Milwaukee School of Engineering

Milwaukee School of Engineering was founded in 1903 by Oscar Werwath and initially called the School of Engineering. Werwath's goal was to meet the needs of the workforce for the growing engineering field.[4] Werwath was the first person to plan an American educational institution based on an applications-oriented curriculum.[5] The first classes began in the fall of 1903 at Rheude's Business College. By fall, 1905, the enrollment reached almost 100, exceeding the capacity of the business college. The school was subsequently moved to a new building with help from Werwath's colleague, Louis Allis. In spring, 1906, the school graduated its first class, enrolling about 200 students that fall.[4]

In 1911, the school relocated to the Stroh building, just south of downtown Milwaukee. That same year the School of Engineering offered its first degree in electrical engineering. During this time Werwath recruited school sponsors from companies around Milwaukee, including Allen Bradley. This resulted in a cooperative program where students could be employed at local businesses to help pay for their tuition. In 1912 the school initiated its first student publication, electroforce, and in 1913, the school gained its first fraternity, Phi Delta Omega. In 1912 Wisconsin provided official recognition to the School of Engineering, granting its programs a state license in both vocational training and engineering education. On March 17, 1917, it received an official charter to grant the Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. This day is now celebrated every year on campus with school-sponsored and student-led events. The school also approved the first units of Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and Student Army Training Corps (SATC).[4]

By 1920, the school consisted of four specific programs focused around electricity. Werwath developed a new curriculum "to equip the student in college-level engineering standards needed for the degree award combined with parallel hands-on training."[4] At the same time the academic calendar called the "quarter system" was implemented. This allowed for students to graduate with collegiate engineering degrees in 3 years, or 4 if they chose not to take the summer quarter. In the summer of 1919, 52 Bachelor's degree graduates as well as 11 faculty were offered admission to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.[4] Enrollment surpassed 1,200 in 1928, the school's 25th anniversary.[4]

During the Great Depression when enrollment dropped, the school created a student financial fund for disadvantaged students. By 1933 enrollment had recovered to previous levels. On July 13, 1932, the School of Engineering was restructured through a charter revision and renamed "Milwaukee School of Engineering". This allowed the formation of the Board of Regents, a group of industrial and community leaders to oversee management of the school. One of the first major actions of the board was to purchase the German-English Academy building. In 1935 the board established the Industrial Research Institute, where students and faculty could partner with nearby industries for work.[4]

MSOE received the official seal of approval from the Society for the Promotion of Engineering in 1943, as part of recognition for educational achievements. The following year, MSOE also became a charter member of the National Council of Technical Schools. For the first time, the university started accepting females into its program in order to replace males who were drafted into World War II. Following the end of the war enrollment swelled in 1946 and 1947 due to the GI Bill of Rights allowing returning service personnel to pursue a college education. By 1947 over 90% of the students were veterans. On March 20, 1948 Oscar Werwath died and his sons, Karl Werwath and Heinz Werwath became president and treasurer, respectively.[4] Milwaukee School of Engineering has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,675, with a gender distribution of 74 percent male students and 26 percent female students.

Obtaining full institutional accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (NCA) began in 1950, and approval of accreditation was granted in 1971. By the time of the school's 50th anniversary in 1953, enrollment reached 2,300 students from 48 states and 30 foreign countries. With the beginning of the Space Race as well as emphasis on technological education, many classes at MSOE upgraded their technology and their programs. The school partnered with WISN-TV and WISN (AM) to create programming centered around science and promoting their school.[4]

MSOE's logo was designed by industrial engineer Brooks Stevens's firm for the school's 1978 diamond jubilee.[6]

The curricula at MSOE are centered on engineering, business, mathematics, nursing, and cardiovascular perfusion. MSOE's primary focus is on undergraduate education, where it has 8 academic departments and offers 16 undergraduate majors. MSOE mainly offers ABET-accredited bachelor of science degree to undergraduate students, as well as a Bachelor of Science in user experience. MSOE also has 9 post-graduate master's programs. As of 2019, MSOE had 157 full-time faculty members, 82% of whom hold a doctoral degree.[7] Professors teach all courses; teaching assistants are not used. The student to faculty ratio is 15:1.[2]

Academic programs

Fred Loock Engineering Center

MSOE has full-time Bachelor of Science programs in engineering, including two-year transfer programs. It also confers master's degrees. In 2016, MSOE had a four-year graduation rate of 44%.[8]

MSOE's campus, which occupies 22 acres (0.089 km²) in the East Town neighborhood of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is spread over several blocks. MSOE has one of the smallest campuses in Wisconsin; only the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) has a smaller campus (2 acres (0.0081 km²)).[24]

The buildings on campus vary with age, with most being built in the mid-20th century. The oldest building on campus is the Alumni Partnership Center (formerly the Valentin Blatz Brewing Company Office Building), built in 1890[25] and the newest being Diercks Hall, completed in 2019.[26] Several of the buildings on campus use the iconic Cream City brick, which is used in many other buildings in Milwaukee.

Academic facilities

Walter Schroeder Library

Allen Bradley Hall of Science was acquired and renovated in 1958, formerly a parking garage. Allen-Bradley provided much of the funding and equipment for the building and was thus obtained the naming rights. It houses electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, and mechanical engineering, as well as the physics and chemistry departments. The Fred Loock Engineering Center was opened in 1967, and was designed by Fitzhugh Scott. It is an extension of the Allen Bradley Hall of Science. The building houses several laboratories and classrooms for use of many engineering departments.[25]

The major library on campus is the Walter Schroeder Library. Dedicated in 1980 by Gerald Ford, the library is named after Wisconsin magnate Walter Schroeder[25] and has the mathematics as well as the electrical engineering and computer science faculty offices.

Most of the administration buildings are located in Student Life and Campus Center, which was acquired from Blatz Brewery in 1987. The department of civil and architectural engineering and construction management (CAECM) have their faculty offices here as well. Recently added was the Ruehlow Nursing Complex, a multimillion-dollar upgrade for the School of Nursing. Many student resources such as the bookstore, a marketplace, and the student union called the "Great Room" are also here.[25]

Rosenberg Hall, home to MSOE's Rader School of Business, was dedicated in 2003. Funds for the project were provided by alumnus Kenneth Rosenberg and his wife Doris. The hall contains classrooms, labs and faculty offices and the Milwaukee U.S. Export Assistance Center.

In 2006, MSOE acquired the former Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and renovated it for use as The Grohmann Museum to house the Man at Work: The Eckhart G. Grohmann Collection, classrooms, and faculty offices for the humanities and psychology departments.[27]

Construction of the Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall began in early 2018.[28][29] The building opened in September 2019.[30]

Athletic facilities

Kern Center Ice Arena

In 2004, MSOE's 210,000-square-foot (20,000 m²) Kern Center was completed, adding a hockey arena, basketball arena, fitness center, running track, and field house to its campus. MSOE's Kern Center houses many of the sports teams' facilities, as well as offering recreational areas for students, faculty and alumni. It also has classrooms, and houses the physical and mental wellness centers.

In 2013, MSOE completed construction on a new athletic field and parking complex called Pamela and Hermann Viets Field. The athletic field was built on top of an in-ground parking facility immediately north of the Kern Center.[31]

MSOE's 21 athletic teams compete in NCAA Division III. MSOE competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) for most sports, including seven women's sports.[32] Men's ice hockey competes in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA), men's lacrosse in the Midwest Lacrosse Conference (MLC), men's volleyball in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL), and wrestling in the Northern Wrestling Association (NWA). Men's rowing is not sponsored by the NCAA, so MSOE competes against all collegiate teams. MSOE also has club and intramural sports.[33]

The school colors are red and white, and the mascot is a raider named "Roscoe".[25]

• James I. Finley (1968, EE), Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology.
• Carl Kiekhaefer (c. 1925, no degree), former owner of Mercury Marine, NASCAR team owner.
• Joseph J. Rencis (1980, Architectural and Building Construction Engineering Technology (ABCET)), ASME Fellow.[34][35]
• Harout O. Sanasarian (1961, no degree) Wisconsin State Assemblyman
• Larry A. Schotz (1973, EET), inventor of the digital tuning radio and the car radio adapter for CD players, and founder of LS Research.[36]
• Norman Sussman, Wisconsin State Senator

• Association of Independent Technological Universities

• Official website