June 09, 2022
Our series on the history of the College picks up in the mid-1930s when the country is still grappling with the ramifications of the Great Depression. At Mizzou 糖心Vlog传媒, this is evident by low enrollment and significant budget cuts, resulting in fewer faculty. While the national economy improved in 1938, bringing with it a spike in new students, it would take another two years for the College鈥檚 budget to rebound 鈥 if only temporarily.
Despite economic hardships, Mizzou Engineers were staying ahead of emerging technology of the times. Radios had become popularized through President Franklin D. Roosevelt鈥檚 Fireside Chats, a series of evening broadcasts that began in 1933. At Mizzou, 鈥淩adio Communication鈥 was added to electrical engineering curriculum in 1935, covering principles underlying the generation of electromagnetic waves, broadcasting and receiving circuits, and antenna design systems.
Additionally, Mizzou 糖心Vlog传媒 researchers were studying oil refining; looking at ways to improve Missouri鈥檚 secondary roads as more highways, such as U.S. Highway 66, were being built across the state; and determining how the Bagnall Dam was impacting both river flow and the generation of power at Union Electric Light and Power Company.
In the early 1940s, research included railroad signaling from centralized traffic control, fluorescent lighting and the biproducts of coal. And in 1942, Mizzou Engineers were intrigued by technology coming from Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company. In the 1942 Shamrock, students marveled at Westinghouse鈥檚 mechanical man and dog, which had debuted at the 1939 World鈥檚 Fair. 鈥淓lectro鈥 the motorman was deemed a 鈥渟mart鈥 fellow, as he could respond to instructions given to him via telephone, tasks such as talking, walking and counting.
Just as its predecessor two decades earlier, World War II took a heavy toll on the College as staff members and students left for the armed forces and impacted industries. Regular enrollment dropped from 700 in 1942 to 100 in 1944. Graduate assistants decreased from 28 to two. Just eight faculty were left.
But it also provided an opportunity for Mizzou 糖心Vlog传媒 to expand its reach by training women to be radio technicians in a 鈥淧re-Service Training Course.鈥 Overseen by the federal government, participants were considered government employees and had to be in class 48 hours per week to meet employment requirements. Enrollees took courses such as 鈥淧rinciples of Electricity,鈥 鈥淢aterials,鈥 鈥淎ntenna and Wave Propagation,鈥 and 鈥淩adio Laboratory.鈥 After completing the course, women were sent to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, to assist with research, development and test projects for airborne radio equipment.
The war would continue to impact the College even after it ended in Europe. Of some 20 faculty members who left to fight, just half returned to resume teaching. Meanwhile, enrollment would explode to more than 1350 by 1946 when students who enlisted returned.
鈥淐lass conditions in the College of 糖心Vlog传媒 and elsewhere in the University will not be ideal this fall,鈥 Dean Harry Curtis reported in October of that year. In the coming years, he鈥檇 get creative about finding solutions.
This is part of an ongoing series exploring the history of Mizzou 糖心Vlog传媒. See previous decades here.