The evolution of the Workforce Education & Development program
at The Pennsylvania State University has evolved through numerous changes
in name, structure and location during its long history on the University
Park campus. In fact, Williams (1977) suggested that elements of the program,
a mechanic arts course, began in or around 1882 in the School of Engineering,
now the College of Engineering.
The program as we know it today originated in 1920 in the School of
Engineering and was called the Department of Industrial Education. On
June 11, 1923, however, the Department of Industrial Education, under
the leadership of Dr. A. S. Hurrell, Professor of Vocational Education,
moved from the School of Engineering to join three other academic units
–Agricultural Education, Education and Psychology, and Home Economics
Education—in forming the School of Education, now the College of
Education. The academic units in the new college with the exception of
Education and Psychology were subsidized primarily by funds from the Smith-Hughes
Act (Public Law 64-347, 1917).
Dr. Will Grant Chambers served as the first dean of the School of Education
from 1923 to 1937. Chambers, who had studied under G. Stanley Hall at
Clark College and John Dewey at the University of Chicago, enjoyed a reputation
as both a sound scholar and a strong administrator. He emphasized and
exemplified the importance of scholarship in teacher education (Hutton,
1973). During Chambers’ 14 years as Dean, F. Theodore Struck provided
much of the leadership in the Department of Industrial Education, serving
as its head from the late 20s through early World War II (Kapes &
Welch, 1987). Dr. Struck was a pioneer in the profession, having come
to Penn State in 1926 after serving as State Supervisor of Industrial
Education and Director of the Vocational Bureau, State Department of Public
Instruction (currently called the Pennsylvania Department of Education).
Struck was also a distinguished and forward-looking scholar, whose last
textbook, Vocational Education for a Changing World, helped shape the
profession in the post-War years (Kapes & Welch, 1987).
Several outstanding leaders served our profession under the five subsequent
deans of the College of Education at The Pennsylvania State University.
Following Dean Chambers in 1937, Marion Rex Trabue, a student of the famous
educator A. H. Thorndike, began his nineteen-year deanship. During the
Trabue years (1937-1956), S. Lewis Land served as department head of Industrial
Education and under Dr. Land’s leadership the Department awarded
its first master’s and doctoral degrees in Industrial Education.
In 1956, J. Ralph Rackley, formerly dean at the State College of Connecticut,
dean of education at the University of Oklahoma, and assistant commissioner
in the U.S. Office of Education, became the third dean to lead the College
of Education at Penn State. During Rackley’s six-year tenure from
1956 to 1962, Dr. Land remained in charge of the Department of Industrial
Education. Dr. Land was a formidable and enthusiastic educator who guided
vocational education and teacher education at Penn State through difficult
times following World War II and up until his retirement in 1963.
In 1962, Dr. Abram W. VanderMeer, an Associate Dean in the College for
several years succeeded Dean Rackley. Dr. Vandermeer, the fourth dean
of the College of Education, and an innovator with interest in technology,
drew upon his experience in audio-visual aids to establish the Computer
Assisted Instructional (CAI) Laboratory. During the Vandermeer years,
George Brandon and William Williams provided the leadership for the Department
of Industrial Education, which in 1963 became the Department of Vocational
Education.
In December of 1974, Henry J. Hermanowicz became the fifth dean of the
College of Education. During the Hermanowicz years, (1974-1989), the College
of Education experienced a period of privation and transition, shifting
from eleven academic units or departments to six divisions. Hermanowicz
designed this reorganization to save small departments and faculty positions
at a time when the College suffered a budgetary shortfall of $1.5 million
and a loss of 30 faculty and staff positions (Hermanowicz, Personal Communication,
April 12, 1998). Several leaders provided distinguished service and leadership
to the profession during the Hermanowicz years, such as Joseph T. Impellitteri,
Angelo C. Gilli, Edwin Herr, Elizabeth Ray, and Frederick G. Welch.
In 1990, Rodney J. Reed succeeded Dean Hermanowicz to become the sixth
dean of the College of Education. During Dr. Reed’s administration,
the College of Education received national recognition for the quality
of its academic programs in both graduate and undergraduate education.
Several of Reed’s accomplishments appear in the chronologi cal history
of the Workforce Education & Development program that follows this
discussion.
The mission of the College of Education has been steadfast since its
creation under the leadership of Dr. John Martin Thomas, President of
Penn State at that time (1921-1925). The success of a College is, however,
measured by the quality and productivity of its faculty. Over the years,
the faculty and staff in the Workforce Education & Development Program
have promoted the mission of the College with scholarly productivity and
service to the profession. Currently the faculty, Professors Kenneth C.
Gray, David L. Passmore, William J. Rothwell; Associate Professors Edgar
I. Farmer, Judith A. Kolb and Assistant Professors, Mary J. Kisner and
Richard A. Walter; and staff, Tammy Fetterolf, Kristine Sefchick, Bonnie
Spicer, and Terri Watson, enjoy recognition as being among the top three
programs of its kind in the nation as rated by the U.S. News & World
Report in 1997 and 1998. During its earlier years, the Program remained
oriented more toward preparing trade and industrial (T&I) education
teachers. But since 1994, the curriculum and students have become increasingly
more diversified and now includes all aspects of learning and human performance
in the workplace.
As we celebrate 75 years of excellence, the College of Education can
boast of being among the best teacher training agencies in the nation,
and the Workforce Education & Development Program has served as a
catalyst in the College’s success (Best Graduate Schools, 1998).
A Chronological History of the Workforce Education & Development Program
at The Pennsylvania State University 1882-1998. (Several of the excerpts
from 1882 to 1976 come from an outline compiled by Dr. William A. Williams
(1977), Professor Emeritus of Industrial Education).
1882 — A Russian method of manual instruction, exhibited at the
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, stirs up interest at the
Pennsylvania State College, resulting in the development of a mechanic
arts course in the School of Engineering with an emphasis on carpentry
skills.
1920— The designation of the Department of Industrial Education
is approved and continues as such in the School of Engineering until 1923.
1923— The Department of Industrial Education is transferred from
the school of Engineering to the newly formed School of Education.
1923— The position of Director of Vocational Teacher Education is
established as an administrative position in the Office of the President
of the Pennsylvania State College.
1925— Alpha Chapter of Iota Lambda Sigma, the honorary fraternity
in the field of industrial education, is founded on the campus of the
Pennsylvania State College.
1925— New graduate programs in Vocational Industrial Education were
inaugurated. They now lead to degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Science,
and Doctor of Philosophy.
1927— The Grand Chapter of Iota Lambda Sigma, national honorary
fraternity in the field of industrial education, is founded on the campus
of the Pennsylvania State College.
1929— The first Master’s degrees in Industrial Education are
conferred in August.
1939— The first doctoral degrees in Industrial Education are conferred
to Edward C. Estabrooke, Safety and Health Instruction and Practice in
School Shops, Ed.D., 239pp and George H. Parks, The Comparative Cost of
Vocational Industrial Education in Certain Second Class School Districts
in Pennsylvania, Ed.D.,1939, 113pp.
1944— Marion Rex Trabue, Dean of the School of Education instructs
the Department of Industrial Education to provide two separate curricula,
Industrial Arts Education and Vocational Industrial Education.
1944— The Department of Industrial Education is officially designated
as the agency for the State Department of Education for the administration
of Occupational Competency Examinations to qualified applicants in central
Pennsylvania.
1947— The Department of Home Economics becomes the School of Home
Economics.
1953— The name of the Pennsylvania State College is changed to
The Pennsylvania State University and the Schools within the institution
are changed to Colleges and the School of Education becomes the College
of Education.
1956— John (Jack) W. Struck, son of Dr. F. Theodore Struck, receives
his Doctor of Education Degree from the Department of Industrial Education.
His thesis is entitled: A Survey of the Vocational Industrial Education
Needs of Baghdad, Iraq, and Its Service Area, 244pp.
1963— The designation Department of Industrial Education is changed
to Department of Vocational Education. The curriculum in Industrial Arts
Education is transferred to the Department of Secondary Education.
1966— The College of Home Economics becomes the College of Human
Development under the leadership of Dr. Donald H. Ford.
1967— The Department of Home Economics Education is transferred
to the College of Education.
1971— The Occupational Educational Forum (OEF) begins publication
in the Spring semester under the editorship of Curtis R. Finch, Assistant
Professor of Vocational Industrial Education at Penn State and associate
editor, S. R. Wiensteiner, Dean of Applied Arts and Sciences at Williamsport
Area Community College (now called Penn College of Technology).
1972-1977—Edwin L. Herr serves as Acting University Director of
Vocational Teacher Education and assists the Pennsylvania Deprtment of
Instruction to design and implement the Professional Personnel Development
Centers at Penn State and three other institutions.
1974— An intercollege doctoral program in comprehensive Vocational
Education is established to include programs in Agricultural, Home Economics,
and Vocational Industrial Education.
1976— The designation for the Department of Vocational Education
is changed to Division of Occupational and Vocational Studies and the
Division is assigned to conduct teacher education programs in Home Economics,
Vocational Industrial Education, and Industrial Arts Education.
1977—The Department of Industrial Education changes its name to
the Department of Vocational-Industrial Education under the leadership
of Dr. Angelo C. Gilli and Dr. Frederick G. Welch. Drs. Gilli and Welch
serve as Department Heads of the graduate and undergraduate programs respectively.
1977—The Department of Vocational-Industrial Education collaborates
with the Center for the Study of Higher Education to conduct an Annual
Pennsylvania Conference on Postsecondary Occupational Education. The Conferences
are designed and directed by Dr. Angelo C. Gilli and Dr. Sebastian (Marty)
Martorana from 1971 to 1977.
1977—The Department of Vocational-Industrial Education merges into
one unit under Henry J. Hermanowicz , Dean of the College of Education.
During this time the Department houses undergraduate faculty in the Rackley
Building and the graduate faculty in Chambers Building.
1977—Dr. Robert Andreyka becomes Department Head for the next three
years, replacing Drs. Gilli and Welch.
1977—Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pittinger establishes the
Professional Development Center for Vocational Education. Four Centers
are established to provide service to vocational teachers in the eastern,
central and western regions of the Commonwealth; the Centers are awarded
to Temple University, Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh
and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
1978—Dean Hermanowicz reorganizes the College of Education into
six Divisions and the Department of Vocational-Industrial Education becomes
the Division of Occupational and Vocational Studies. The new Division
offers academic programs in Home Economics, Industrial Arts, and Vocational-Industrial
Education. Dr. Andreyka serves as the first Division Director (See Figure
1).
1981—Dr. Elizabeth Ray, Professor of Home Economics Education, becomes
the Division Head for the Division of Occupational and Vocational Studies
with Dr. Twyla M. Shear serving as Professor-in-Charge (PIC) of Home Economics
Education program and Dr. Frederick G. Welch serves as PIC of the Vocational
Industrial Education program (See Figure 2).
1983—The National Taiwan Normal University and The Pennsylvania
State University arrange to provide professional and cultural advantages
to faculty members and students through an International Education Exchange
Program. The agreement is signed on June 24, 1983 by Dr. John W. Oswald,
President of Penn State University, and on December 20, 1983 by Henry
J. Hermanowicz, Dean, College of Education, Dr. Elizabeth M. Ray, Division
Head, Division of Occupational and Vocational Studies, and Dr. Frederick
G. Welch, Professor-in-Charge of Vocational-Industrial Education.
1986—Dr. Edwin Herr, Professor of Counselor Education and Director
of Vocational Teacher Education, becomes the Head of the Division of Counseling
and Educational Psychology and Career Studies with Dr. Welch and Dr. Susan
Weis serving as Professors-in-Charge of Vocational Studies and Home Economics,
respectively (See Figure 3).
1990—Dr. Rodney J. Reed becomes the new Dean of the College of Education.
He reorganizes the College into six departments. Under Dean Reed’s
leadership, three small academic units are downsized to program status
to form the current Department of Adult Education, Instructional Systems,
and Workforce Education & Development with Dr. Frank Dwyer serving
as Department Head.
1994—The Vocational-Industrial Education program faculty and Penn
State University administration sign an agreement with officials of the
United Arab Emirates to help train a hundred teachers over the next five
years for the middle eastern country’s high schools. Dr. Frederick
G. Welch provides the organizational leadership for the project.
1994—Dr. Kenneth C. Gray, Professor-in-Charge of Vocational Industrial
Education, conducts a contest among the graduate students resulting in
a name change from Vocational Industrial Education to Workforce Education
& Development. According to Dr. Gray, the name change actually comes
from a vocational program at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.
1997—The Workforce Education & Development program at Penn State
University is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as being among
the top three vocational education programs in the United States.
1997—The Editorial Board of the Occupational Education Forum publication
votes to change its name to Workforce Education Forum in celebration of
25 years of scholarly service to the profession.
1998—The Program receives another national ranking from the U.S.
News & World Report, as again one of the top three programs of its
kind in the nation.
1998—Dr. Richard A. Walter is officially named the University Director
of Vocational Teacher Education and Director of the Professional Development
Center for Vocational Teacher Education. The position will remain in the
College of Education until the year 2003.
|
