Document Actions
History 1908-1965 Part 3
In the beginning, curriculums in Mechanical, Electrical and Civil Engineering were offered, an ambitious program for a faculty of two professors. This caused little difficulty because the program of the first two years was common to all three curriculums and consisted largely of mathematics and general studies. Professor Donaghho, the one-man math department, taught all the math courses. The only engineering courses in the common curriculum of freshman and sophomore years were drafting and surveying. Wood-working, forge, and machine shops were also required until Mr. McTaggart, the shop instructor, died in 1918, after which shop work was no longer required. At that time it was also decided that the expense of equipment for laboratories in mechanical and electrical engineering was not warranted by the limited demand and the College offering in engineering was more realistically reduced to Civil Engineering only.
In the first graduating class of the College of Hawai`i, in 1912 four degrees were awarded. One was in engineering, one was in agriculture, and two were in general science. The following year (1912-13) the total enrollment of the College was twenty-four regular students, of which ten were in engineering, four were in agriculture, one in home economics, and nine in general science. In addition there were 104 special students, not working toward degrees. In the eight graduating classes of the College, before it became the University of Hawai`i in 1920 a total of only nine engineering degrees were awarded.
Under these conditions, junior and senior engineering classes were very small, a fortunate circumstance. As it was, Keller taught ten different engineering courses in a year and Young carried an equally heavy teaching load. Both engineering professors were involved in extracurricular work. Keller was a member of the Territorial Board of Health, a member of a commission to frame a code of sanitary regulations, a member of the planning commission, and on a board to design a sewer system for the City of Honolulu.