahead . . .

MIT and its administration will be taking much more interest in the School and contributing to its financial operations considerably more than has ever been the case in the past.”25 72 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

THE GROWTH OF NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

As the Lowell Institute School was struggling, Northeastern University began to receive national prominence for its co-operative plan and adult education and commitment to community service. When Dr. Carl Stephens Ell (president 1940–59) retired in October 1959, there was no search for his successor. He simply informed the trustees that he wanted Asa Knowles to assume the job as the third president of Northeastern University.26 Asa Smallidge Knowles (President 1959–75) Dr. Knowles, a native of the state of Maine, graduated from Thayer Academy, Bowdoin College, and the Harvard Business School. He came to Northeastern in 1931 and taught courses in industrial management.27 He later served as professor and head of the Department of Industrial Engineering and was dean of the College of Business Administration and director of the Bureau of Business Research from 1939 to 1942.28 He left Northeastern in 1942 to become dean of the School of Business Administration and director of General College Extension at Rhode Island State College. Later he served as president of the Associated Colleges of Upper New York, vice president for university development at Cornell University, and in 1951 as president of the University of Toledo.29 Dr. Knowles wrote a popular textbook on industrial management and was a well-regarded academic. When he was inaugurated as the third president on September 8, 1959, the faculty praised him by saying, “He’s one of us.”30 In 1968, Knowles brought back the Law School, which had been closed by Ell in 1953 when its enrollment slipped, and he started the School of Criminal Justice and other basic colleges. Knowles implemented tenure and sabbaticals for faculty members and allowed the creation of a faculty senate. In 1975 Asa S. Knowles was elected to the office of chancellor of the university, and the Endowed Chair on Cooperative Education was designated as the Asa Smallidge Knowles Professorship of Cooperative Education.

The Work of F. Leroy Foster l 73

Academic Expansion of Northeastern University Under the leadership of Asa Smallidge Knowles, Northeastern’s physical plant was expanded, and its image changed from “technical school” to that of one of the country’s foremost professional universities.31 Of particular interest and relevance to understanding the events associated with the transfer of the Lowell Institute School from MIT to Northeastern University (Part III) is the story of the development of Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies (2008) from University College (1904).

Founding and Development of University College University College, the fifth college of Northeastern, was established in February 1960 and became operational in July of that year. The vision for the college was to provide improved opportunities for the growing number of students who were enrolled in part-time evening programs. The college was called University College because the plan was for the college to draw on the resources of all of the other units of the university with the exception of Lincoln Institute and the College of Engineering, due to restrictions by the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development that these programs remain autonomous.32 The new college did not duplicate courses that were offered during the day, but instead offered programming in many different subjects that seemed particularly relevant to the needs of adult students. The College sought to serve students who had a high school degree as well as work experience by offering certificate, associate, and bachelor’s degrees. By 1970 the University College had become one of the largest undergraduate part-time colleges in the United States with more than fifteen suburban metro-Boston campuses.

74 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Addition of Four Basic Colleges In addition to University College, Northeastern also added four additional basic colleges including the College of Pharmacy (1962), College of Nursing (1964), Boston-BouvĂŠ (1964), and the College of Criminal Justice (1967). In 1960 the Office of Adult and Continuing Education was established to develop and promote all evening programs.33 Ford Hall Forum In 1974, the Ford Hall Forum, the oldest continuously operating public lecture series in the United States sponsored by funds from The Lowell Institute, began at Northeastern University.34 George W. Coleman, then leader of the Boston Baptist Social Union, had started the forum in the spring of 1908. This mission of the Forum was to promote an engaged citizenry through the presentation of public lectures, debates, and discussions, and as such, the Forum was decidedly aligned with the vision of the Lowell Institute. The first lectures were given on Beacon Hill, but were later held in different locations including Alumni Auditorium on the Northeastern campus.

The Work of F. Leroy Foster l 75

The Lowell Institute School

Yearbook graphic capturing a student’s impression of the LIS experience at MIT.

Charles Francis Park Medal.

Oil portrait of Ralph Lowell, Esq., Trustee of the Lowell Institute, 1943-78, painted by Pietro Pezzati for the Harvard Club of Boston.

The Lowell Institute School

Dr. Arthur L. Townsend, the third LIS director at MIT, 1944-59.

The first female graduate of the LIS, Dorothy Carlsen Davisson, 1954.

Dr. F. Leroy Foster, the second LIS director at MIT, 1959-73.

The Lowell Institute School

Ms. Kathryn Millis served as the president of the LISAA during the transfer of the LIS from MIT to NEU.

Dr. Bruce Wedlock, the fourth and final director of the LIS of MIT, 1973-96.

Dr. Charles Finn served as the first director for the LIS at NEU from 1996-98.

The Lowell Institute School

William A. Lowell (front left) in a new computer classroom that was dedicated upon transfer of the LIS from MIT to NEU.

Computer classroom used by LIS students at NEU.

The Lowell Institute School

Dr. Gerald Voland served as the second director for the LIS at NEU from 1998-99.

The LIS within CPS celebrates its students at annual scholarship events, with William A. Lowell (front left) and Dr. John G. Labrie (front right).

Part Three Transfer of the Lowell Institute School to Northeastern University (1973–2015 and Beyond)

Northeastern University Campus, Boston, Massachusetts, 2011

77

78

Chapter Seven

T he Wor k of Bru c e D. Wedl ock , MIT (1973–96)

INTRODUCTION

Ralph Lowell continued on as Trustee of the Lowell Institute until 1978, when his son John Lowell took over leadership. Ralph, and then later John, worked in close partnership with the Office of the Provost at MIT to oversee the final years of the Lowell Institute School there under the leadership of Dr. Wedlock. John Lowell, a Harvard graduate, World War II veteran, and a respected banker and partner at Welch and Forbes, had a long history of service and giving to Northeastern University, where he was a member of the Board of Trustees. In addition, he served on the boards of Boston College, Perkins School for the Blind, the Museum of Science, WGBH, Wheelock College, and numerous other civic and charitable organizations in Boston.

The period of time during which Dr. Wedlock oversaw the Lowell School was riddled with periods of economic uncertainty. Beginning in the late 1970s and extending into the 1990s, the nation suffered through economic downturns that negatively impacted institutions of higher education across the country, including both MIT and Northeastern University. In response, both MIT and Northeastern were forced to make adjustments to weather these difficult financial times.

ENROLLMENT CRISIS AND RESPONSES AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

When Asa S. Knowles stepped down as president of Northeastern in 1975, he turned over the reins to Kenneth G. Ryder (president 1975– 89). President Ryder, who began at Northeastern as an instructor of The Work of Bruce D. Wedlock l 79

history and government in 1949 and moved into the administrative ranks in 1958, served the university in the years that led up to a major economic and enrollment crisis. Under his leadership, the student population grew to 50,000, the operating budget nearly doubled, sponsored research tripled, and the endowment quadrupled. Also during his tenure, a $43 million fundraising drive was completed, nine buildings were constructed, and work began on the $34 million Snell Library.1 By the time that Kenneth Ryder stepped down as president in 1989, Northeastern was beginning to feel acutely the impact of the economic downturn. Not only had enrollment dropped dramatically, but the sluggish economy reduced the performance of the endowment and reduced alumni giving, federal financial aid, and research funding.2 When John A. Curry took over as president in 1989, he quickly realized that dramatic steps needed to be taken to secure the university’s future success.3 During this period there were serious proposals to approach the state of Massachusetts about turning Northeastern University into a state school. However, President Curry and Board of Trustee members George Mathews and Neal Finnegan steered Northeastern through a financial restructuring in the early 1990s that resulted in a smaller university.4 Special Committee on the Drop in Enrollment: The Finnegan Report During the time of the crisis, Board Chair George Mathews asked Neal F. Finnegan, a Northeastern University graduate and fellow Board member, to lead a committee to explore a strategic vision for the university’s future. “When the school crisis came about our board was very heavily split between what to do—our enrollment had dropped, our budgets looked terrible—George Matthews asked me to head what was called the Special Committee on the Drop in Enrollment.

It turned out to be a special committee to look at what to do with the school strategically.”5 The committee’s report resulted in a blueprint that was adopted and followed. In short, the vision was to build a campus, 80 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

become more selective, and focus on retention. To fund this vision, the university used the endowment as capital to borrow money to fund the campus growth. Simultaneously, steep cutbacks were put into place to slash costs.

Putting the People First As a member of Northeastern’s Board of Trustees, not only was John Lowell instrumental in helping to shape discussions of cutbacks, he was also forward-thinking in how best to support the university in the future. John chaired the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees that managed the university’s investments, including the endowment, which at that time was small compared to that of other private universities in Boston. John worked closely with the Board, and in particular with the Budget Committee, which was chaired by Bill Allen. John Lowell and Bill Allen were not only colleagues but also good friends.

In 1990 when the Board decided to merge the two committees into a new Financial Affairs Committee, the leadership of the committee was decided with a coin toss. As good friends, each wanted the other to take the job. John Lowell had a two-headed coin and called “tails” when the coin was flipped, thus paving the way for Bill Allen to become chair and himself vice chair.6 Together with Bill Allen, John Lowell helped to convince President Curry and Bob Culver, who at that time was treasurer, that budget cuts and wage freezes, although useful temporarily in helping the university to meet budget, were not best for its long-term future. They argued that if the cutbacks and wage freezes were too severe, the university was at risk of losing its top-notch faculty and administrators, and that although the budget was tight, Northeastern needed to invest in its people. Their input helped to reduce the period of wage freezes from two years to eighteen months.7 With the advice of the Board, President Curry transformed the university into a smaller, more student-centered institution. Despite financial constraints, he also improved Northeastern’s infrastructure The Work of Bruce D. Wedlock l 81

with the construction of three new buildings and the renovation of four others. He oversaw the creation of the campus-wide computer network and the dramatic alteration of the physical landscape of campus with the addition of “an open lawn, broad walkways, and trees.” 8 Curry raised Northeastern’s status in the academic world by raising the bar; the average SAT score of incoming freshmen climbed more than seventy points during his tenure, even as enrollment dropped.9 When Richard M. Freeland succeeded John Curry as president in 1996, there was general consensus that to attract top-quality students, in addition to bringing in top-quality faculty, the university had to become a residential campus, but there was concern about taking on debt to finance this vision. John Lowell, then an emeritus trustee, remained a well-respected voice on the board and helped secure the decision to use the endowment as capital to borrow the money needed to build dormitories and the entire West Campus. Under the leadership of Richard Freeland, Northeastern focused on creating a student-centered, practice-oriented, urban research university.

President Freeland enhanced the university’s cooperative education programs by extending links to the arts and sciences.10 FINAL YEARS OF THE LOWELL INSTITUTE SCHOOL AT MIT

The enrollment crisis that Northeastern faced paralleled in some ways the enrollment crisis Dr. Bruce Wedlock inherited when he took over as director of the Lowell Institute School at MIT in July 1973. Prior to taking office, Dr. Wedlock put forth a plan called “New Direction for the Lowell Institute School,” outlining his vision for a new educational goal. He suggested that the Lowell Institute School abandon educational programs designed for basic, technical training and direct its efforts toward student needs with a two-year technical school or equivalent degree. The Lowell Institute School could be seen as a “graduate school” with specialized subject offerings in new technologies such as biomedical engineering and electro-optical devices. He suggested that

82 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

faculty for the school be drawn from within and outside MIT, including MIT graduate students and staff from the Draper Laboratory, due in part to the fact that it was unrealistic to expect regular MIT faculty to play a central role as this would not contribute to their professional advancement at the university. He suggested that this new curriculum would require additional facilities and that long-term activities of the school could include sponsoring conferences at MIT to explain and communicate programs to vocational school educators and to consider subjects related to program management, labor relations, and the like.11 Shift in Course Offerings With the dismantling of the Lowell Institute School’s first-and secondyear electrical and mechanical courses (Chapter Six), and with the appointment of a new director, the school began offering a wide variety of single courses in the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms in topics in which MIT had both excellent instruction facilities and outstanding teachers. Subjects chosen also emphasized practical applications, with plenty of hands-on lab work to illustrate classroom presentations.

Each year these course offerings were revised to keep pace with the changing needs of the job market.12 While this is not a comprehensive list, examples of the breadth of courses that could lead to the award of a certificate included: Digital Electronics, Dimensioning & Tolerancing for Engineering Drawings, Machine Tool Fundamentals, Principles of Metal Joining, Wave Optics, Color Television, High Speed Strobe Photography, Technical Typing, Operation and Maintenance of Broadcast Video Tape Recorders, Op-Amp Applications, Principles of Video Tape Recording, TV Signal Processing & Measurement, Creative Photography I & II, Reporting Technical Information, Safety & Management in the Chemical Field, Introduction to Microprocessors, Technical Illustration, Electronic Systems Design, Electronic Instrumentation, Printed Circuit Board Design, Welding Testing, Quality Control, Electronic and Machine Shop Drafting, Numerical Controlled Machines, Applied Mathematics, Basic Woodworking, and Scientific Glass-blowing.13 The Work of Bruce D. Wedlock l 83

Student Body The new course offerings attracted students from all walks of life.

In addition to a variety of technicians, including those working in electronics, mechanical fields, engineering, nuclear medicine, software, instrumentation, and electro-mechanics, students with the following professions were enrolled in the school: bicycle mechanic, physician, mover, bookkeeper, housewife, publisher, teacher, baker, clothing distributor, shipfitter, real estate broker, scientist, restaurant manager, police officer, photographer, secretary, aircraft mechanic, and an unemployed bartender.14 During this period many MIT employees, about 125 per year, also took advantage of the course offerings, in part with financial assistance from MIT’s Tuition Assistance Plan.15 Those students who did not benefit from employer-sponsored tuition assistance plans were also supported by the Park Fund from the LISAA.16 So popular were the new offerings that enrollment increased dramatically, with the number of certificates awarded growing from fewer than 200 in 1974 to nearly 1200 in 1982. Wait lists for admission became the usual procedure rather than the exception, and to meet the heavy demand, particularly in electronics, classes were offered on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. Students could transfer their Lowell Institute School credits toward bachelor’s degrees at other institutions, including Northeastern University.17 John Lowell was pleased with the success of Dr. Wedlock’s vision for the school and wrote to him on February 2, 1976, saying: “Good to hear that your enrollment picture is so solid. You are to be congratulated!”18 Increased Demand for Computer Courses Toward the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, students were also drawn to the Lowell Institute School because of its computer classrooms and computer-related instruction on topics such as AutoCAD, Lotus 1-2-3, WordPerfect, and Microsoft Works in addition to courses

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in DOS, BASIC, dBASE and computer graphics. Lowell Institute students were also able to take full advantage of MIT’s Athena network of educational workstations, developed through major grants from IBM and Digital Equipment Corporation, which expanded the Lowell Institute’s capacity to begin instruction in FORTRAN, C++, X Window Programming, and a host of other applications on the DOS PCs.19 With the increased availability of personal computers for undergraduate teaching at MIT, the public terminals tied to the mainframes that Lowell students used at MIT were being phased out. Therefore, to meet the demand of Lowell Institute School students for computer time, the Lowell Institute School moved its office to the first floor of 28 Carleton Street, in a space previously occupied by MIT Press. This new space permitted the school to provide computer instruction without the complex scheduling problems it had faced in the past, thus allowing instruction to be offered both during the day and in the evenings.20 In addition to ten new PC computers, which were purchased for the new classroom facility, the Lowell Institute School Alumni Association purchased a networking system for the computer classroom, Tech Commander, which permitted an instructor to interact with each student’s computer from the instructor’s workstation.21 Retirement of Wedlock and the Decision of MIT to End Its Sponsorship of the School In 1994, after twenty-three years of successful leadership of the Lowell Institute School, Dr. Wedlock and his long-time administrative assistant Virginia Pochetti began to make plans for their retirement. Dr. Wedlock approached the MIT administration to discuss the future direction of the school. At that time MIT, like other institutions of higher education in the Boston area, including Northeastern University, was experiencing effects of the negative economy, and the senior administration was under pressure to make changes to the Institute that would secure its financial well being. Under the leadership

The Work of Bruce D. Wedlock l 85

of Provost Mark Wrighton and President Charles Vest (president 1990–2004), MIT made the decision to end its sponsorship of the Lowell Institute School.22 In an interview for the MIT Tech Talk, Provost Mark Wrighton shared the rationale for the closure.

We regret this decision, but in our efforts to keep down costs and avoid future deficits, we have to focus on our core mission of teaching and research . . . . Computer availability has become tight at the Institute and it became apparent that without a significant infusion of new funds and space, it would become difficult for the Lowell Institute School to continue to offer some of its most popular computer courses. Also, as we considered some new opportunities such as biotechnology training, we concluded that MIT would not be able to provide the needed facilities . . . .

The Lowell Institute School has a long history of service to MIT employees and others in the local community. . . . Nonetheless, at a time when budgets of academic departments and essential services are being permanently reduced, it is appropriate that MIT reexamine the allocation of funds and space to activities such as LIS.23 John Lowell responded to MIT’s decision by offering to substantially increase the annual contributions from the Lowell Institute.24 Upon hearing of MIT’s decision to withdraw its sponsorship of the School, Dr. Wedlock, in a letter to the Lowell Institute Alumni Association in its Newsletter, expressed his frustration with MIT’s decision: In my view [the decision by MIT to close the LIS in June 1996] was a result of the impending retirement of Virginia Pochetti and myself; MIT did not want to be bothered trying to find our replacements. It was not a question of money, despite MIT’s assertion of the need to cut costs. Before any formal discussions [had begun], John Lowell had offered to substantially increase the contributions from the Lowell Institute. That, plus the 86 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

current annual surplus, was sufficient to cover the Director’s salary (about $100k) with the overhead and benefits, the only place the Lowell Institute School appears on MIT’s budget. In the 23 years I have been Director, the Lowell Institute School has never asked MIT for additional operating funds. Rather, we have built a comfortable surplus. It was not a question of space. LIS occupies 1017 square feet of dedicated office and classroom space from which we service about 1100 student registrations each year, a level of productivity that I believe is unsurpassed at MIT. As for classrooms, we use only those that are otherwise unused. It was not a question of overload on the computing facilities. The Lowell Institute School has about 100 student accounts on the MIT Athena network out of a total that must exceed 12,000. And our students work mostly at home or work, not in the public clusters. And it is certainly was not a question of interest on the part of Lowell Institute School students. The letters to MIT from students and alumni have been most heartwarming—tale after tale of how LIS has provided the educational opportunity that has improved employment and launched careers.25 Appeals to MIT and the Final Decision After MIT’s decision to end its support of the Lowell Institute School, MIT Provost Mark Wrighton left the Institute for another position. With his departure came the hope that the new provost would reverse the decision to close the school. Members of the Cambridge City Council showed a strong interest in leading the effort to keep the school. On February 13, 1995, the Council passed a resolution that encouraged MIT to maintain the Lowell Institute. The Council requested a meeting with representatives of MIT on March 20, 1995, at which a number of Lowell Institute School students, alumni, and instructors, including Dr. Wedlock, testified on behalf of LIS. Unfortunately, representatives from MIT did not show up to the meeting.

A subcommittee was then formed by Mayor Reeves of Cambridge to look into the closure and to consult with MIT representatives. At one The Work of Bruce D. Wedlock l 87

point, a proposal was floated in council for the city itself to acquire land from MIT to maintain the school, but the measure fell through.26 Despite the pledge of additional funds from the Lowell Institute and the efforts of the City of Cambridge, the leadership of MIT stood by its decision to end its sponsorship of the Lowell Institute School. The Lowell Institute School at MIT closed on July 1, 1996.

A Handshake Agreement With MIT’s final decision to end its sponsorship of the Lowell Institute School, John Lowell approached the leadership of Northeastern University offering financial support for the transfer of the Lowell Institute School to Northeastern University. The Office of the Provost at Northeastern responded by drafting a legal document to that effect.

John Lowell also sought the advice of the University Counsel, who served also as secretary of the Northeastern University Corporation and the Board of Trustees. As the two men met, the original document presented by the Office of the Provost was torn up and discarded and the transaction instead was sealed with a handshake.27

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Chapter Eight

The Ear ly Years of t he L ow ell I ns titut e School at Nor t hea s t er n Un iv ersity (1996–2008) INTRODUCTION

Following the handshake agreement that paved the way for the transfer of the Lowell Institute School to Northeastern from MIT, details of the transfer were completed and recorded. It was agreed that the Lowell Institute School would become a division of the School of Engineering Technology and would house the curriculum taught in the evening program of Northeastern’s School of Engineering Technology, and that it would expand its curricular offerings to include all courses that were similar or equivalent to those currently taught at the Lowell Institute School on the MIT campus. The transfer of the Lowell Institute School into the School of Engineering Technology was seen as a good fit, as the School for Engineering Technology, like the Lowell Institute School at MIT, had always emphasized the practical aspects of engineering and technology.1 TRANSITIONING THE LOWELL INSTITUTE SCHOOL TO NORTHEASTERN

With the transfer, Northeastern agreed to publicize the movement of the Lowell Institute School from MIT to Northeastern among current and potential students, as well as to the alumni of the Lowell Institute School. Current students in the Lowell Institute School were counseled by Northeastern faculty and advisors to facilitate their transition to the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University.2

The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern l 89

The Lowell Institute agreed to provide a gift of $200,000 to Northeastern University in the summer of 1996 and a gift of equal size in each of the four succeeding summers. In addition, the Lowell Institute agreed to provide support of $50,000 each year for two years to facilitate the transition of the Lowell Institute School and its students from MIT to Northeastern. These funds, which were granted during the 1995–96 and 1996–97 academic years, were used to provide counseling to current students of the Lowell Institute School on the campus of MIT during the 1995–96 academic year and on the campus of Northeastern University during the 1996–97 academic year and to cover the cost of mailings, publications, and advertisements to communicate both the offerings of the Lowell Institute School and its move to Northeastern University.3 For each of the five academic years 1996–97 through 2000–01, Northeastern University agreed to place $100,000 in a quasi-endowment fund earmarked for the Lowell Institute School of Northeastern University. Beginning in the academic year 2001–02 the cash return from that endowment was to become available at the same level as cash returns from other endowment funds at Northeastern University for expenditures to further programs of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University.4 Key Stakeholders Involved in the Transition It was the desire of both Northeastern University and the Lowell Institute that the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University continue its mission of providing education in technology to students throughout the Boston metropolitan area in the evening. It was anticipated that the programs of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University would successfully attract students far into the future and that the Lowell Institute School would continue to be an important unit of Northeastern University.5 To support this vision, a dedicated team of individuals worked collaboratively to ensure a smooth and successful transition. This team included William (Bill) Lowell, Kathy 90 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Millis, Dr. Charles Finn, and Richard Bjorkman, all of whom had experience both at MIT and at Northeastern University.

William A. Lowell John Lowell, who served as Trustee of the Lowell Institute, worked closely with his son William (Bill) Lowell throughout the Curry years until his death in 2011, when Bill Lowell became Trustee. Bill, a graduate of Harvard College (AB, 1977, cum laude) and Boston College Law School ( JD, 1980, magna cum laude) served as Administrator of the Lowell Institute and as a member of the Corporation and later as a member of the Board of Trustees at Northeastern, in addition to being a Practice Group Leader at Choate Hall & Stewart LLP in Boston, MA. From the beginning, Bill Lowell was a strong supporter of the Lowell Institute School.

Kathy Millis The Lowell Institute School Alumni Association played an important role in securing a successful transfer of the school from MIT to Northeastern University. The LISAA at that time was led by Kathy Millis, president and treasurer of the LISAA. Millis earned her certificate in Electronic Technology from the Lowell Institute School at MIT in 1983 and was the recipient of the Charles Francis Park Silver Medal that same year. She also served as a teaching assistant at the Lowell Institute School. After graduating from the Lowell Institute School, Millis earned her BS in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University and later returned to earn her master’s degree from MIT in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department.6 During the transfer and for the two years that followed, Millis was instrumental in advocating to the university for the interests of both current students and Lowell Institute School alumni. She was invited to participate on the Board of Governors of the Northeastern University Alumni Association’s Board of Directors and played a key role The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern l 91

in the management and distribution of approximately $100,000 that the LISAA brought to the university.7 The LISAA eventually merged with the Northeastern University Alumni Relations Office in 1998 and changed its logo from the triangle within the circle to the Lowell family crest.8 Dr. Charles Finn, Director (1996–98) Dr. Charles Finn assumed his position as director of the Lowell Institute School in January 1996. He received his doctorate from MIT in chemical metallurgy and was director of the School of Engineering Technology at Northeastern University. In response to the decision to transfer the School, he said, “ The move is a fantastic synergy. I’m very excited about it . . . . Many of the instructors who teach night classes at the Lowell Institute School [at MIT] are already professors at Northeastern during the day.”9 Before the transfer took place, Dr. Finn reached out to MIT and Cambridge community members to assure them of a successful transition. He wrote: “I can understand the concerns of the city council . . . I have assured them, through the MIT provost, that we will make every possible effort to make an outreach to Cambridge residents and to the students currently in the program.”10 Dr. Finn worked tirelessly to make the move of the Lowell Institute School from MIT to Northeastern as smooth as possible. In a memorandum dated October 21, 1997, Allen Soyster, Dean of the College of Engineering, wrote to Director Finn saying, “I greatly appreciate your genuine effort to bring this group under the Northeastern banner.

Please count on me to help whenever it is appropriate.” Dr. Finn’s enthusiasm and drive assured a strong beginning in the school’s new location, in part by carrying on the traditions of the Lowell Institute School. For example, he reached out to LISAA Vice President Mike Finamore and President Kathy Millis about the possibility of using the School of Engineering Technology Award Banquet as a setting for the annual Lowell Institute School award presentation. The LISAA supported the event in 1996 with a contribution of nearly $3,000.

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Richard Bjorkman Richard Bjorkman was a graduate and faculty member of the Lowell Institute School at MIT. He transitioned with the Lowell Institute School from MIT to Northeastern University in 1996 and became a part of the School of Engineering Technology, where he served as both an academic counselor and instructor for the school. Richard Bjorkman played an important role in bridging the relationships between the students and alumni of the Lowell Institute School at MIT and Northeastern. “In the midst of the struggle to keep Lowell Institute School at MIT, there is one person whose perseverance deserves special recognition. Richard Bjorkman worked endlessly for the survival of Lowell Institute at MIT. . . . Richard Bjorkman has kindly agreed to accept the daunting role of liaison between the two offices.”11 As transition counselor, Bjorkman was responsible for communicating with students and for making sure the Lowell Institute School became fully integrated into the university.12 Bjorkman worked tirelessly to offset concerns that the 93-year traditions of Lowell Institute School would somehow “disappear” at Northeastern University. He helped to preserve the heritage of the school by displaying the oil portraits of all of the previous Lowell Institute directors and the hand-painted silk banner of the Lowell Institute in the school’s new location. He also smoothed the transition for Lowell Institute School students by helping them access many university resources, including the Career Services Center (which was also made available to Lowell Institute School alumni), the Disability Resource Center, the Cabot Physical Education Center (named after Godfrey Lowell Cabot, a generous donor and relative of John Lowell), and the Marino Recreation Center.13 The Lowell Scholarship Program As part of the agreement John Lowell negotiated with Northeastern, financial assistance was made available to students of the Lowell Institute School through the Lowell Scholarship Program. Student recipients of the funds were known as Lowell Scholars. The scholarship The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern l 93

program was funded by the first $100,000 of the $200,000 annual gift, with the remainder of the annual gift used to support the operating budget of the Lowell Institute School. Preference for scholarships was given to former Lowell Institute at MIT students who were not eligible for tuition reimbursement from employers or other sources external to the university. The Lowell Scholarship was granted on a quarter-by-quarter basis.14 Lowell Institute School Alumni Association funds were also provided to support students who had shown much promise and decided to continue their education. This award was named the John Lowell Award.

Lastly, several smaller scholarships and awards were also made available to students under the umbrella of the Lowell Scholars Program. These funds included: Leslie B. Cutler Aviation Scholarship Awards, Henry J. Doherty Memorial Scholarship Fund, Kappa Tau Phi Scholarships, Robert G. Keene Memorial Scholarship Fund (Keene was a graduate of Lincoln College, now the Lowell Institute School), Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarships, William J. McGovern Memorial Scholarship, Sigma Epsilon Rho Honor Society Scholarship Award, H. Patricia Taylor Scholarship Fund, University College and The Lowell Institute School Faculty Society Memorial Scholarship Awards, and the Mark Caldwell Whitney Memorial Scholarship.15 Movement and Upgrade of the Computer Classroom When Dr. Charles Finn took over as director he reached out to MIT to purchase the computers that were housed in the Lowell Institute School computer laboratory at MIT. Kathy Millis wrote to Finn on March 7, 1996, to inform him that the twelve student computers housed in the computer lab at MIT were in desperate need of additional hard drive space to meet software needs and that the funding provided by Northeastern was not sufficient to cover the upgrade. She suggested that the LISAA could help to meet this need and pledged funds to cover the addition of one 500 MB hard drive for each of those twelve computers. The LISAA funding also provided limited 94 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

additional upgrades to the lab. Support for the lab from the LISAA came with the following conditions: “Any funding provided by the LIS Alumni Association for the Lowell Institute School computer lab is contingent upon Northeastern University adopting and maintaining the Lowell Institute School computer lab in an appropriate location as a part of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University and upon Lowell Institute School students having exclusive access or at least priority use of the Lowell Institute School computer lab.”16 The Lowell Institute School Computer Classroom was moved and significantly upgraded. Prominently located in the Snell Engineering Center, adjacent to the dean’s office, the Lowell Institute School Computer Classroom contained 17 Pentium-class student computers, all connected to NUnet, the Northeastern University computer network, with online access to most major PC-based software. The room itself was considerably more spacious than had been the case at MIT, and the individual workstations featured improved ergonomics.17 Additional Improvements To supplement the computer classroom, the Lowell Institute School also created a new prototyping lab, which featured computer peripherals that could create actual hold-in-your-hand 3-D models directly from a student’s AutoCAD drawing. In addition, the school opened a new Multimedia Resource Center, which was devoted to providing the Lowell Institute School faculty with state-of-the-art computer resources, including an array of mobile computer projection and display equipment.

Using the equipment, Lowell Institute School instructors were able to provide computer-driven presentations and demonstrations of the latest computer software in any classroom on campus. The school also established a website giving Internet-connected users throughout the world instant access to the latest information about the Lowell Institute courses and programs.18

The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern l 95

Lowell Institute School Dedication Ceremony A dedication ceremony took place on December 4, 1996. The ceremony involved President Freeland, Chairman George Matthews, Director Charles Finn, and LISAA President Kathy Millis. Several students of the Lowell Institute School were also invited. After the presentations, guests could tour the new Lowell Institute School Computer Classroom and view a demonstration of some of the computer-based instruction students receive in their classes. Mouse pads with the Lowell Institute School and Northeastern University logos were given away and a plaque in honor of the Lowell Institute and John Lowell was unveiled.

A reception followed.19 THE LOWELL INSTITUTE SCHOOL AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY 1996 TO 2006

In its first two years at Northeastern University, the Lowell Institute focused on fulfilling its mission statement: “The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University offers a unique combination of Bachelor’s Degree, Associate’s Degree, and Certificate programs, career-enhancing courses, a faculty of industry practitioners, and the resources of a major university on an attractive urban campus. We prepare individuals for rewarding careers that meet dynamic industry needs.”20 The school adopted the slogan “Engineering Technology That Works” and provided part-time courses in four quarters rather than two or three semesters, with classes beginning in late September, early January, late March, and early June. The quarter system allowed students greater flexibility in gaining access to those courses that best aligned with their career and goals. A selection of courses was also provided via Network Northeastern’s interactive television system, both to employees of subscribing companies and to students at the suburban satellite campuses in Burlington, Dedham, Downtown Boston, Framingham, Marlborough, and Weymouth. Courses were offered weekday evenings and Saturdays, both morning and afternoons, via an open admission policy, and financial assistance was made available to students via the Lowell Scholars Program.21 96 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Dr. Gerald Voland, Interim Director (1998–99) On August 10, 1998, Dr. Charles Finn left his position as director of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University to become dean of applied science and technology at Bermuda College. On August 15, 1998, Dr. Gerard Voland, associate professor in mechanical, industrial and manufacturing engineering, took on the demanding responsibilities of interim director of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern. Dr. Voland continued to strengthen LIS while fostering a friendly and efficient office environment. He began an initiative to increase recruitment by preparing a Lowell Institute School Viewbook, created an Outreach Committee, and opened a new Associate for Engineering Technology (ASSET) Student Chapter.22 Due to previous commitments, Dr. Voland left the Lowell Institute School in August 1999 to become dean at Illinois Institute of Technology.23 Dr. Walter Buchanan, Director (1999–2005) On August 2, 1999, Walter Buchanan replaced Gerald Voland as director of the Lowell Institute School. Before coming to the school, Dr. Buchanan served Northeastern University as a professor and director of the School of Engineering Technology. He was previously professor and dean of Engineering and Industrial Technologies at the Oregon Institute of Technology. Under his leadership, the school focused primarily on engineering technology, which is defined by the Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology as follows: Engineering technology is the profession in which a knowledge of mathematics and natural sciences gained by higher education, experience, and practice is devoted primarily to the implementation and extension of existing technology for the benefit of humanity.

Engineering technology education focuses primarily on the applied aspects of science and engineering aimed at preparing graduates for practice in that portion of the technological spectrum closest to product improvement, manufacturing, construction, and engineering operational functions.24 The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern l 97

Upon Dr. Buchanan’s arrival, the School for Engineering Technology at Northeastern was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as ninth in the top ten engineering technology programs housed at national research universities.25 Dr. Buchanan was brought to Northeastern to help make the School of Engineering Technology one of the ten best in the country, not just among national research universities, but among all 120 institutions across the country that grant baccalaureate degrees in engineering technology: by increasing financial aid, encouraging scholarly production by faculty, introducing new state-of-the-art curricula and majors, initiating a master of science degree in engineering technology, and increasing available lab space.26 In his annual report to John Lowell dated July 20, 2000, Dr. Buchanan provided a snapshot of how the Lowell Institute School was making a real impact. He stated that there was no “typical” Lowell Institute School student, with students ranging in age from eighteen to seventy-eight, each arriving at the school with a wide range of backgrounds and credentials.

He shared with the Trustee three profiles of Lowell Scholars: A single mother studying electrical engineering technology. She has recently been hired to a $50,000-a-year laboratory position based on her LIS education. She will continue her studies while working at her new job, and her new employer will now underwrite her education.

A former student from LIS@MIT who has severe dyslexia. Despite her disability, she successfully completed both the Certificate in Electronics Technology and the Certificate in Computer Technology while LIS was at MIT, and won the coveted Charles Francis Park Silver Medal. She is now studying at LIS@NU, working toward her bachelor’s degree. She is employed by a very small high-tech firm which does not offer tuition benefits, and hence the Lowell Scholarship is very important to her.

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An immigrant from Vietnam who has been successfully employed as a computer assembler by a well-known manufacturing firm.

The company has been paying him tuition benefits while he studies at LIS. Unfortunately, the company is now closing, so the student is losing his job. Undaunted, he is continuing his studies with the aid of a Lowell Scholarship while he seeks new employment.

Under Dr. Buchanan’s leadership the school expanded its curriculum to meet the needs of both skill-set seekers and college degree-seeking students. By the time of the school’s 100th anniversary in 2003, associate and bachelor’s degrees were awarded in Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering Technology, and certificate programs existed in Computer Technology, Engineering Graphics Technology, Electronics Technology, and C++/UNIX® Specialist.

THE GROWTH OF NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

In 1996, Richard M. Freeland had become president of Northeastern University. He oversaw a ten-year period of significant change. Under his leadership, all the strategic planning, difficult decisions, and hard work of the previous six years began to bear fruit as the vision coalesced around the conception of Northeastern as a national research university that was student-centered, practice-oriented, and urban. In an effort to fulfill this vision, Dr. Freeland initiated a planning council, which was charged with determining the appropriate size and scope of each college. This included enriching the programs, services, and responsiveness of University College, thus positioning the college as a national leader in adult and continuing education. Under the leadership of Dean John W. Jordan, University College added several new course offerings, including a redesigned biotechnology degree that involved seven new courses focusing on the skills identified by industry as essential; enhanced its Office of Academic and Student Affairs; and refurbished an existing computer lab on the Dedham campus and added new teaching labs on the Burlington campus.27

The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern l 99

University College Renamed School of Professional and Continuing Studies (SPCS) In 2004, fourteen years after Lincoln College merged into the School of Engineering Technology (Chapter Four) and the Noncredit Center for Continuing Education merged into University College to create a single adult education unit, the name of University College was changed by the Board of Trustees to the School of Professional and Continuing Studies (SPCS).

Dr. Chris Hopey, who joined Northeastern in 2003, led the SPCS until 2010, serving as vice president and dean. Dr. Hopey received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northeastern University and his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, where he went on to serve as vice dean at the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, before coming to Northeastern. On his arrival, Dr. Hopey was charged with the task of finding innovative ways to boost enrollment.

Historically, University College was focused on serving the needs of working adults in the Boston area who were working toward a degree by taking classes either on the Boston campus or at various satellite locations for three or four hours a week at night. Some students wound up taking seven to ten years to earn a degree. This long time to degree completion created very real challenges for both students and the college, as students often did not persist, and when they did, often the course requirements for a particular degree started would have changed over the decade it took them to complete the degree.

Online Degrees and Graduate Degrees Launched The college addressed this problem in part by exploring new methods for course delivery that would allow students to spend less time commuting to a physical campus to receive instruction. Northeastern University had a long history of finding novel ways to provide a rich educational experience beyond the physical boundaries of its Boston campus. As one of the founding members of the Lowell Cooperative

100 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Broadcast Council, Northeastern had participated in providing educational programs via radio in the late 1940s and broadcast live courses directly to company sites in the Boston area, via satellite and microwave transmission through Network Northeastern in the mid 1990s.28 With the growth of the Internet and related technologies, Dr. Hopey recognized the opportunities for the college in providing course offerings online to extend instruction beyond the state of Massachusetts and across the globe, and in 2007 the College launched its first online course.

Dr. Hopey also addressed the enrollment crisis by launching new programming to better meet the needs of students and industries.

This included expanding the population of students it served beyond the Boston metropolitan area with the addition of the World Languages Center and Global Pathways program and by providing graduate-level courses, including two doctoral-level programs in Law and Policy and Education.

Lowell Institute School Merged into the School of Professional and Continuing Studies (SPCS) In 2006 the Lowell Institute School was merged into the School of Professional and Continuing Studies to better meet the needs of the students it served. In a letter to Bill Lowell dated August 9, 2006, Dr. Hopey wrote, “The Lowell Institute School is more than ever the institution it was originally conceived to be—a place where journeyman engineers are able to learn, develop professionally, and increase their opportunities.� With the move the Lowell Institute School benefited from increased administrative support and greatly enhanced student services. These new resources and supports included increased advertising and marketing, access to a professional phone service, improved advising, and an enhanced course registration process made available to students via the SPCS online web service.

The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern l 101

Dr. Todd Fritch When Dr. Buchanan left Northeastern in 2006 to accept a position at Texas A&M University, Dr. Todd Fritch took over leadership of the Lowell Institute School. Dr. Fritch was assistant dean for Academic Affairs, Administration, and Planning and director of Geographic Information Technology Programs. Under his leadership the school undertook the final pieces of a curriculum redesign, developed a new technology plan, and managed a strategic refocus of the core scholarship program.

The school was accredited by the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and expanded its Computer Certification Courses including Oracle Database Administration and UNIX operating system technologies. These courses were so popular that graduate students from the Information Science (IS) and Computer Sciences (CS) programs relied on the Lowell Institute School for preparation courses in database programming and UNIX operating system technologies as prerequisites to the graduate IS classes. Laboratories were also upgraded, in part with funds from the LIS/MIT alumni donors and proceeds from the Lowell Endowment.29 New programs were also added. The Building and Design and Architecture Program of the SCPS was moved into the Lowell Institute School and the curriculum expanded to include professional development programs in Facilities Management, Construction Management, HVAC, and professional engineering licensure. The Graduate Certificate in Construction Management also became a part of the Lowell Institute School. A new master of science program in Project Management was also launched, as was a Robotics Program funded by a National Science Foundation grant. The professional development program led by engineering technology professor Randal August trained public middle school science teachers to use a pre-engineering curriculum developed by Lowell Institute faculty to integrate robotics into their existing curriculum frameworks.30 102 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Increased Enrollment During its first two years within the School for Professional and Continuing Studies, the Lowell Institute School embraced the entrepreneurial structure of SPCS by drawing upon and utilizing faculty, student services, information technology, and strategic resources to refine its operation, strengthen the curriculum, and enhance the student experience and academic outcomes. Enrollments, as measured by new matriculations and the reentry of students who had previously been enrolled at the Lowell Institute School, showed marked improvement, and in total 4,736 students completed courses across the wide spread of Lowell Institute School programming.31 Reengineering of Lowell Institute Scholarships In an effort to better support, attract, and encourage students, the Lowell Scholarship Program was redesigned using a merit-and need-based model. In the past, grants were given on a non-competitive basis in small amounts ($600 each) to each student who applied. This was viewed as a fair way to equitably spend the funds received from the Lowell Institute. However, after studying the issue and surveying students, faculty, and administrators, the Lowell Institute School leadership determined that this was an ineffective solution to some very real need-based challenges. While not accounting for need, the old process did not account for merit, either. What stood in its place was a one-sizefits-all approach to awarding scholarships that, when assessed through the lenses of need and merit, was inequitable and haphazard.32 Under the redesign, the first $30,000 awarded was in the form of competitive scholarships to students who were struggling to pay the remainder of their tuition balances for the term. The average size of the award was between $2,000 and $4,000, a considerable increase from the past.

This shift in part allowed students to take multiple courses (for example during periods of unemployment) as compared to the past, when they could only afford $600 worth of courses, thus delaying their time to completion.

The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern l 103

In addition to the Lowell Scholarship funds, students were supported through the generosity of a number of named scholarships, including the Henry Jacobson Foundation Scholarship, named in honor of a member of the class of 1926; the Robert A. Rosenberg Engineering Scholarship, awarded to students who maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average; and the Charles Francis Park Scholarship. These Scholarship Funds were vital for Lowell Institute School students who were seeking a better life. In his 2006–07 annual report to Bill Lowell, Dr. Hopey shared the following success story: Born in the Philippines, a recent Lowell Institute graduate immigrated to the United States when he was 16 years old.

After graduating high school and to help support his family in both Boston and the Philippines, he took a job at a computer technology company doing manual labor. At this job he was exposed to the field of computer engineering and after working with his Human Resources department to identify programs in his area, he enrolled at the Lowell Institute School. But circumstances changed constantly, and two children, three moves, and one layoff left him unable to progress through the program in a consistent manner. After six years of effort, he graduated last fall and was accepted into Northeastern’s Computer Science master’s degree program.

Creating a Solid Foundation Through the work of many dedicated stakeholders, the movement of the Lowell Institute School from MIT to Northeastern was a great success. Northeastern was able not only to meet the needs of the students who transferred with the School, but also to attract new students by providing the School with enhanced curriculum, facilities, and infrastructure. The growth of the School within the first ten years at Northeastern provided a strong foundation for the School to seek out new and innovative strategies for meeting the constantly evolving needs and opportunities of industry and students in the 21st century and beyond.

104 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Chapter Nine

Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry (2008 to Present and Beyond) INTRODUCTION

The most recent history of the transformation of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University, from a school focused primarily on meeting the needs of local students and industry in the field of engineering technology to a school that offers an integrated approach to bachelor’s degree completion in related STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields for students across the nation and world, parallels the vision that Dr. Joseph E. Aoun brought to the university when he became president on August 15, 2006. Dr. Aoun, a graduate of MIT, University of Paris (France) VIII, and Saint Joseph University (Beirut, Lebanon), brought with him an expertise in global and experiential education after serving as the inaugural holder of the Anna H. Bing Dean’s Chair at the University of Southern California’s College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. Under Dr. Aoun’s leadership, Northeastern University expanded its signature co-op program internationally, created a network of graduate campuses, and “amassed one of the largest libraries of online and hybrid professional master’s programs of any university in the U.S.”1 THE LOWELL INSTITUTE SCHOOL OF THE COLLEGE OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

Part of Dr. Aoun’s vision for the university in 2008 was to change the School of Professional and Continuing Studies into the College of Professional Studies (CPS), with the Lowell Institute School serving as a major school within the college. The Lowell Institute School benefited not only from being able to draw upon the college’s broad Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry l 105

student support services, including admissions and financial aid staff, but also from the movement of undergraduate programs in geology, mathematics, physics, and environmental science to the college that same year. These programs shared core academic requirements in science and mathematics with the Lowell Institute School, allowing for the elimination of duplicated classes and strengthened enrollment with a more academically diverse group of students, allowing synergies to take place between Lowell Institute School students and those students who were majoring in math and physics.2 With the movement of these programs and with the college’s expertise in online technology, the Lowell Institute School was able to upgrade its mathematics and physics curriculum with new web-based resources and tools. During the 2008–09 academic year the Lowell Institute School piloted a new format to teach mathematics, with fully integrated state-of-the-art support materials. Online classes were devoted to problem sets, practice opportunities, and quizzes on material. The new format allowed students to move through online tutorials asynchronously, affording them the ability to move at their own pace and to revisit materials as many times as they wished. The new format also allowed instructors to gauge across several classes which parts of their courses were presenting the greatest difficulties and what material had already been mastered. Importantly, the integration of online resources helped improve the quality of life for students who were challenged by long commutes to on-ground classes and helped to foster skills in communicating and collaborating in a virtual environment.

In the summer of 2009 the curriculum for Physics I, II, and III was also upgraded with online content that demonstrated physics theory.

Students in laboratory sections utilized online submission mechanisms to complete assignments and were able to receive expedited feedback from instructors. The school also benefited that year from a donation from the Anritsu Company of a telecommunications signal analysis tool valued at $142,000, which was used by the Lowell Institute School to enhance instruction and lab activities.3 106 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

To best support course delivery, all faculty were later required to complete coursework on utilizing online technology, and all on-ground classes also obtained a virtual classroom space within Blackboard. The college utilized virtual classrooms as a resource for all courses, whether online or on-ground. The virtual classrooms provided a web portal for submissions of academic work, posting of class syllabi, assignments, asking discussion questions, and links to web resources and supplementary materials.

A Change in Leadership within the College of Professional Studies In 2010 the College of Professional Studies incorporated the Undergraduate Department of Education and in that same year, Dr. John LaBrie took over as dean of the College of Professional Studies and later as vice president for professional education, after joining the university in 2009 as a senior fellow in the Doctorate of Education Program. Prior to joining the college, Dr. LaBrie served as dean of continuing studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he led the largest continuing education university program in western Canada. Dr. LaBrie’s passion for adult and professional education was rooted in his own personal experience as an adult learner earning his bachelor’s degree in French part-time from the University of Maine at Fort Kent. He then went on to earn an MSA in management from Saint Michael’s College and an EdD from the University of Pennsylvania.

A Push toward Degree Completion As an adult learner himself, Dr. LaBrie identified uniquely with Lowell Institute School students and recognized new opportunities for the school in transforming how working adults engage with course material and with one another toward the goal of degree completion. Within the College of Professional Studies, the Lowell Institute School took part in a number of initiatives aimed at enhancing opportunities for degree completion. These included adding Fast-Track cohort models, Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry l 107

priming the K-12 pipeline, and creating greater access for transfer and community college students.

Fast-Track Cohort Model One of the first changes that took place within the Lowell Institute School after the establishment of the College of Professional Studies was the introduction of a Fast-Track cohort model for Lowell Institute School students. This model was attractive particularly to older students who had previously earned credits from a regionally accredited college or university and who wanted to quickly develop marketable skills and complete their undergraduate degree at an accelerated pace with the support of a cohort of fellow students. After its introduction, the number of degrees awarded from the school nearly doubled. The success of this model led to the launching of additional Fast-Track cohorts in information technology during the 2010–11 academic year.4 Priming the K-12 Pipeline With the support of federal grants, the Lowell Institute School also worked to foster degree completion by nurturing the K-12 pipeline of students who might be interested in seeking out degrees in engineering and technology-related industries after high school. For example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant-funded robotics project (Chapter 8) led by Lowell Institute School engineering technology professor Randal August that trained middle school teachers to make use of robotics to improve students’ math, science, and technology proficiency had great impact. Over the course of the grant, seventy-two teachers from twenty school districts completed the robotics training, and more than 7,000 students in the Greater Boston area participated in afterschool programs led by these teachers. Summer programming reached an additional 1,800 middle-school children in informal educational settings.5 In addition, in 2011, the Lowell Institute School played an important role in helping to secure Race to the Top funds for Massachusetts 108 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

schools from the U.S. Department of Education. This was the result of a collaboration with the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators (MAVA), a professional organization of educational leaders who administer career and technical programs in Massachusetts schools. MAVA asked college faculty to advise the organization on developing a STEM-focused Early College High School (ECHS).

The program offered students a structured series of courses including Information Support Services, Networking and Programming, Web Development, and Manufacturing. These courses were linked with the associate of science degree in management information systems in the Lowell Institute School. Students who completed this associate’s degree could then enroll in the Fast-Track Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology Program.6 Creating Opportunities for Transfer and Community College Students The Lowell School also created greater opportunities for students who wanted to transfer into the Lowell Institute School with credits from local community colleges. The school increased its outreach to students attending local community colleges, including Bunker Hill and Massasoit community colleges as well as the Franklin Institute, which allowed students in good standing with appropriate freshman and sophomore prerequisites to transition smoothly into the Lowell Institute School.

Maintaining a Strong Engineering Technology Program As the Lowell Institute School grew within the College of Professional Studies, it also invested time and effort in improving its engineering technology programs. During the 2010–11 academic year, a new computer laboratory was dedicated to Lowell Institute School use with upgraded technology in a fully renovated classroom. The Lowell Institute Computer Laboratory featured new work stations, upgraded computers, and updated engineering software and was supported in part by funds from the Lowell Institute.7 Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry l 109

The Lowell Institute School’s engineering technology programs were also enhanced by securing accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in Summer 2012. The ABET represents the highest standards in engineering education.

Students graduating from an ABET-accredited program qualify for immediate entry into the engineering licensure process. Reaccreditation was granted in 2014 and is valid through 2019. The demanding standard of ABET accreditation required that Lowell Institute School students complete 186 credit hours to graduate, 26 more credit hours than a typical requirement for a bachelor of science degree. Funds from the Lowell Institute were crucial in helping to bridge these costs for Lowell Institute School students.8 Celebrating Lowell Institute School Students, Alumni, and Donors Northeastern University instituted two ways to recognize the success of engineering-focused students within the Lowell Institute School.

Students who reach the top four percent of the program in grade point average were invited to join the university’s chapter of the national engineering technology society, Tau Alpha Pi. In addition, Lowell Institute School students and alumni were also recognized at annual receptions, where they were also able to meet some of the donors who have supported their Lowell Scholarship Program.

The redesign of the Lowell Scholarship Program to a merit- and needbased model required all Lowell Institute School students who applied for scholarships to complete a FAFSA (the federal financial aid form).

This made it possible to direct more scholarship resources to those students who needed it most. In addition to the Lowell Scholarship Program, a number of alumni-funded and named scholarships were also awarded to Lowell Institute School students. These included the Harvey Jacobson Foundation Scholarship, the Robert A. Rosenberg Engineering Technology Scholarship, the Charles Evirs Fund Scholarship, and the Charles Francis Lowell Scholarship.9

110 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Curriculum Enhancements to the Lowell Institute School In the 2012–13 academic year, the administration and faculty of the Lowell Institute School engaged in a multi-year, multi-phased strategic process to comprehensively revise the engineering and information technology courses. The goal of these revisions was to ensure that the school provided students with instruction that closely matched industry needs so that Lowell Institute School graduates were ready for the workplace.10 The school retained a highly regarded consulting firm with expertise in STEM education, the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM Education (TIES). TIES prepared a detailed study that evaluated the curriculum and made recommendations that the school upgrade its existing laboratory space, adopt new degree programs, and assess marketplace needs. Specific recommendations included: expanding collaboration with community colleges to facilitate degree completion for their students; expanding partnerships with alumni and relevant industries to facilitate real-world work experiences for students; adding more Program Management training and opportunities; expanding the emphasis on communication in the degree programs by requiring more communication (written and oral) in course classes; and lengthening the term of all engineering courses to twelve weeks.11 Based on recommendations from TIES, the curricula for the master’s degree programs in engineering technology and information technology were redesigned in 2012–13 and were made ready for a fall 2014 rollout under the leadership of Dr. Lynda Hodgson and Dr. Guido Lopez, who served as the lead faculty for the Mechanical Engineering Technology program. Dr. Lopez drafted a new semester-based curriculum to replace the quarter-based curriculum to better present very challenging materials in a less compressed format. He also made quality control and assurance a core part of all coursework and developed a new online engineering course with the director of online instruction, Kevin Bell, to facilitate the teaching of the class through videoconferencing.12

Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry l 111

Following the report, the school met with a team that included students, faculty, members of the administration, and the Technology Advisory Committee to obtain further recommendations. Additional enhancements were made to the curriculum based on these recommendations: student learning outcomes were updated, refined and made more student-centered, and tied to the demands of the marketplace; course sequences in engineering technology degree programs were clarified and course content was revised to map more closely to industry needs and anticipated trends; all degree programs were upgraded to offer areas of specialization; and the school began to focus on serving upper-level students needing to complete their bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields.

A NEW STRATEGIC VISION FOR THE LOWELL INSTITUTE SCHOOL

The Lowell Institute School had for a while recognized a need in the marketplace for providing opportunities for students to gain access to STEM degrees. As the school continued to open its doors to entry-level and transfer students striving to improve themselves, the school leadership recognized that students were coming from sectors as diverse as high-tech manufacturing of medical devices and power systems engineering, as well as from the biotechnology industry.

These students needed a deeper understanding of the basic sciences including biology and chemistry. This situation, coupled with an increased national focus on the need for improving STEM education and President Obama’s call for colleges and universities to graduate an additional one million students with STEM majors,13 prompted the Lowell Institute School to enhance its offerings beyond the field of engineering technology to related STEM industries to increase STEM degree attainment for women and underrepresented minorities.

First-​​in-​​the-​​Nation School The new strategic vision for the Lowell Institute School for meeting the needs of students and industry in STEM was centered around the idea that Northeastern University’s Lowell Institute School would 112 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

become the first-in-the-nation school focused on degree completion programs in science, technology, engineering, and math fields for non-traditional students who have some undergraduate experience and want to matriculate to a bachelor’s degree.14 This new strategic vision recognized that the market was shifting away from the relatively narrow bachelor of science in engineering technology degrees to broader STEM degrees and that the Lowell Institute School was in a unique position to offer these degrees. Unlike the majority of STEM programs offered in Greater Boston that served traditional, full-time, day students, the Lowell Institute School was one of the few local schools designed to meet the STEM education needs of adults who work during the day and must study part-time.15 The new strategic vision acknowledged that the Lowell Institute School should not duplicate what other colleges do. In the area of STEM education, community colleges in the Boston area were already training numerous working adults in the basics of STEM. It was duplicative for the Lowell Institute School to offer associate degrees when community colleges provided the same service at a very low cost to students. Instead, the Lowell Institute School’s mission of educating working people in industry was thought to be best served by focusing on providing bachelor’s degree completion programs that support students’ efforts to obtain the credentials and training that employers require in high-growth STEM fields where there is strong workforce demand.16 The new strategic vision took advantage of Northeastern’s leadership in cooperative education and experiential education as well as its prowess in online delivery to enable its students to strengthen relations between work and study and to develop the ability to collaborate with colleagues on complex projects, wherever they are located and whatever their skill sets. The fact that Lowell Institute School students were able to take online classes with fellow students from a diverse set of backgrounds would help them develop proficiency in virtual teamwork and intercultural competency, thus leading to an increase in the employability of Lowell Institute School graduates.17 Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry l 113

Funding the Vision With the new strategic vision in hand, Dr. LaBrie approached William (Bill) Lowell to seek additional financial support from the Lowell Institute. The Lowell Institute responded to the proposal with enthusiasm and pledged a gift of $4 million. Importantly, with the Lowell Institute’s support and with Bill Lowell’s work as a member of the University Corporation and the Board of Trustees of Northeastern University, his pledge of support was crucial in helping to secure additional funds to underwrite the vision. The school’s new strategic vision was also presented to the Ruby W. and LaVon P. Linn Foundation, which responded with a pledge of an additional $1 million to provide scholarship aid to veterans and active duty personnel enrolled in the school.18 The Lowell Institute School also sought out federal funds to support its goal of enhancing degree completion for students in STEM. The new strategic vision for the Lowell Institute School aligned well with the U.S. Department of Education’s First in the World Program, which was created as a part of President Obama’s agenda to increase postsecondary access and completion of STEM degrees. The goal of the grant program was to fund the development and testing of innovative approaches and strategies at colleges and universities that improve college attainment and make higher education more affordable for students and families. Northeastern was one of twenty-four colleges and universities selected from nearly 500 applicants, and the Lowell Institute School received a four-year, $3.9 million award.19 Lowell Institute Innovation Incubator (Li3 ) Project The First in the World Program grant, written and directed by Kevin Bell, executive director of Curriculum Development and Deployment in the College of Professional Studies, outlined a novel approach called the Lowell Institute Innovation Incubator (Li3) project. The Innovation Incubator project was designed to test interventions involving gamification, as well as adaptive and experiential learning, 114 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

with the goal of increasing retention and degree completion and lowering the cost of delivery to non-traditional students who have some college experience and want to pursue a bachelor’s degree. The project was designed to pay special attention to the intrinsic motivations of students from underserved communities who are taking online courses.20 The Lowell Institute Innovation Incubator (Li3) project outlined a detailed plan to support instructional innovations in areas related to: self-paced tutorials to refresh knowledge; problem-based courses for authentic learning of new content; creative labs to complement challenging coursework and support student learning; use of adaptive learning technology and other technologies to enhance student learning and reduce time to degree completion; and a network to support successful transition to the Lowell Institute School, including a problem-based transition course, learning communities, study groups, and group projects. In addition the Lowell Institute Innovation Incubator (Li3) project featured enhanced recruitment and admissions; pre-assessment for academic skills, career interests, and motivation; and advising and career planning support.21 The Lowell Institute Innovation Incubator (Li3) project also included plans for the development of a new learning laboratory on Northeastern’s Burlington, MA, campus. The laboratory was unique with respect to having both physical and virtual laboratories to support the enhanced curriculum of the Lowell Institute School.

Looking Ahead Looking ahead to 2015 and beyond, the Lowell Institute School is well positioned to provide its students a pathway to reach their full potential by mastering new and sought-after skills needed to pursue a wide variety of promising, in-demand careers in STEM. In addition to its current programs in Biotechnology, Finance and Accounting, Health Science, Information Technology, Operations Technology, Computer Engineering Technology, Operations Technology, Computer

Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry l 115

Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, and Mechanical Engineering Technology, the Lowell Institute School will develop programming in the STEM-related areas of: Science with Bachelor of Science in Life Science with concentrations in Bioinformatics, Health Science, Environmental/Sustainability Studies, and Forensics.

Technology with Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with concentrations in Software and Media Applications, Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance/Cyber Security, Computer Graphic Design, and Medical Informatics.

Engineering with Bachelor of Science in Engineering with concentrations in Computer (Hardware/Software) Engineering, Environmental (Health) Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering Technology, and Biomedical Engineering.

Mathematics with a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with concentrations in Business Statistics Researcher, Testing and Measures-QC Technician, and Actuarial Science.

Related STEM degree programs with Bachelor of Arts in Education (with a concentration in STEM studies) and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.22 Occasionem Cognosce The Lowell Institute School is where the Lowell family’s commitment to education intersects with the unique strengths of Northeastern University. The Lowell family crest has served as an important symbol throughout the telling of the history of the Lowell Institute School. Perhaps the most salient feature of the crest is the Latin motto, Occasionem Cognosce, which is variously translated as “know your opportunity,” or “avail yourself of the opportunity,” or “seize your opportunity.” The Rev. John Lowell translated it as “catch the opportunity.”

116 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

John Lowell Jr. had a vision for what opportunities could be made available to his fellow citizens, if only they could affordably access educational experiences that would broaden their thinking and skill sets. This vision resulted in the creation of the Lowell Institute. The educational opportunities provided through the Lowell Institute have touched the lives of nearly every citizen of Boston under the careful management of the Lowell family trustees. Each has created new and contemporary ways for students to know, avail themselves of, seize, and catch these opportunities through collaboration with different educational organizations, including Northeastern University.

The story of the Lowell Institute School is both remarkable and unfinished. It is remarkable with respect to how the school has persisted and changed over time in response to the needs of students and industry.

The story is unfinished as the school is embarking on a new chapter as it engages in an innovative path of extending these educational opportunities beyond the field of engineering technology to related STEM industries using innovative, twenty-first-century technologies to empower students to best access these opportunities. The school is indebted to many stakeholders who have supported its efforts with time, talent, and philanthropy. It is to these individuals that this book is dedicated.

Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry l 117

Notes Part I: The Early History up until 1903 Chapter One: The Lowell Family

1. Ferris Greenslet, The Lowells and Their Seven Worlds (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946), 3–4.

2. Delmar R. Lowell, The Historic Genealogy of the Lowells of America, from 1639 to 1899, 2 vols. (Rutland, VT: The Tuttle Company, Printers, 1899), Vol. 1, xxvii–xxxiii.

3. Lowell, Genealogy, xxx.

4. Lowell, Genealogy, xxvii.

5. Lowell, Genealogy, xx.

6. Lowell, Genealogy, xviii–xix.

7. J. Parker, A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry, 1894. Retrieved from http://www.heraldsnet.org/saitou/parker/Jpglossa.htm 8. Lowell, Genealogy, 40.

9. Lowell, Genealogy, xx.

10. Lowell, Genealogy, xxi.

11. Greenslet, The Lowells, 9.

12. Benjamin Labaree, Colonial Massachusetts: A History (Millwood, NY: KTO Press, 1979), 30.

13. Labaree, Colonial Massachusetts.

14. Biographical information about Percival Lowell is based on Greenslet, The Lowells, 3–24, and Lowell, Genealogy, xviii, and 1–3.

15. Greenslet, The Lowells, 16–23.

16. Biographical information about John Lowell of the second American generation is based on Lowell, Genealogy, 7.

17. Biographical information about John Lowell of the third American generation is based on Lowell, Genealogy, 12, and Greenslet, The Lowells, 26.

18. Biographical information about Ebenezer Lowell of the fourth American generation is based on Lowell, Genealogy, 18, with quoted material from Greenslet, The Lowells, 26.

19. Biographical information about Reverend John Lowell, fifth American generation, is based on Lowell, Genealogy, 22–23, and Greenslet, The Lowells, 30.

20. Greenslet, The Lowells, 31–32.

21. Greenslet, The Lowells, 36.

22. Biographical information about Judge John Lowell, of the sixth American generation, is based on Lowell, Genealogy, 34–35, and Greenslet, The Lowells, 45.

23. Greenslet, The Lowells, 53.

24. H. Knight Smith, The History of the Lowell Institute (Norwood, MA: Norwood Press, 1898),14.

25. Lowell, Genealogy, 35; personal letter of Rev. Charles Lowell.

Notes l 119

26. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Memorial Biographies, 1845–1871, 137. Retrieved on May 21, 2015 from https://books.google.com/books/about/ Memorial_Biographies_1845_1871_1860_1862.html?id=Cb1PAQAAIAA J&hl=en your original: (New England Historic Society 2013, 137).

27. Biographical information about Francis Cabot Lowell is based on Lowell, Genealogy, 59.

28. Lowell, Genealogy, 156.

29. Edward Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute. (Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1966), 14.

30. Lowell, Genealogy, 160.

Chapter Two: The Life and Death of John Lowell, Jr.

1. Edward Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute (Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1966), 11.

2. Delmar R. Lowell, The Historic Genealogy of the Lowells of America, from 1639 to 1899, 2 vols. (Rutland, VT: The Tuttle Company, Printers, 1899), 118; and Ferris Greenslet, The Lowells and Their Seven Worlds (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946), 196.

3. Lowell, Genealogy, 118.

4. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 14.

5. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 12, 15; Edward Everett, A Memoir of Mr. John Lowell, Jun. Delivered as the Introduction to the Lectures on His Foundation, in the Odeon (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1839), 28.

6. Greenslet, The Lowells, 198–99.

7. Greenslet, The Lowells, 199.

8. John Lowell, Jr., Will and Testament, 1835.

9. Lowell, John, Jr. 1835, 1941, 1965, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 309, Archives and Special Collections Department, Northeastern University Libraries.

10. Nancy Duarte Koon, “Georgina Margaret Lowell,” 2014. Retrieved from http:// www.geni.com/people/Georgina-Lowell/6000000025526113446#/tab/revision 11. Lowell, John Jr. 1835, 1941,1965, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 309, Archives and Special Collections.

12. Lowell, John Jr. 1835, 1941,1965, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 309, Archives and Special Collections.

13. Information about John Lowell’s itinerary is based on Everett, A Memoir of Mr. John Lowell, Jun., 29; Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 19; and Greenslet, The Lowells, 199.

14. Greenslet, The Lowells, 200; Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 16.

15. Information about John Lowell’s sojourn in Europe is based on Greenslet, The Lowells, 200–201; Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 16–17; and Everett, A Memoir, 26.

16. Everett, A Memoir, 32–33; Weeks, 17.

17. Everett, A Memoir, 34; Weeks, 18–19.

18. Everett, A Memoir, 37–40; Greenslet, The Lowells, 207–208.

120 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

19. Lowell, John Jr. 1835, 1941, 1965, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 309, Archives and Special Collections.

20. Everett, A Memoir, 40.

21. Information about John Lowell’s travels in Egypt is based on Greenslet, The Lowells, 208–09; Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 24–25; and Everett, A Memoir, 40–43.

22. Everett, A Memoir, 42.

23. Greenslet, The Lowells, 210; Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 26.

24. Everett, A Memoir, 44.

25. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 26; Everett, A Memoir, 44.

26. Lowell, John Jr. 1835, 1941, 1965, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 309, Archives and Special Collections.

27. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 27; Everett, A Memoir, 45.

28. Greenslet, The Lowells, 212.

29. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 33–35.

30. Greenslet, The Lowells, 212–13; Everett, A Memoir, 52–58.

31. Greenslet, The Lowells, 214.

32. Everett, A Memoir, 61.

33. Greenslet, The Lowells, 214; Everett, A Memoir, 61.

34. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 36–54).

35. Everett, A Memoir, 3.

36. LIS class of 1910; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 8, Folder 393, Archives and Special Collections.

Chapter Three: Establishment of the Lowell Institute and Early Lectures

1. The Early Days of Lowell Institute and the Beginning of MIT, History, n.d.; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 290, Archives and Special Collections Department, Northeastern University Libraries; H. Knight Smith, The History of the Lowell Institute (Norwood, MA: Norwood Press, 1898), 2.

2. Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 3.

3. Edward Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute (Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1966), 8–9.

4. Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 8–9.

5. Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 10.

6. Biographical information about John Amory Lowell is based on Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 36–38.

7. Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 17.

8. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 36.

9. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 46.

10. Except as noted, information about the arrangements and lecturers for the Institute’s first and second years is based on Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 38, 40-42, 44; Ferris Greenslet, The Lowells and Their Seven Worlds (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946), 233–34; and Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 21–22, 26.

Notes l 121

11. Edward Everett, A Memoir of Mr. John Lowell, Jun. Delivered as the Introduction to the Lectures on His Foundation, in the Odeon (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1839).

12. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 46.

13. Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 26.

14. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 47; Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 19.

15. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 49.

16. Arthur L. Townsend, The Lowell Institute School, unpublished manuscript, 1948.

The Lowell Institute School Records from 1883–2008, 85–88; Archives and Special Collections.

17. William Barton Rogers, Life and Letters of William Barton Rogers (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1896) 256. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/ books?id=FawAAAAAMAAJ&dq=Life+and+Letters+of+William+ Barton+Rogers&source=gbs_navlinks_s 18. Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 72–73.

19. Annual Catalogue, School of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1865–66, 2. Retrieved from https://libraries.mit.edu/archives/mithistory/pdf/first- catalogue. pdf 20. Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 26.

21. Lowell, John Jr. 1835, 1941, 1965; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 309, Archives and Special Collections.

22. Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 42.

23. Michael Shinagel, The Gates Unbarred: A History of University Extension at Harvard, 1910–2009 (Hollis, New Hampshire: Puritan Press, 2009).

24. Townsend, The Lowell Institute School, 87; Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 62; Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 25–27.

25. Townsend, The Lowell Institute School, 87.

26. Townsend, The Lowell Institute School, 87; Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 45.

27. Knight Smith, History of the Lowell Institute, 44.

28. Townsend, The Lowell Institute School, 87; Weeks, The Lowells and Their Institute, 101–144.

29. Townsend, The Lowell Institute School, 88.

30. Townsend, The Lowell Institute School, 88.

Part II: The Lowell Institute School at MIT (1903–73) Chapter Four: The Work of Charles Francis Park (1903–44)

1. Antoinette Frederick, Northeastern University: An Emerging Giant: 1959–1975 (Stoughton, MA: The Alpine Press, 1982), 7.

2. Everett C. Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern University 1898–1960 (Boston, MA: Northeastern University and Cuneo Press, 1961), 7; Frederick, An Emerging Giant, 5.

3. Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 8.

122 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

4. Everett A. Churchill, History of Northeastern University 1806–1927 (Boston, MA: Boston Young Men’s Christian Association, n.d.), 2.

5. Churchill, History of Northeastern 1806–1927, 5.

6. Churchill, History of Northeastern 1806–1927, 5; Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 11–12.

7. Churchill, History of Northeastern 1806–1927, 7; Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 11.

8. L. Smith Rhoads, ed., Tradition and Innovation: Reflections on Northeastern University’s First Century (Boston, MA: Northeastern Publications, 1998), 1.

9. Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 12.

10. Churchill, History of Northeastern 1806–1927, 7.

11. Churchill, History of Northeastern 1806–1927, 8–9; Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 14.

12. Churchill, History of Northeastern 1806–1927, 12–14, 19; Smith Rhoads, Tradition and Innovation, 2; Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 14–30.

13. Churchill, History of Northeastern 1806–1927, 46.

14. Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 53; Frederick, An Emerging Giant, 4.

15. Churchill, History of Northeastern 1806–1927, 14.

16. Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 23.

17. Frederick, An Emerging Giant, 17.

18. Frederick, An Emerging Giant, 155–56.

19. Applications for Admission, 1903; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 262, Archives and Special Collections Department, Northeastern University Libraries.

20. Graduation, 1945; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 337, Archives and Special Collections.

21. Graduation, 1963; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 355, Archives and Special Collections.

22. Provisional Admittance Form, 1949; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 322, Archives and Special Collections.

23. Louis J. Ronsivalli, About One of the Orphans of MIT (Methuen, MA: Mermakk Publications, 2010), 10.

24. Alumni News 1957–99; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

25. Charles F. Park, A History of the Lowell Institute School 1903–1928. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1931).

26. Townsend, A. L., Alumni News, Vol. 1, No. 1, Alumni News 1957–99; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

27. Faculty resumes, n.d. 1983–96; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 278, Archives and Special Collections.

28. Arthur L. Townsend, “The Lowell Institute School: The Remarkable Will of a 37-Year-Old Bostonian Has Had a Profound Influence on New England Adult Education for More Than a Century,” 1951, The Technology Review, 88.

Notes l 123

29. General Electric: Apprentice Graduation, 1952–61; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 286, Archives and Special Collections; Graduation, 1958, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 350, Archives and Special Collections.

30. Graduation, 1963; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 355, Archives and Special Collections.

31. Collection Overview; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 1, Archives and Special Collections.

32. Collection Overview, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 2, Archives and Special Collections.

33. Collection Overview, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 1, Archives and Special Collections.

34. Collection Overview, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 1, Archives and Special Collections.

35. Collection Overview, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), pp. 1–2, Archives and Special Collections; Advisory Council, n.d. 1936, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 1, Archives and Special Collections.

36. Collection Overview, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 1, Archives and Special Collections.

37. Bulletins, 1907–63; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 4, Archives and Special Collections.

38. Graduation, 1972; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 364, Archives and Special Collections.

39. Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

40. Collection Overview; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Archives and Special Collections.

41. Graduation, 1965; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 357, Archives and Special Collections.

42. LI Banner, 1941; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 301, Archives and Special Collections.

43. Lowell Books, 1903; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 8, Folders 396–412, Archives and Special Collections.

44. Lowell Book 1930–31, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 8, Folder 411, Archives and Special Collections.

45. Collection Overview; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 2, Archives and Special Collections.

46. Collection Overview, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 2, Archives and Special Collections.

47. Letter dated April 5, 1966, to Professor Hesselschwerdt from F. Leroy Foster, Graduation, 1966; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 358, Archives and Special Collections.

48. Graduation, 1956; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 348, Archives and Special Collections.

49. Graduation, 1982; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 374, Archives and Special Collections.

124 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

50. Charles Francis Park Memorial Fund, 1944–2000; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folders 5–7, Archives and Special Collections.

51. Collection Overview; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 2, Archives and Special Collections.

52. 1964, 2 of 8; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 44–50, Archives and Special Collections.

53. Committee Assignments, 1961–62; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 9, Archives and Special Collections.

54. Collection Overview, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 2, Archives and Special Collections.

Chapter Five: The Work of Arthur Lawrence Townsend (1944–59)

1. Mark I. Gelfand, Trustee for a City: Ralph Lowell of Boston (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1998), 128.

2. Antoinette Frederick, Northeastern University: An Emerging Giant: 1959–1975 (Stoughton, MA: The Alpine Press, 1982), 15.

3. Speech by J. H. Mains at Graduation, 1962; Graduation, 1962, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 354, Archives and Special Collections Department, Northeastern University Libraries.

4. Alumni News, Vol. 1, No. 11; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

5. Frederick, An Emerging Giant, 16, 23; Alumni News, Vol. 1, No. 1, Alumni News 1957–99; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

6. Graduation 1954 (50th Graduation); Lowell Institute records (A26), Box 7, Folder 346, Archives and Special Collections.

7. Townsend, Arthur Lawrence, n.d., 1938–60; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 329, Archives and Special Collections.

8. Townsend, 1958, Alumni News 1957–99; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

9. National Survey of Technical Institute Education, 1957; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 314, Archives and Special Collections.

10. Townsend, Arthur Lawrence, n.d., 1938–60; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 329, Archives and Special Collections.

11. Foster, F. Leroy, 1959–72; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 283, Archives and Special Collections.

12. Alumni News, Vol. 1, No. 1, Alumni News 1957–99; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

13. Townsend, Alumni News, March 1960, Vol. 1, No. 5, Alumni News 1957–99; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

14. Townsend, Arthur Lawrence, n.d., 1938–60; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 329, Archives and Special Collections.

15. Wedlock, Alumni News, May 1992, Vol. 25, No. 1, Alumni News 1957–99;

Notes l 125

Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

16. Everett C. Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern University 1898–1960 (Boston, MA: Northeastern University and Cuneo Press, 1961), 143.

17. Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 144.

18. Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 43.

19. L. Smith Rhoads, ed., Tradition and Innovation: Reflections on Northeastern University’s First Century (Boston, MA: Northeastern Publications, 1998), 2; Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 44–45.

20. Marston, Origin and Development of Northeastern, 44–45.

21. Bulletins 1996–1998; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 269a, Archives and Special Collections.

Chapter Six: The Work of F. Leroy Foster (1959–73)

1. Future Plans, n.d., 1953, 1964–69, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 284 Archives and Special Collections Department, Northeastern University Libraries.

2. Alumni News, March 1960, Vol. 1, No. V; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

3. Foster, Alumni News, March 1961, Vol. 2, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

4. Lowell Institute School 1903–1967, Future Plans, n.d., 1953, 1964–69; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 284, Archives and Special Collections.

5. Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

6. Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

7. Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

8. Alumni News, October 1969, Vol. 4, No. 5; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

9. Foster, Alumni News, May 1972, Vol. 6, No. 4; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

10. Lowell Cooperative Program, n.d., 1968–72; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 299, Archives and Special Collections.

11. Lowell Cooperative Program, n.d., 1968–72; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 299, Archives and Special Collections.

12. Lowell Cooperative Program, n.d., 1968–72; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 299, Archives and Special Collections.

13. Lowell Cooperative Program, n.d., 1968–72; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 299, Archives and Special Collections.

126 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

14. Alumni News, May 1969, Vol. 4, No. 4; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections; Graduation, 1969; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 361, Archives and Special Collections.

15. Foster, Alumni News, May 1969, Vol. 4, No. 4; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

16. Graduation, 1970; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 362, Archives and Special Collections.

17. Graduation, 1971; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 363, Archives and Special Collections.

18. Graduation, 1972; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 364, Archives and Special Collections.

19. Graduation, 1973; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 365, Archives and Special Collections.

20. Collection Overview; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 2, Archives and Special Collections.

21. Collection Overview; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 2, Archives and Special Collections.

22. Collection Overview; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), page 2, Archives and Special Collections.

23. Foster, Alumni News, Oct. 1972, Vol. 6, No 2; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

24. Foster, F. Leroy, 1959–1972; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 283, Archives and Special Collections.

25. Foster, F. Leroy, 1959–1972; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 283, Archives and Special Collections.

26. L. Smith Rhoads, ed., Tradition and Innovation: Reflections on Northeastern University’s First Century (Boston, MA: Northeastern Publications, 1998), 4–5.

27. Smith Rhoads, Tradition and Innovation, 5.

28. Smith Rhoads, Tradition and Innovation, 5; Antoinette Frederick, Northeastern University: An Emerging Giant: 1959–1975 (Stoughton, MA: The Alpine Press, 1982), 20.

29. Smith Rhoads, Tradition and Innovation, 5.

30. Smith Rhoads, Tradition and Innovation, 5.

31. Past Northeastern Presidents. Retrieved from http://www.northeastern.edu/ president/presidents.html.

32. Frederick, An Emerging Giant, 46–47.

33. Frederick, An Emerging Giant, 104–133.

34. Programs 1951 to 1985, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 305, Archives and Special Collections.

Notes l 127

Part III: The Transfer of the Lowell Institute School to Northeastern University (1973–2015 and Beyond) Chapter Seven: The Work of Bruce D. Wedlock, MIT (1973–96)

1. Antoinette Frederick, Northeastern University: An Emerging Giant: 1959–1975 (Stoughton, MA: The Alpine Press, 1982), x.

2. Karen Feldscher, Northeastern University 1989–1996: The Curry Years, Smaller but Better (Boston: Northeastern University, 2000), 32–33.

3. Feldscher, The Curry Years, xv.

4. Vice President and Senior Counsel for Northeastern University, personal communication with the author.

5. Neal F. Finnegan, “Voices of Northeastern,” http://www.northeastern.edu/voices/ finnegan/ 6. Vice President and Senior Counsel for Northeastern University, personal communication with the author.

7. Vice President and Senior Counsel for Northeastern University, personal communication with the author.

8. Felscher, The Curry Years, 189.

9. Feldscher, The Curry Years, x.

10. Vice President and Senior Counsel for Northeastern University, personal communication with the author.

11. Graduation, 1977; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 369, Archives and Special Collections Department, Northeastern University Libraries.

12. Alumni News, Vol. 13, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

13. Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

14. Wedlock, Bruce D., Alumni News, May 1986, Vol. 20, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

15. TechTalk MIT, June 15, 1966; Graduation, 1966, Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 358, Archives and Special Collections.

16. Wedlock, Bruce D., Alumni News, May 1986, Vol. 20, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

17. Graduation, 1984; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 376, Archives and Special Collections.

18. Graduation, 1976; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 7, Folder 368, Archives and Special Collections.

19. Wedlock, Bruce D., Alumni News, November 1989, Vol. 22, No. 1; May 1993, Vol. 26, No. 19; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

20. Wedlock, Bruce D., Alumni News, May 1988, Vol. 21, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

128 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

21. Alumni News, November 1989, Vol. 22, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

22. Wedlock, Bruce D., Alumni News, May 1994, Vol. 27, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

23. MIT Tech Talk, January 11, 1995.

24. Vice President and Senior Counsel for Northeastern University, personal communication with the author.

25. Wedlock, Bruce D., Alumni News, May 1995, Vol. 28, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

26. Alumni News, 1995, Vol. 28, No. 2; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

27. Vice President and Senior Counsel for Northeastern University, personal communication with the author.

Chapter Eight: The Early Years of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University (1996–2014)

1. Antoinette Frederick, Northeastern University, Coming of Age: The Ryder Years, 1975–1989 (Primary Source Edition, Nabu Press, 2014), 119–21.

2. Agreement, 1. Document signed Sept. 15, 1995, by John A. Curry, President of Northeastern University; John Lowell, Trustee of the Lowell Institute; and Michael A. Baer, Provost of Northeastern University. Provided by Office of the General Counsel, Northeastern University.

3. Agreement 1995, 1.

4. Agreement 1995, 1.

5. Agreement 1995, 2.

6. Wedlock, Bruce D., Alumni News, November 1989, Vol. 22, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections Department, Northeastern University Libraries.

7. Constitution, n.d., 1906–27, 1997; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 20, Archives and Special Collections.

8. Meeting Minutes 1997–2001; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 27, Archives and Special Collections; Correspondence 1996–1998; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 21, Archives and Special Collections.

9. The Tech, Vol. 115, Issue 41: Friday, September 15, 1995.

10. The Tech, Vol. 115, Issue 41: Friday, September 15, 1995.

11. Alumni News, May 1996, Vol. 29, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

Notes l 129

12. Bjorkman, Richard; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 35, Archives and Special Collections.

13. Alumni News, May 1996, Vol. 29, No. 1; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

14. Agreement 1995, 1.

15. Bulletins 1996–98; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 269a, Archives and Special Collections.

16. Correspondence 1996–98; Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 21, Archives and Special Collections.

17. Open letter, Richard Bjorkman; Bjorkman, Richard, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 35, Archives and Special Collections.

18. Open Letter, Richard Bjorkman; Bjorkman, Richard, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 1, Folder 35, Archives and Special Collections.

19. December 4, 1996, LIS at NEU 1996; Lowell Institute School records (A26), Box 6, Folder 307a, Archives and Special Collections.

20. NEU Catalog 2004–2005, Box 16, Folder 1, Series 2: Course Offerings, 2004–2005.

21. LIS@NEU course catalogs, Fall 1997–2002), Archives and Special Collections Department.

22. Series 1: Annual Reports, 1996–2000, Box 15, Folder 1, Archives and Special Collections Department.

23. Alumni News, June 1999, Vol. 30, No. 1; Alumni News 1957–99, Lowell Institute School Alumni Association records (M30), Box 2, Folders 56–57, Archives and Special Collections.

24. An Introduction to Engineering Technology, 4; Box 6, Folder 269a, Bulletins 1996–1998.

25. U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools (Engineering), 1999.

26. Series 1: Annual Reports, 1996–2000, Box 15, Folder 1, Archives and Special Collections Department.

27. Northeastern University, Office of the President, “Northeastern Annual Report: 1996–1997,” 1997. Northeastern Annual Reports. Paper 1. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d10002455 28. Karen Feldscher, Northeastern University 1989–1996: The Curry Years, Smaller but Better (Boston: Northeastern University, 2000), 118.

29. Lowell Institute School Annual Report, 2005–06; Office of Development, Northeastern University.

30. Chris Hopey, Lowell Institute School Annual Report, 2006–07.

31. Chris Hopey, Lowell Institute School Annual Report, 2006–07.

32. Chris Hopey, Lowell Institute School Annual Report, 2006–07.

130 l The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Chapter Nine: Shaping the Future of STEM Education and Industry (2008 to Present and Beyond)

1. http://www.northeastern.edu/president/biography/ 2. Lowell Institute School 2008–2009 Summary of Activities.

3. Lowell Institute School 2008–2009 Summary of Activities.

4. Lowell Institute School 2010–2011 Summary of Activities.

5. Lowell Institute School 2008–2009 Summary of Activities.

6. Lowell Institute School 2010–2011 Summary of Activities.

7. Lowell Institute School 2010–2011 Summary of Activities.

8. Lowell Institute School 2012–2013 Summary of Activities; Lowell Institute School 2013–2014 Summary of Activities.

9. Lowell Institute School 2010–2011 Summary of Activities.

10. Lowell Institute School 2013–2014 Summary of Activities and Progress.

11. Lowell Institute School 2012–2013 Summary of Activities.

12. Lowell Institute School 2012–2013 Summary of Activities.

13. “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math: Education for Global Leadership,” U.S. Department of Education, http://www.ed.gov/stem 14. Lowell Institute School 2012–2013 Summary of Activities.

15. Lowell Institute School 2012–2013 Summary of Activities.

16. Lowell Institute School 2012–2013 Summary of Activities.

17. Lowell Institute School 2012–2013 Summary of Activities.

18. Lowell Institute School 2013–2014 Summary of Activities and Progress.

19. Lowell Institute School 2013–2014 Summary of Activities and Progress.

20. Lowell Institute School 2013–2014 Summary of Activities and Progress.

21. The Lowell Institute Innovation Incubator Li3 grant proposal.

22. Executive Overview, January 2014, 9. Office of Development, Northeastern University.

Notes l 131

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D. “The Lowell Institute School is a new chapter in the Lowell Institute’s distinguished history. In 1836, John Lowell, Jr., endowed the Lowell Institute to fulfill his vision for the future of our Commonwealth: that citizens from all backgrounds could receive an education that would help them improve themselves, their communities, and their nation.

“The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University carries that vision into this new century, giving talented men and women from New England and beyond a unique chance to complete their bachelor’s degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These fast-growing fields are essential to America’s future.”

Dr. John G. LaBrie Dean of the Northeastern University College of Professional Studies Vice President for Professional Education “One of the exciting things about the relaunch of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University, focusing on STEM fields, is that it brings forward a concept that A. Lawrence Lowell had over 100 years ago when he founded the Lowell Institute School at MIT, and adapts it to the modern economy.

What employers are talking about these days is that there are jobs available, but that our workforce isn’t adequately trained to fill those jobs. I think it’s very exciting that the Lowell Institute School can play a role in finding that link and fulfilling the need.”

William A. Lowell, Trustee of the Lowell Institute

ISBN: 978-0-692-50755-1 Cover illustration: iStock Printed in the U.S.A.

Conn & Mangawang

Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D., is associate dean of academic and faculty affairs at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies and also oversees the university’s graduate programs in education, including the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), the Master of Education (M.Ed.), and the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) programs. Dr. Mangawang has an extensive background in higher education, having served in various roles and capacities spanning both student and faculty affairs at colleges and universities.

Prior to arriving at Northeastern, she served as a dean of student affairs at Bowdoin College and then as a resident dean at Harvard University, where she was a scholar in residence teaching courses in the history of art. Most recently, Dr. Mangawang served as an assistant provost for faculty affairs at Boston University, supporting a full-time faculty of over 1,200. At BU she oversaw faculty orientations and the faculty promotion and appointment process, and she also designed an Emerging Leaders program to advance young faculty talent. Dr. Mangawang earned her A.B. from Dartmouth College, her M.Ed. from the University of Vermont, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College.

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D., is an assistant teaching professor in Northeastern’s Doctor of Education program.

Previously, Dr. Conn was an assistant research professor of biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine, a biochemistry lecturer at the Boston University School of Dentistry, and the principal investigator of a Parkinson’s disease research laboratory at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Bedford, Massachusetts. She has professional experience in the fields of biochemistry, neuroscience, and elementary education. Dr. Conn earned her B.S. from the University of Kansas, her Ph.D. from the Boston University School of Medicine, and did postdoctoral training in neuroscience at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Bedford, MA.

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D.

Northeastern University is embarking on a new chapter in the Lowell Institute School’s distinguished history of providing educational opportunities in engineering technology to adult learners of diverse educational backgrounds. This new vision includes expanded training to meet the needs of the critical areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It provides a focus on degree completion for non-traditional students who have some undergraduate experience and want to matriculate to a bachelor’s degree, and it harnesses Northeastern’s long-standing commitment to serving students with comprehensive programming that scaffolds, structuring learning and supporting students from start to finish.

In addition, it leverages Northeastern’s expertise in finding innovative ways to deliver content in face-to-face, online, and hybrid experiences, using adaptive technologies.

We hope that you as our readers will appreciate the well-defined and distinguished legacy of the Lowell Institute and Northeastern University, and will join us in our optimism about the powerful impact that the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University will have on future generations.

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D.

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D. “The Lowell Institute School is a new chapter in the Lowell Institute’s distinguished history. In 1836, John Lowell, Jr., endowed the Lowell Institute to fulfill his vision for the future of our Commonwealth: that citizens from all backgrounds could receive an education that would help them improve themselves, their communities, and their nation.

“The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University carries that vision into this new century, giving talented men and women from New England and beyond a unique chance to complete their bachelor’s degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These fast-growing fields are essential to America’s future.”

Dr. John G. LaBrie Dean of the Northeastern University College of Professional Studies Vice President for Professional Education “One of the exciting things about the relaunch of the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University, focusing on STEM fields, is that it brings forward a concept that A. Lawrence Lowell had over 100 years ago when he founded the Lowell Institute School at MIT, and adapts it to the modern economy.

What employers are talking about these days is that there are jobs available, but that our workforce isn’t adequately trained to fill those jobs. I think it’s very exciting that the Lowell Institute School can play a role in finding that link and fulfilling the need.”

William A. Lowell, Trustee of the Lowell Institute

ISBN: 978-0-692-50755-1 Cover illustration: iStock Printed in the U.S.A.

Conn & Mangawang

Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D., is associate dean of academic and faculty affairs at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies and also oversees the university’s graduate programs in education, including the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), the Master of Education (M.Ed.), and the Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) programs. Dr. Mangawang has an extensive background in higher education, having served in various roles and capacities spanning both student and faculty affairs at colleges and universities.

Prior to arriving at Northeastern, she served as a dean of student affairs at Bowdoin College and then as a resident dean at Harvard University, where she was a scholar in residence teaching courses in the history of art. Most recently, Dr. Mangawang served as an assistant provost for faculty affairs at Boston University, supporting a full-time faculty of over 1,200. At BU she oversaw faculty orientations and the faculty promotion and appointment process, and she also designed an Emerging Leaders program to advance young faculty talent. Dr. Mangawang earned her A.B. from Dartmouth College, her M.Ed. from the University of Vermont, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College.

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D., is an assistant teaching professor in Northeastern’s Doctor of Education program.

Previously, Dr. Conn was an assistant research professor of biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine, a biochemistry lecturer at the Boston University School of Dentistry, and the principal investigator of a Parkinson’s disease research laboratory at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Bedford, Massachusetts. She has professional experience in the fields of biochemistry, neuroscience, and elementary education. Dr. Conn earned her B.S. from the University of Kansas, her Ph.D. from the Boston University School of Medicine, and did postdoctoral training in neuroscience at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Bedford, MA.

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University

The Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D.

Northeastern University is embarking on a new chapter in the Lowell Institute School’s distinguished history of providing educational opportunities in engineering technology to adult learners of diverse educational backgrounds. This new vision includes expanded training to meet the needs of the critical areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It provides a focus on degree completion for non-traditional students who have some undergraduate experience and want to matriculate to a bachelor’s degree, and it harnesses Northeastern’s long-standing commitment to serving students with comprehensive programming that scaffolds, structuring learning and supporting students from start to finish.

In addition, it leverages Northeastern’s expertise in finding innovative ways to deliver content in face-to-face, online, and hybrid experiences, using adaptive technologies.

We hope that you as our readers will appreciate the well-defined and distinguished legacy of the Lowell Institute and Northeastern University, and will join us in our optimism about the powerful impact that the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern University will have on future generations.

Kelly J. Conn, Ph.D. Mya M. Mangawang, Ph.D.