THE CIVIL ENGINEER'S POINT OF VIEW
By Walter Jones Laird, '09, C.E., of Wilmington, Del.
I have been asked to make a few remarks, from the standpoint of a
Civil Engineer, regarding the feasibility of forming an Engineering Alumni
Council.
To my mind such a Council is a very necessary adjunct to the fullest
development of the Engineering courses and for general helpfulness in many
other apparent ways.
I am sure we all feel the necessity for keeping the Engineering courses
abreast of the times, just as the Engineering profession in general must
continue to progress. We cannot be in the position of the old mountaineer
and his bride from one of the neighboring mountains, who came to Charlottesville
during my college days and proceeded to take a trolley ride from the
lowe end of town to the University. As the car became crowded the conductor
came in and asked the passengers, in a rather harsh manner, to move
along. The mountaineer got up indignantly and said to the conductor:
"I've done paid my ten cents and Mame is going to sit where she damn are."
We cannot sit where we are even though some of us Alumni are inclined to
think that the Engineering courses and methods of our college days are
sufficiently good for any of the younger men entering college. We too must
"move along" and realize that just as the last few decades have seen the
ferryboat of one-man power, on certain of our rivers, replaced by beautiful
spans of steel and masonry, and have seen the mule and winch of other days
replaced by the Corliss engine or the Turbo Generator, representing engineering
skill of to-day, so technical education must advance and we must
help where possible to provide the men who are going out into the Engineering
world from our colleges with the best that can be given them in a well
balanced, practical, and theoretical Engineering course.
This is being accomplished in great measure by our Faculty at Virginia,
but their efforts could undoubtedly be facilitated by proper coöperation from
the Engineering Alumni.
There is certainly no reason why an Engineering Council is not practical,
if we do not attempt to carry its functions too far. The members
could either be appointed by the Dean of the Engineering Department or
elected from time to time by the Alumni by means of the letter ballot, or the
Council brought into being in some other approved way. In order to command
more diversity of talent and advice, and also not place a too permanent
burden on any one group of Engineering Alumni, it would seem wise to
have the term of Council members limited to about three years for each
individual and to have terms rotate so there would be a majority of older
incumbents in office all the time.
This Council would place on certain Alumni the definite duty of keeping
in touch with the curriculum of their Alma Mater and of suggesting from
time to time changes or additions that appear important when viewed from
the standpoint of an engineer who has observed everyday practice and usage
in his particular locality.
It would be of value in helping establish a series of Alumni lectures on
practical engineering subjects and it would help maintain a proper balance
between the practical and theoretical sides of the Engineering courses. For
example: Many engineers have advocated greater shop facilities and very
much more extensive shop and field training than is now given in many
colleges, including the University of Virginia. It is undoubtedly advantageous
for an engineer, upon leaving college, to have a sufficiently practical
knowledge of some phase of engineering work to enable him to make a decent
living from the outset. If, for instance, a man has obtained in college or
during summer vacations a thorough knowledge of transit work, he may at
once after leaving the University be self-supporting; whereas, he might
otherwise lose some time in getting on his feet, and in some instances might
be discouraged to the point of going into some other line of work.
Personally, I think a very limited course in the fundamentals of shop
and field work is sufficient in most cases and allows of additional time being
given to important correlated studies which are of great value to the
average engineer in everyday practice, and are very much harder to obtain
out of college than is additional practical experience. Some years ago,
courses in Economics, Contract Law, etc., were considered unnecessary to
the average engineer, but now we find many of our engineers requiring a
knowledge of these subjects as much as of some of the straight Engineering
studies, hence the need of including such subjects in a complete Engineering
course.
This leads an Engineering Faculty to the problem of arranging, where
possible, for auxiliary courses in practical shop and field work between
college sessions, rather than to take an undue number of hours out of the
important college sessions to devote to the purely practical sides of the
student's work. Such coöperative courses are in successful operation at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cincinnati, etc.
An Engineering Council could undoubtedly offer some valuable suggestions
in a case of this kind.
A further important feature of the Engineering Council from another
side would be to keep all of our Engineering Alumni alive to and keenly
interested in the activities of their Department in college. Too many of us
are inclined to forget what our own college is doing and when an opportunity
comes from time to time to advise some student what college to enter, and
to explain the advantages of our college training, we are not in a good position
to do so; nor are we apt to be as interested in helping to place Alumni
who leave the University. The mere fact of having an Engineering Alumni
Council working among us would tend to stimulate continued interest in the
University and its Engineering Department. Therefore, I hope such a
Council can be brought into existence in the near future.
