麻豆村

In the summer of 1943, the Carnegie Institute of Technology(opens in new window), precursor to 麻豆村, transformed its grounds into a training school for the U. S. Army as America ramped up its engagement in World War II.聽

Robert E. Doherty(opens in new window), president of Carnegie Tech from 1936-1950, charted a course during the war that would shape the trajectory of the university for decades to come.聽聽

Doherty began his tenure in the midst of the Great Depression. He is remembered for implementing The Carnegie Plan, an approach to education that provided engineers with a broader skill set 鈥� adding humanities and social science courses to their technical curriculum. This became the forerunner to 麻豆村鈥檚 modern interdisciplinary approach.聽

Stored in the , the papers and correspondence between Doherty, various members of the administration and officials with the Department of War highlight the president鈥檚 early awareness of and commitment to the institution鈥檚 role in aiding the war effort.

In a letter dated Dec. 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan, Doherty wrote to CIT administration: 鈥淭he policy enunciated months ago by President Roosevelt was that educational institutions could make their contributions to the defense effort with the minimum disruption of normal, educational work 鈥� C.I.T. is making its contribution, and this has placed on the staff a heavy burden 鈥� Conceivably, of course, the government may find it necessary to modify its present policy. If so, Tech will naturally respond to the utmost in doing its part in the defense of our country.鈥�

The need for engineers, paramount to the war effort, drove the U.S. Army to seek collaboration from educational institutions.聽

On Dec. 21, 1941, Doherty sent a letter to the undergraduates of the university, and their parents, urging calm while outlining expedited changes to the university鈥檚 curriculum.聽

鈥淭his is largely a war of machines, and therefore of industrial production. However, there are not enough engineers and scientists now available to do the technical and scientific work that must be done,鈥� Doherty wrote.

He presented a plan during a faculty meeting on Dec. 22 asking for authorization to institute changes in the educational programming of the university to align with the government鈥檚 national war effort, a resolution he would submit to the Board of Trustees.聽That call quickly followed, as the U.S. Office of Education, at the close of 1941, requested colleges across the country, including CIT, to submit plans for increasing their output of students in engineering, mathematics and management.

Jeffrey Williams(opens in new window) is presently a professor of English and of literary and cultural studies at 麻豆村. He researches contemporary higher education.聽

鈥淒uring war, it鈥檚 not infrequent 鈥� especially during World War I and II, that suddenly universities are basically conscripted as training,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淵et once the war is over, those ties between the government and universities remain. The government became conjoined with universities.鈥�

The Army Specialized Training Program

On Dec. 12, 1942, a War Department directive announced the formation of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP).

In an open letter to soldiers under consideration for the program, Col. Herman Beukema, the director of the ASTP, outlined the goals of the program:聽

鈥淚n 1775, raw courage, a musket, and the ability to use it were considered enough to qualify a man as a defender of his country. Today鈥檚 soldier needs everything that Washington鈥檚 veterans of Yorktown could boast 鈥� plus vastly more training and equipment. Rapid advance in the mechanization of armies has multiplied the demands made on our modern soldier and the standards established for him 鈥� Two out of every three men in uniform today are specialists in one field or another. In many lines there have been serious shortages. The Army Specialized Training Program is designed to fill this gap.鈥澛�

Beukema, who was based in Washington, D.C., asked Doherty to join leaders in higher education on an ASTP Advisory Committee. The committee included the presidents of Johns Hopkins University, Penn State University, Stanford University and the University of Florida, among others.

Early meetings of the committee outlined the goals of the ASTP, and began to outline curricula that could be used. A letter dated Feb. 10, 1943, thanked Doherty for his review of ASTP engineering curricula.聽

In addition to classroom education, the ASTP outlined the types and duration of physical training the soldier-students would receive as well. Three, two-hour training sessions were added to the schedule each week. Testing was used to screen-out those who weren鈥檛 qualified to remain in the program.聽

In a letter dated April 6, 1943, Doherty addressed the CIT faculty. Despite delays, the university expected 900 to 1,000 Army students to arrive on campus by June that summer. He asked the faculty to refrain from making commitments that would prevent them from aiding the program, once students arrived. On April 17, Doherty鈥檚 office began circulating ASTP curricula to the heads of the departments of Engineering and Humanistic and Social Studies.聽

As more ASTP students arrived at the university, Doherty acknowledged that CIT needed to do more than educate. The university had a role in ASTP student morale.聽

鈥淚t is clear that, apart from the educational and appraisal job, we shall have a task of interpretation and assurance. In other words, it is probable that a good many of the students will not be in a very good frame of mind 鈥� 鈥� Doherty wrote to a Director Jones on June 14, 1943.聽

Parking 鈥� a timeless problem

Change came to campus both large and small. On July 8, 1943, Doherty wrote a quick note to Col. George Fairley, director of the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety, thanking him for his quick help on a parking matter.聽

鈥淚 appreciate very much the action you have taken in authorizing the posting of signs indicating 鈥淣O PARKING AT ANY TIME鈥� and 鈥淪LOW 鈥� MILITARY ZONE鈥� on Margaret Morrison Street, Frew Street and Tech Street,鈥� Doherty wrote. 鈥淭he erection of these signs will definitely decrease the possibility of accidents to our Army trainees.鈥�

On July 22, 1943, the Army announced an expansion of the ASTP, adding 40 colleges to make a total of 190 institutions partaking in the effort. Nationwide, 60,000 soldiers were presently in the program, and another 20,000 were set to begin ASTP in the fall. Come October, Beukema wrote to Doherty that by December, the total trained would number 150,000. In a letter dated Nov. 2, 1943, Doherty acknowledged that CIT鈥檚 program had grown. It now had around 1,200 ASTP students.聽

In the Nov. 17, 1943, edition of the New York Times, a brief was published with the headline 鈥淐arnegie Institute Trains Army Group.鈥� The blurb followed a press visit of the ASTP operation at CIT that hosted multiple news organizations. It read: 鈥淭he work load of the trainee includes fifty-nine hours of supervised activity a week, including at least twenty-four hours in class rooms and laboratories, and twenty-four hours required study, five hours of military, and six hours of physical instruction.鈥�

Who tells your story

In 1943, stories about the press junket tour of CIT鈥檚 ASTP program 鈥� a coordinated public-relations effort 鈥� had published across the nation, including in Pittsburgh. When mailed a copy of an article about the program, Doherty responded thoughtfully to Pittsburgh resident Oliver Keller, who had sent it, arguing that ASTP was of great service to the public.

鈥淭oo many people believe that the boys who are taking the Program are in a shelter from active service. The statement has been made by A.S.T.P. headquarters that in this mechanized warfare two out of every three soldiers must be specialists. A.S.T.P. is training them 鈥� at least that part of them who must handle many difficult technical tasks,鈥� Doherty wrote on Nov. 26, 1943.聽

The efforts to publicize and promote Carnegie Tech鈥檚 involvement in the war effort were spearheaded by Max Hannum, manager of CIT鈥檚 Bureau of News and Publications. He was briefed by the War Department on early press releases announcing the partnership, helped organize the media tours and published stories about the ASTP in Carnegie Magazine.聽

Hannum鈥檚 writing provides a greater insight to who the ASTP student soldiers were, where they came from, and how they were acclimating to CIT campus. His ASTP shorts detailed an abundance of the surnames 鈥淪mith,鈥� 鈥淛ones,鈥� 鈥淏rown鈥� and 鈥淛ohnson鈥� among the cadre. He called out two sets of twins from Ohio and Connecticut. Hannum noted that students in the program were born in places like Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Argentina, Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Romania, Yugoslavia, Spain, Sweden, Hungary and Germany. He noted their religious preferences included Christians, Catholics, Protestants, Hebrews 鈥� and one avowed atheist.聽

In one quirky letter, he writes to the Department of War鈥檚 own press office asking for guidance on publicizing the ATSP.聽

鈥淛ust yesterday we had a good little harmless story here that one of the newspapers was wild to get. In smoggy Pittsburgh it was the smoggiest day of the year,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淪ome of the AST boys donned their gas masks and marched through the smog to their classes.鈥�

Most of the program participants were aged 19 or 20, and Hannum detailed that a number had become fathers since being assigned to Carnegie Tech.聽

鈥淪oldiers serve on the Carnegie Tech student governing body 鈥� the Army Civilian Activities Council 鈥� which has supplanted the Student Council for the duration of the war. Army students play in the Kiltie Band, and trainees are helping to staff the various student publications,鈥� Hannum wrote.聽

The end of the war, and the ASTP

News of the potential end of the ASTP was reported in the Times-Herald of Washington, D.C. on Dec. 12, 1943, claiming the program would be gradually liquidated, though not for lack of its supporters' efforts.聽

鈥淲ar Department reports have it that the conflict between opponents and supporters of ASTP a few weeks ago almost passed from the stage of argument into the stage of fisticuffs,鈥� the article stated.聽

The chief of staff of the U.S. Army sent a confidential War Department memo dated Feb. 24, 1944, to the presidents of ASTP universities. It cited serious personnel shortages across the Army as the reason that the ASTP was being reduced from 145,000 to 35,000 members.聽

Others at the time felt the program had significantly aided the war effort. After the end of hostilities, Doherty received a letter thanking him for his service from Robert P. Patterson, who served as the U.S. secretary of war from 1945-47. It read:

鈥淚n size and scope, the Army Specialized Training Program has been an unprecedented enterprise in higher education in America. I know of no other single program which required the cooperation of 227 different colleges and universities and which at its peak had an enrollment of 125,000 men. It would have been unreasonable to have expected that such a program could have been undertaken without difficulties. That these difficulties were overcome and that the program accomplished its purpose beyond any reasonable expectation is indeed an achievement of which the country can be proud.鈥�

The letter closed, 鈥淵our significant contribution to this achievement should be a source of great satisfaction to you.鈥澛�

Doherty retired from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1950, and suffered a fatal heart attack later that year. Doherty Hall on 麻豆村鈥檚 Pittsburgh campus is named in his honor.聽