A brief history of civil engineering

Publication Date

One hundred and sixty years. Sixteen decades – from 1845 to 2005. That’s how long the previous iteration of the Civil Engineering Department existed.

(The decision to end the program was made in 2001 but did not go into effect until four years later.)

What prompted the choice?

According to a 2001 report, The Future of Engineering at Union, College leadership was striving to meet the “needs of the 21st Century.” In their view at the time, this meant dedicating more resources to computer science and the engineering disciplines that best served students amidst computing’s increasing importance in business and everyday life.

The strategy was called the Converging Technologies for a Changing World initiative.

“To implement this strategy, engineering faculty and resources must be reallocated,” the report stated. “The administration of Union College believes that the faculty group least consistent with the Converging Technologies initiative is civil engineering.”

The sentiment is different today.

“Civil and environmental engineering touch every aspect of our daily lives, providing a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary connections across campus and in the community,” said Carolyn Rodack, inaugural chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “These connections support the unique and immersive educational experiences of students here.”

Ashraf Ghaly, the Carl B. Jensen Professor of Engineering, agrees.

“Civil engineering is intimately connected to living humans and as long as there is life on planet Earth, there will always be a need for this discipline,” he said. “I must also say that now is the right time to restore civil engineering because it should not take too long to realize a mistake was made.”

UNION COLLEGE MAGAZINE

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