5/22/2007

Ten Years and Counting

Sure, you know that Carnegie Mellon has a rich history of teaching some of the world's best and brightest students. We make things here — art, robots, poems, plays, electricity-conducting plastics — and those things change the world we live in.

But let me fill you in on a true Carnegie Mellon secret. (Are you listening?) Carnegie Mellon's presidents have a history of sticking around a long time. In fact, in its 110 years, Carnegie Mellon has had just eight presidents — with five of them serving 10 years or more. And this week the university announced that another will join the ranks of the 10+ Club: current Carnegie Mellon President Jared L. Cohon was appointed to a third five-year term at the university's helm.

You might think this longevity breeds complacency, but you'd be wrong. Carnegie Mellon's first president, Arthur A. Hammerschlag, served 19 years (1903-1922) and turned the vocational Carnegie Technical Schools into the Carnegie Institute of Technology, which offered four- and five-year bachelor's and master's degree programs.

The university's third president, Robert Doherty, was president for 14 years (1936-1950) and began the "Carnegie Plan," a new approach to undergraduate education that focused on teaching students the fundamental knowledge necessary to solve practical problems. It also required them to take classes outside their major. And voila! The university's interdisciplinary, practical approach to problem-solving was born.

During his 18-year term (1972-1990), Richard Cyert led the university from regional excellence to national prominence by strategically focusing the university's efforts on areas where it had the talent and expertise to make the most impact. The School of Computer Science and Robotics Institute were created on his watch, and the Andrew computing system was completed, making Carnegie Mellon the most wired campus around at the time.

What will President Cohon's legacy be? Well, it's already begun. In his decade as president, Carnegie Mellon's curriculum has been recognized for its interdisciplinary focus and attention to ethics, environmental studies, global awareness and innovation. When Cohon took the reins, Carnegie Mellon offered just one academic program in three counties outside the U.S. Today, it offers 12 degree programs in 10 countries. The number of international undergraduate and graduate students has also gone up, going from 1,605 in the fall of 1996 to 2,624 this past fall. Sponsored research funding has nearly doubled since 1997, and changes in the university's technology transfer operation led to 14 new start-ups in 2006 — an all-time high for Carnegie Mellon and among the highest rates in the nation. And for the first time in forever, the university has an official mascot: the Scotty Dog.

What's going to happen here in the next five years? Who knows. You'll just have to follow the example of our presidents — stick around to see what happens.

Susie Cribbs