Administrative/Industrial Engineering

Title: Administrative/Industrial Engineering
Description: 'In 1922 a new course was added to the engineering side, leading to the degree Bachelor of Science in Administrative Engineering. It was designed to give training for executive positions in manufacturing industries, engineering, salesmanship and the like.' (Skillman, p. 269)

Administrative Engineering at Lafayette College came about out of the ashes of WWI when the economy 'demonstrated need for college trained men not only as practicing engineers but also as engineer-oriented executives in general management.' There was a demand for these men to be knowledgeable in such fields as economics, finance, and law. This was evident that by the mid 20th century most engineers were employed by private industry and there was a strong desire for these engineers, who eventually earned managerial positions, to be trained to fill those roles (Reynolds, 1991). The proposal to create an administrative engineering major was first introduced at a Lafayette faculty meeting in 1922 and was adopted almost immediately. The goal was to prepare trained engineers for managerial positions. (Phillips and Roberts 2012)
Identifier: MR127
Date: 1922-01-01
Extent: 1972-01-01
Subject: Administrative/Industrial Engineering
Bibliographic Citation: Phillips and Robers, 2012