"This department remains as the 'power' branch of the electrical department after the division into a separate course of all 'communication' phases of the work. In the power division three additional instructors were added to take care of the enrollment of 160 students. During 1946 a great deal of additional equipment was ordered, but manufacturers have been unable to fill the orders as yet. One direct current supply unit to be used for induction heating test and experiment work was purchased through War Assets Corp. An addition of a 20 by 60 foot building supplemented the shop facilities."
"An important part of the training of students in this department is the practical experience gained in doing maintenance, repair, wiring and motor repair and rewinding work for other departments of the college. There are over 300 electric motors on the campus, and the repair maintenance of this equipment is both practical training and a useful service to the college. Students doing such work in time other than regular laboratory periods are paid from student labor funds."
1947 brought an organizational change in which the Science & Humanities Division was added. The courses in the new division had previously been referred to a "related subject". They had primarily provided general education and service courses to the Agricultural and Industrial Divisions. With the addition of a few courses, it was possible to give major work leading to the B.S. degree in five departments: Physical Education, Mathematics, Social Science, Physical Science, and Life Science.
1947 Enrollments:
Agriculture Division 1064
Industrial Division 1096
Electrical Engineering 174
Electronic/Radio Engineering 160
Science & Humanities Division 69
It is interesting to note that the majors of General Agriculture (7), and General Engineering (16) were added to take care of the overflow from specific departments where lack of facilities limited enrollment. At the end of each year these students were given priority over new students in changing to the major of their preference.
The largest department in the Industrial Division was Air Conditioning with 281 students. The new faculty (E. C. Glover, Warren Anderson and Fred Steuck) who joined Mr. Hyer and David Cook (half-time) in the Electrical Industries Department in the 1946-47 academic year were dismayed at the level of the work required by the curricular offerings in the department.
The level, quality, and philosophy were typical trade school. These new faculty moved to upgrade the courses and alter the direction not only to comply with their notions of collegiate level work, but also to meet the challenge of the students who were 90 percent veterans, the majority of whom had completed excellent training in military technical schools.
This activity on the part of the"new boys on the block," so to speak, was apparently intolerable for Mr. Hyer. On the morning of the second day of the fall quarter, 1947, he put padlocks on all cabinet doors, the two small closets and several GI footlockers holding various instruments, supplies and all spare fuses. With that done he went home on sick leave, never to return. After about ten days of frustration on the part of both faculty and students, Mr. Knott came with a bolt cutter, cut all the padlocks and asked Mr. Glover, the senior member by three months, to assume the leadership of the department.
Professor Steuck drawing from his experience at Iowa State University designed and supervised the student constructed EE laboratory test tables and load racks. He departed from the belt driven motors and generators to permanently mounted, directly coupled arrangements of machines.