PacificUniversity
of the 

The Felix A. Wallace Structural Engineering Laboratory
Robert and Bette Collet Benefactors

School of Engineering and Computer Science

Dr. Felix Wallace
Ph.D., Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1952
M.S. & B.S., Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn

Dr. Wallace left Pacific on February 1, 1957 to become Professor and Administrative Assistant to the Dean at Cooper Union in New York City, see news of his departure.

He designed Pacific Memorial Stadium, which was built in 1950

1947- 1957, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Engineering at the College of the Pacific (later chair of the Department of Civil Engineering in the newly established School of Engineering)

During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy as Officer-in-Charge, and Public Works and Engineering Officer in Panama and Stockton, CA, which is how he made contact with Pacific

14 years with the New York City Transit System, designed and supervised the construction of transportation lines

Construction week 1

Nov.  6 – 10

Preconstruction meeting, Wednesday, November 8, 2006 at 11:00 am
Building of partition wall (dust barrier)  and beginning of demolition of existing floor phase (click here for pictures)

Construction week 2

Nov. 13 – 17

Floor demolition begins (click here for pictures)

Construction week 3

Nov. 20 – 24

Floor based poured and door opening cut (click here for pictures)

Construction week 4

Nov. 27 –  Dec. 1

No activity

Construction week 3

Dec. 4 – 8

Install a perimeter plate to get a flat surface for the strong floor

Construction week 3

Dec. 11 – 15

Beginning of the construction of the Canopy, footings

    

Welcome to the Felix A. Wallace Structures Laboratory web site; the primary purpose of this web page is to provide background information about the lab and to present the progress made in its construction.

  The Early days of Engineering at Pacific

Based on information about engineering at Pacific available in the University Archives, the following brief history is presented as a tribute to the long tradition of outstanding engineers produced by the University of the Pacific.

 

Engineering activities began in 1924 as a concentration within the College of the Pacific when the Institution was moved from the Bay Area to Stockton. The information about the engineering program is limited, but the records show a strong program in the early days of Pacific in Stockton, producing many truly outstanding graduates known internationally for their professional contributions.  Included in this group are Ted Baun, Carlos Woods, Eugene Root, and Walter Fellers.

 

In a letter dated April 18, 1933, Professor C. W. Gulick, Head of the Department of Engineering writes to Professor C.E. Corbin Chair of the Division of Mathematics and Engineering. The purpose of the letter was to demonstrate that the teaching load for the Departments of Engineering and Physics in academic year 1933-1934 could be carried by the two instructors in these departments, namely Professor Gulick, engineering and Professor Harness, physics. To prove the feasibility of this arrangement, Professor Gulick submits the schedule of classes for engineering students to follow. In the schedule, Professor Gulick, covers only engineering courses and Professor Harness is responsible for both physics and engineering courses. It is also noted by Professor Gulick that they are experiencing “small registration” in the department, which resulted in a limited number of course offerings compared to the listings in the catalog.

 

Engineering was suspended during World War II; there are two reasons given in two different references: in “Pioneer or Perish” A History of the University of the Pacific during the Administration of Dr. Robert E. Burns 1946-1971, by Kara Pratt Brewer, it is noted that “offerings in engineering had to be discontinued during the war because of shortages in staff, students and materials”;  in the 1948-1949 Catalog, the reason is that engineering was “suspended temporarily during World War II in order to accommodate the expanded Navy V-12 program”, for which the Institution was honored in 1947 by the Navy Department with “the coveted plaque of distinguished service”.

 

  History of the School of Engineering

In 1957, the engineering program moved from the College of the Pacific.  Under the leadership of Dean Diefendorf, it became the University’s School of Engineering offering a Bachelor of Science degree in civil and electrical engineering and engineering management.

 

In 1962, Henderson McGee, a graduate of 1927 and classmate of Ted Baun, was appointed Dean serving through 1968.  Prior to coming to Pacific, Henderson’s professional career was with the Corps of Engineers where he was the lead engineer of many projects.  He also was very active in the American Society of Civil Engineers serving as Director for the west coast Zone IV. 

During the period when the school was establishing itself in the Central Valley, Professor of Civil Engineering, Gordon “Vern” Harrison played several key roles.  Vern came to Pacific to further develop the civil engineering program and is remembered by his students as a “tough but gentle” teacher.  He served as Interim Dean during the academic year 1968-69 and led the search for a new dean.

 

In the fall of 1969, Dr. Robert L. Heyborne, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Utah State University, was selected Dean of Engineering.  Under Bob’s leadership the civil and electrical engineering programs were accredited in the fall of 1971 by the Engineering Council of Professional Development (ECPD), now called the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).  That same year the school adopted a mandatory cooperative education as a requirement for graduation and is today the only school west of the Mississippi River to have a mandatory co-op program. The chair of the accreditation team in 1994 coined the co-op program, “the crown jewel of the curriculum.” The school has not only maintained its accreditation in civil and electrical engineering but has subsequently received accreditation in its computer and mechanical engineering programs and the engineering physics program. Upon Bob’s retirement, Associate Dean Bob Hamerick served as Interim Dean for the academic year 1990-91.

 

Ashland O. Brown PhD, Dean and Professor of Mechanical Technology at South Carolina State University was selected to be the sixth Dean at UOP.  Under Dean Brown’s leadership the school developed an endowment approaching $1 million, formed an Industrial Advisory Council of corporate executives and alumni to advise the faculty, saw research grants and awards approach $1 million, saw the expansion of the Pacific MESA Center, and developed articulation agreements with over 48 community colleges in California. Under Dean Brown, the School of Engineering defined both a new Vision and Mission Statement.  The Vision Statement outlines the integration of a strong innovative technical program with a liberal education component through close student-faculty interactions and undergraduate research.

 

Dr. Ravi Jain was appointed Dean in 2000.  Dean Jain came to Pacific from the University of Cincinnati where he had been the Dean for Research and International Engineering and Executive Director of Interdisciplinary Research Centers, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Director of the Environmental Management Graduate Program.

 

School of Engineering & Computer Science Milestones

·        1924          Engineering instruction at the College of the Pacific began.

·        1928          First Engineering graduates, total of four.

·        1950          100th engineering graduate.

·        1957          School of Engineering formed.

·        1968          First female engineering graduate, Cheryl Woodward.

·        1970          Began mandatory co-op program.

·        1971          Civil and Electrical Engineering ECPD accredited.

·        1977          Civil and Electrical Engineering ABET reaccredited.

·        1978          Computer Engineering program began.

·        1980          500th Engineering graduate.

·        1981          Engineering Physics program began.

·        1982          Computer Engineering ABET reaccredited.

·        1982          Mechanical Engineering program began.

·        1985          Mechanical and Engineering Physics ABET accredited.

·        1986          1000th Engineering graduate

·        1988          All five engineering programs ABET reaccredited

·        1988          School of Engineering granted Tau Beta Pi chapter.

·        1989          MESA program begins.

·        1989          Minor in International Engineering is approved.

·        1990          1500th Engineering graduate.

CS is accredited by ABET

·        1991          Formation of the Industrial Advisory Council. 

·        1994          All five Engineering programs ABET reaccredited.

·        1996          Engineering Industry Fellowship begins.

·        1997          40th Anniversary of the School of Engineering.

·        1998          Minor in Technology is implemented. 

·        2000          B.S. in Bioengineering is approved. 

·        2002          Computer Science is merged into the School of Engineering.  Name change to “The School of Engineering and Computer Science”

·        2003          Engineering Management ABET accredited.

 

 

This is a work in progress and will be updated as more information comes to my attention. If you have any information about the early days of engineering at Pacific, please share that with me so that I can post it on this web site. Thank you for visiting the site.

 

A special thanks to Trish Richards, Special Collections Assistant at the University of the Pacific Library for all her help finding the information used to write this brief history of engineering at Pacific.

Also, the information presented here is mostly from a document written by Professor Bob Hamerick about the history of engineering at Pacific.

Last updated on 11/15/2006
by Hector Estrada
Send mail to hestrada@pacific..edu with questions or comments about this web site