History
1925 - 1932 Dean William J. Miller
Fall 1928 - Texas Technological College's School of Engineering was created in the fall of 1925. It began with 313 students enrolled, and there were only two faculty members - Dean William J. Miller and Professor Edmond Weymond Camp. The Textile Engineering Building, now the Industrial Engineering Building, housed all classes.
October 9, 1925 - James H. Murdough comes to the school with an MIT background and industrial experience as one of the first members of its faculty.
Dean Miller gets $125,000 from Governor Miriam Ferguson to build a new engineering building.
1928 - The West Engineering Building, now the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building, opens for classes.
Enrollment in the School of Engineering grows steadily.
1932 - 1949 Dean Otto Vincent Adams
1933 - Dean Otto Vincent Adams is instrumental in preventing the transference of engineering and agriculture to Texas A&M.
Enrollment in engineering grew from 378 to 2,146 during this time period with an increase from 19 to 48 in staff.
Civil, Electrical, Industrial, Mechanical, and Textile Engineering curricula were accredited by the Engineering Council for Professional Development.
Dean Adams made a commitment to those men who had to postpone their education to go to war to help them finish their degrees and work in the emerging industries.
Teaching was the primary function of the school.
1949 - 1955 Dean Dysart Edgar Holcomb
Enrollment in Textile Engineering diminished as other disciplines increased in popularity.
Agricultural engineering studies were part of the School of Agriculture, until Dean Holcomb had it transferred to the School of Engineering.
1955 - 1982 Dean John Ross Bradford
Dean Bradford's set out goals for the school: (1) accreditations for all departments, (2) development of graduate programs leading to Ph.D., and (3) the establishment of a strong research program.
1956 - The Engineering Option, which created an Engineering Physics baccalaureate degree, was transferred from Physics to Engineering.
1958 - The School of Engineering received its first computer unit, an IBM 1620. Soon afterward, Tech received two more on loan from the United States Air Force along with a research contract from Holloman AFB.
Feb. 1958 - The Institute of Science and Engineering (ISE) was established as a channel through which gift funds and fees from research projects could replenish the growing research organization.
A water resources study was made possible through state funds and money from the ISE.
Dean Bradford created the first interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in in the Southwestern U.S.
Bradford's efforts led to an increase in quality faculty, the overhauling of the curricula, and the adoption of the core curriculum for freshmen and sophomores.
1959 - Chemical Engineering and Chemistry were broken into separate departments to enable accreditation of Chemical Engineering.
A Master of Engineering degree was created.
1960 - The Petroleum Engineering department was accredited.
1960 - The new Chemical Engineering building opened.
1963 - Arnold J. Gully was hired as chair of Chemical Engineering.
1966 - The Water Resources Center was created.
1967 - WIN (Western Information Network), conceived by Dean Bradford, was created by the Texas State legislature through House Bill 692. It was a cooperative endeavor among 18 institutions of higher education in West Texas.
1969 - The International Textile Symposium brought research funding and initiated the Textile Research Center.
1969 - Arnold J. Gully became Assoc. Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. Implementing his concept of collaborative research, the following centers were created:
- Textile Research Center
- Institute of Biotechnology
- Institute for Environmental Technology
- Institute for Systems Analysis
- Institute for Energy Research Created
Other research endeavors fell under the aegis of Institute for University Research, which was much broader in scope.
1970 - Engineering Technology was created, emphasizing the application of existing technology.
Institute for Disaster Research created
September 1, 1969 - the name of the College was changed from Texas Technological College to Texas Tech Universtiy.
1970 - The department of Engineering Analysis and Design was created.
1970 - 1972 The administration of the college moved to the old College of Architecture building, which became the Engineering Center.
Early 1970s - Pulsed Power Research Center was created for plasma research which began in 1966.
1982 - 1984 Interim Dean Jimmy H. Smith
1984 - 1994 Dean Mason Somerville
1985 - Established the Texas Tech Research Foundation and its engineering affiliate, the Center for Advanced Research and Engineering.
1995 - 1998 Dean Jorge I. Aunon
1998 - 1999 Interim Dean Kishor Mehta
1999 - 2002 Dean William M. Marcy
2002 - 2004 Interim Dean James L. Smith
2004 – 2009 Dean Pamela A. Eibeck
2004 Dr. Kishor Mehta inducted into the National Academy of Engineering
2007 $9.35 million from AT&T and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund attracts world-class nanophotonics research team Drs. Hongxing Jiang, Jingyu Lin, and Zhaoyang Fan.
2008 The College of Engineering is renamed the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering in honor of Mr. Whitacre's longstanding support of Texas Tech University.