Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology (RHIT) is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are higher education institutions not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. However, they often receive tax breaks, public student loans, and government grants. Depending on the count ...

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

, United States. It was founded in 1874 and houses twelve academic departments with over thirty undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, and

engineering management Engineering management is the application of engineering methods, tools, and techniques to business management systems. Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organi ...

, leading to bachelor's and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

History

Founding (1874–1917)

Founder

Chauncey Rose Chauncey Rose (December 24, 1794 – August 13, 1877) was an United States, American businessman during the 19th century. Early life Chauncey Rose was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, Wethersfield, Connecticut, to Scottish people, Scottish ...

, along with nine friends, created the Terre Haute School of Industrial Science in 1874 to provide technical training after encountering difficulties in recruiting local engineers during construction of his railroads. Mr. Rose donated the land, at 13th and Locust St., and the majority of the funds needed to start the new school. A year later, the cornerstone of the new institution was laid and the name was changed to Rose Polytechnic Institute despite the objections of the president of the board of managers and chief benefactor, Mr. Rose. The original campus was a single building, with no dormitories or recreational facilities. The first class of 48 students entered in 1883, chosen from 58 applicants. All students were male, and 37 came from Indiana. All but four chose to major in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

, with

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

the only other majors. Nearly half of the original students would eventually leave their studies before graduation for several reasons, including poor grades or conduct. The first president was Charles O. Thompson, who modeled the education of Rose Polytechnic after eastern institutions, making it the first private engineering college west of the Alleghenies. During the early years of the school, finance was a major concern. Many faculty and staff accepted pay cuts to stay at the institution. In 1889 the school awarded what it considered to be the first

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

degree in the country. In 1897 John B. Peddle was appointed professor of machine design, a post he held until 1933. In 1910 he published the ''Construction of Graphical Charts'', which was the first book in the English language treating the art of graphical representation.

Relocation and war years (1917–1951)

In 1917, the school, having grown to more than 300 students, moved from 13th and Locust Street to a new site consisting of of farmland east of town, donated by the

Hulman family Mari Hulman George - 2015 500 Festival - Stierch

Boys & Girls Club occupies the site. The cornerstone of the new campus was laid in 1922. The new campus consisted of an academic building (now known as Moench Hall) and the institute's first dormitory, Deming Hall, both of which are still in use today. Early life at Rose consisted of social fraternities, athletics, and the occasional "high jinks". A popular "high jinks" involved the sophomore class inviting the freshmen class to a baseball game but were told to "leave their pipes with the nurse". The freshmen would produce the pipes at a specific time and a brawl would ensue. During World War I, Rose Polytechnic trained students in technical subjects such as vehicle maintenance, and created a

Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

(ROTC) Engineer unit which later became the Wabash Battalion Army ROTC program. During World War II the ROTC unit was replaced with an Army Specialized Training Unit and students could enter and graduate after every quarter to support the war effort. This enrollment schedule continued through the post-war years until 1951.

1960s–1970s

In recognition of the Hulman family's significant contributions and continued financial support, in particular a $15 million addition to the endowment, Rose Polytechnic was renamed Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology in 1971. During the 1960s and 1970s, growth accelerated under president John A. Logan. Five new residence halls, a new student union, library, and a student recreation center were all constructed between 1963 and 1976. Permission was sought and received to increase the student population to 1000. The quarterly cryptology journal ''

Cryptologia ''Cryptologia'' is a journal in cryptography published six times per year since January 1977. Its remit is all aspects of cryptography, with a special emphasis on historical aspects of the subject. The founding editors were Brian J. Winkel, Davi ...

'' was founded and published at RHIT from 1977 to 1995, at which time it was moved to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

1990s–present

For most of its history, Rose–Hulman was a men's only institution with some cooperative arrangements with Saint Mary Of-The-Woods College women's school and

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

. It voted to become

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

in 1991, with the first full-time women students starting in 1995. In the decade following 1995, Rose–Hulman's growth was aided by a major

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

campaign, "Vision to be the Best". Originally a $100 million campaign over ten years, it met its goal in half the time. The goal was extended to $200 million, and by the end of the campaign in June 2004, over $250 million had been raised. In 1997, many physical changes were made to the Rose–Hulman campus. Using a gift from the F. W. Olin Foundation, an expansion of Olin Hall known as the Olin Advanced Learning Center opened. Additionally, The John T Myers Center for Technological Research opened, with space for research laboratories, presentation rooms, classrooms, and academic offices. Shook Field House was replaced by the $20 million Sports and Recreation Center, which the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

used for their summer training camp from 1999 to 2010. In 2002, Hatfield Hall, a theater and alumni center, was opened. After the 2004 retirement of institute president Samuel Hulbert, who had led the school since 1976, the college faced a leadership crisis. Soon after John J. Midgley arrived as the new president, rumors of conflict between Midgley and the administration started to circulate. Students, some wearing T-shirts proclaiming "Hit the Road Jack", held a rally calling for Midgley's resignation. Midgley resigned as president of the institute on June 11, 2005, less than a year into his presidency, after the faculty, staff, and Student Government Association approved votes of

no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

. During the succeeding academic year, Robert Bright, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, served as interim chief executive officer. In 2006, Gerald Jakubowski, Vice President and Professor of Engineering at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, became the 13th president of the institute, taking over July 1, 2006. He resigned in 2009, and the Board of Trustees elected Matt Branam to serve as interim president. He became president later that year. Branam died of a heart attack in April 2012, and the cabinet subsequently selected Robert A. Coons as the institute's interim president. In 2013, the Board of Trustees named James C. Conwell as the institute's 15th president, starting May 1, 2013. In 2017, the school acquired from the former home of Mari Hulman George. In 2018, Conwell resigned as president, and Senior Vice President Robert Coons was appointed to serve as acting president and then, in November 2018, as the university president. In the same year, the Hulman Memorial Student Union was renovated and renamed the Mussallem Union after the primary donors, the Mussallem Family. The Mussallem Union is centrally located on campus and provides student meeting spaces, dining areas, conference rooms, health services, bookstore, and administrative space. In 2019, an expansion of the Branam Innovation Center (BIC), the Kremer Innovation Center (KIC) opened. The BIC and KIC provide rapid prototyping and manufacturing options to students, in addition to housing

thermofluids Thermofluids is a branch of science and engineering encompassing four intersecting fields: *Heat transfer *Thermodynamics *Fluid mechanics *Combustion The term is a combination of "thermo", referring to heat, and "fluids", which refers to liquids ...

and wet lab facilities, conference rooms, classrooms, and project team workshops. In 2021, the New Academic Building was opened, with funding provided by a $15 million lead gift by an anonymous donor. The New Academic Building is home to the Engineering Design program, chemistry laboratory facilities, food science laboratory, breakout and study rooms, as well as a large atrium. Together with Moench Hall and the Myers Center, a new courtyard was opened. The New Academic building is the first building in the state of Indiana to apply for WELL recognition.

Campus

Most of the university property is in the Terre Haute city limits, though parts extend outside of the city limits. The university as a whole is in Lost Creek Township.

Academics

The curricula at RHIT concentrate on engineering and the natural sciences. The school's primary focus is

undergraduate education Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

, though there is a small graduate program for

students. There are no doctoral programs. As of 2021, Rose–Hulman has 189 faculty members, 99% of whom hold a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. The current student-to-faculty ratio is 11:1. Admission to the institute remains competitive due to its self-selecting admissions class and applicant sharing with

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, and other top universities. In 2022, 602 freshman students enrolled out of 3,353 accepted applicants.

Accreditation

Rose–Hulman has been regionally accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

since 1916, with the most recent reaffirmation of accreditation having occurred in the 2014–2015 accreditation year. The Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Design, Engineering Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Optical Engineering, and Software Engineering programs are accredited by The

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology ABET (pronounced A-bet), formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a non-governmental accreditation organization for post-secondary programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and appli ...

(ABET). In addition to institutional membership in the American Society for Engineering Education, the institute is also a member of the Association of Independent Technological Universities, a group formed to further the interests of private engineering schools.

Rankings and reputation

As of 2021, the institute has been ranked first among engineering colleges that do not offer a doctorate degree by '' U.S. News & World Report'' for 24 consecutive years. Each individual program assessed has also been ranked first since the magazine has published individual rankings. These programs are the Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical, and Biomedical Engineering programs (Biomedical Engineering programs have only received assessment in the 2015 rankings). Rose--Hulman is ranked 24th nationally for Return on Investment for Students by

PayScale Payscale is an American compensation software and data company which helps employers manage employee compensation and employees understand their worth in the job market. History The website was launched on January 1, 2002. It was founded by Joe ...

's 2024 rankings.

Student life

The student body tends to come mostly from the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, though, as the school has gained prominence, it has gradually attracted a more geographically and ethnically diverse applicant pool. 39% of students are from the state of Indiana with large numbers of students from the nearby states of Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota. The school has several competition teams that operate out of the Branam and Kremer Innovation Centers. These include Team Rose Motorsports, Grand Prix Engineering (

Formula SAE Formula SAE is a student design competition organized by SAE International (previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, SAE). The competition was started in 1980 by the SAE student branch at the University of Texas at Austin after ...

Human Powered Vehicle Challenge The Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC) is a student design competition organized by American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers). The competition was started in 1983 at the University of Californi ...

, Rose Rocketry, AIAA Design/Build/Fly,

Chem-E-Car The Chem-E-Car Competition is an annual college competition for students majoring in Chemical Engineering. According to the competition's official rules, students must design small-scale automobiles that operate by chemical means, along with a p ...

, MakerLab, Make It Happen, and various robotics competitions among many others. There are eight social

fraternities A fraternity (; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western conce ...

and three social

sororities In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...

, some of which have their houses on campus. As of 2003, nearly 69% of the students were members of Greek social organizations. Rose–Hulman Ventures serves as a source of internships and job opportunities with startups and established companies of all sizes for Rose students and alumni. Rose–Hulman Ventures was established in 1999 with a $30 million grant from the Lilly Endowment and received a $24.9 million follow-up grant in 2002.

Media

The school's student-run

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

is ''The Rose Thorn''. Rose–Hulman has an

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency radio spectrum, spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emer ...

club, the ''Rose Tech Radio Club'' (

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

W9NAA), that maintains a dedicated on-campus station. The ''Rose–Hulman Film Club'' produces student-directed short films. The campus radio station was WMHD-FM 90.7 FM, "The

Monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

". The station originally

broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

with a very low power transmitter and antenna located on campus, but later operated with an off-site

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

at 1400 watts. The

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

facilities for the station were in the

basement A basement is any Storey, floor of a building that is not above the grade plane. Especially in residential buildings, it often is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the Furnace (house heating), furnace, water heating, ...

of the BSB residence hall. The station was operated entirely by student volunteers, and all disc-jockeys choose their own format and playlists. In August 2014, the station was sold to

Athletics

The team's sports teams are called the

Rose–Hulman Fightin' Engineers The Rose–Hulman Fightin' Engineers are the athletics teams for Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology, located in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. The Fightin' Engineers athletic program is a member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Confe ...

Notable alumni

Tim Cindric Timothy J. Cindric (born April 20, 1968) is an American motorsports executive who is the former President of Team Penske. He is the father of racing driver Austin Cindric. Biography A native of Indianapolis, he is an alumnus of Rose-Hulman In ...

1990 (Mechanical Engineering), president of

Penske Racing Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Da ...

* Barzilla W. Clark, 16th Governor of Idaho * Ernest R. Davidson 1958,

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral science, behavior ...

winner * Michael Fagge, Ph.D. 1991,

Systematic theologian Systematic may refer to: Science * Short for systematic error * Systematic fault * Systematic bias, errors that are introduced by an inaccuracy inherent to the system Economy * Systematic trading, a way of defining trade goals, risk control ...

* Lawrence Giacoletto 1938, Transistor pioneer *

Marshall Goldsmith Marshall Goldsmith (born March 20, 1949) is an American executive leadership coach and author. Early life and education Goldsmith was born in Valley Station, Kentucky, and received a degree in mathematical economics from Rose-Hulman Institute of ...

1970, Noted

Management consultant Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...

John Hostettler John Nathan Hostettler (born July 19, 1961) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for 12 years, representing as a Republican Party (United States), Republican. He lost his reelection bid for a sevent ...

1983, Former

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

* Curtis Huttenhower 2000, professor at

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

* Don Lincoln 1986, Particle Physicist * Chris Mack 1982, Noted

Lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

expert *

Art Nehf Arthur Neukom Nehf (July 31, 1892 – December 18, 1960) was an American baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Boston Braves (1915–1919), New York Giants (1919–1926), Cincinnati Reds (1926–1927), and the C ...

1914,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher * Abe Silverstein 1929,

Aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

center director, and

Guggenheim Medal The Daniel Guggenheim Medal is an American engineering award, established by Daniel and Harry Guggenheim. The medal is considered to be one of the greatest honors that can be presented for a lifetime of work in aeronautics. Its first recipient ...

winner * Mike Thomas 2000, co founder of Monomi Park, software engineer for ''

Slime Rancher ''Slime Rancher'' is a farm life sim video game developed and published by American indie studio Monomi Park. The game was released as an early access title in January 2016, with an official release on Windows, macOS, Linux and Xbox One on Augus ...

'' *

Mat Roy Thompson Mat Roy Thompson (February 8, 1874 – June 8, 1962), known also as Matt Roy Thompson, Matthew R. Thompson, Mathew R. Thompson, M. Roy Thompson, Roy Thompson, and Leroy Thompson, was a civil engineer and architect who worked on a great variet ...

1890–1891, Civil Engineer and builder of Scotty's Castle * Jim Umpleby 1980, former CEO of Caterpillar, Inc. *

Bernard Vonderschmitt Bernard Valentine Vonderschmitt (October 14, 1923 – June 9, 2004) was an electrical engineer, most noted as a co-founder of leading FPGA producer Xilinx. Biography He was born on October 14, 1923, in Jasper, Indiana. Vonderschmitt graduated w ...

1944, co-founder of

Xilinx Xilinx, Inc. ( ) was an American technology and semiconductor company that primarily supplied programmable logic devices. The company is renowned for inventing the first commercially viable field-programmable gate array (FPGA). It also pioneered ...

Robert L. Wilkins Robert Leon Wilkins (born October 2, 1963) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He previously served as a judge of the United States ...

1986, Judge,

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a United States district court, federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and ...

Grant Smith
Alumnus Robert Wilkins is Driven to Make a Difference as Federal Appeals Court Judge
''Rose–Hulman Alumni Affairs'' (June 3, 2014)

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose-Hulman Institute Of Technology Private universities and colleges in Indiana Universities and colleges established in 1874 Education in Terre Haute, Indiana Buildings and structures in Terre Haute, Indiana Tourist attractions in Terre Haute, Indiana Engineering universities and colleges in Indiana 1874 establishments in Indiana Universities and colleges accredited by the Higher Learning Commission