456 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVII. No. 690 



EXTRACTS FROM A REPORT PRESENTED 

 TO TEE CORPORATION OF THE MASSA- 

 CHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOL- 

 OGY BY ARTHUR A. NOYES, 

 ACTING-PRESIDENT 



FACULTY ORGANIZATION" 



The faculty has during the past year 

 perfected its organization and has made 

 provision for carrying on more effectively 

 its administrative functions by the crea- 

 tion of the office of chairman and by the 

 appointment of new committees on faculty 

 business, on faculty rules, and on the 

 courses of instruction. Our faculty, like 

 that of many other educational institu- 

 tions, has now become so large that it can 

 not properly deal with the details of ad- 

 ministration; but instead of establishing a 

 single administrative board consisting of a 

 small number of its representatives, it has 

 gradually developed the more democratic, 

 and, we believe, the more effective, plan of 

 placing its numerous and varied functions 

 under the charge of about twenty-five 

 standing committees, which are empowered 

 to take final action upon all special and 

 individual cases that arise, and are ex- 

 pected to take the initiative in submitting 

 to the faculty for its approval any impor- 

 tant changes of policy or procedure that 

 seem desirable. I would especially call 

 your attention to the resolution in which 

 the faculty "expresses its appreciation of 

 the desirability of some form of advisory 

 relation between the corporation and the 

 faculty, and its readiness to cooperate with 

 the corporation in the preparation of a 

 plan for, establishing such a relation. ' ' 



DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WORK OP 

 INSTRUCTION 



The curricula of all the strictly engi- 

 neering courses have been modified during 

 the past two years by the omission, wholly 

 or in part, of the second-year work in mod- 

 ern languages; and the time gained has 



been utilized to increase the amount of 

 instruction in English and history, and to 

 give a more thorough drill in fundamental 

 engineering subjects, especially in applied 

 mechanics, structures and steam engineer- 

 ing. It is felt that few engineers make 

 practical use of their knowledge of modern 

 languages, and that the general and scien- 

 tific studies that have been substituted are 

 not only more directly useful, but either 

 have a higher cultural value or provide a 

 better mental training. 



Important progress in the development 

 of our advanced work has been made by 

 greatly extending and systematizing the 

 subjects of instruction offered to candi- 

 dates in fifth-year courses leading to the 

 degree of master of science. Almost every 

 department has announced, and is pre- 

 pared to offer in the next school-year, ad- 

 vanced courses of a somewhat more special- 

 ized character than can be given to under- 

 graduate students. Thus in civil engi- 

 neering, further work in the design of 

 structures (particularly those of reenforeed 

 concrete), of railroads and of hydraulic 

 works, is offered; in mechanical engineer- 

 ing, further study of turbine and gas en- 

 gines and of machine design is provided 

 for; in architecture, advanced courses in 

 the various branches of architectural de- 

 sign are announced; and similarly in all 

 other departments advanced work has been 

 arranged for. The broad significance of 

 this form of development and its bearing 

 on the character of our undergraduate 

 courses I shall speak of later. 



A special inducement to pursue such ad- 

 vanced work has been offered to graduates 

 from other colleges by a recent vote of the 

 faculty, which permits them to enter at 

 once upon a course leading to the degree 

 of master of science without previously 

 taking our bachelor's degree. This course 

 will, in general, extend over a period of 

 two or three years, varying according to 



