The movement of United States troops into Korea generating the Korean conflict, led to many changes and disruptions in peoples' lives. For Cal Poly it meant a sudden drop in student enrollment beginning in September, 1950. The State budget for 1951 reflected this drop in the numbers of students. It reflected it to the extent of a reduction of fifty faculty positions. Drastic cuts came in the EE Department faculty.
C.E. Glover looked over his options in the summer and fall of 1950 after having been rebuffed on so many occasions by the administration. He sensed an unrestrained ambition on the part of the head of the Architecture Department to take over as head of the Engineering Division. So, in the fall of 1950, he promised Dr. Ralph J. Smith, Head of Engineering, San Jose State that he would join him in September, 1951, in developing an accredit able ECPD program in electrical engineering.
The suspicions held by Mr. Glover proved to have some substance to them. Late in a February day of 1951 in a totally surprise move, President McPhee called the heads of the Engineering departments to his office and announced he was removing long time, hard working and totally committed professional employee, C. E. Knott as Head of the Engineering Division, and appointing Ralph Priestly, Head of the Architecture Department as Dean to be effective immediately. Mr. Glover walked out of that meeting immediately and refused to recognize Mr. Priestley as the dean. Mr. Knott was not notified of his removal as Head and was not given an assignment by the President. Finding his personal possessions boxed and placed outside his office door when he came to work the following morning was as close as he came to a notification.
The remainder of that academic year was one of constant turmoil, unrest and uncertainty. Mr. Anderson who shared the EE Department Office with Mr. Glover as his assistant, handled most of the necessary contacts with the Division office for the remainder of that year.
Clarence Radius made immediate overtures of cooperation with Dean Priestley and learned of Mr. Glover's impending move to San Jose State College. Here he saw an opportunity to solve a minor problem in his department. He convinced Dean Priestley to have Fred Bowden whom he had hired in 1949 appointed Head of the EE Department effective September 1, 1951. In exchange for Bowden, he would accept Fred Steuck in transfer. Anderson had previously turned down his offer to join his new department in January of 1947. Mr. Radius and Mr. Bowden differed philosophically on engineering education for Cal Poly. Bowden believed in a vigorous academic program with a very strong mathematical base. When Dean Priestley called Mr. Bowden into his office to suggest this move to him, he promised that he could start with all new faculty if he wished. Bowden asked for Anderson to be retained. A transfer, a dismissal and resignations gave him the opportunity to build a new faculty along with Anderson.
When Anderson returned in early September from a summer assignment with General Electric Company in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Mr. Bowden arranged for an appointment before the academic year opened. His proposal was for Anderson to move into a separate office, handle all details of operation of the department except curriculum planning, preparation of catalog copy and attending Division meetings. Decisions on hiring personnel would be done by Mr. Bowden following consultation and agreement by Anderson. This arrangement was for the most part operative up until the merger in 1971.
Ralph Priestley served as Dean a few days short of six months. Just as the fall quarter was to open he abruptly left town going to San Francisco without previous notification to the college. Failing to secure his professional license to practice architecture in California, he eventually left the state. Mr. Knott was appointed the acting dean. He served until his retirement in 1959 as associate dean to Harold Hayes, who came in September 1952.
The reputation EE Department graduates were making with industry forced the AIEE to re-examine its policy against establishing student branches on non-ECPD accredited campuses. In 1955, they voted an exception for Cal Poly.
For a number of years in the 1950's, the EL&R Department provided a radio repair service under a contract with the Cal Poly Foundation. It was student managed as well as student operated,
The curriculum still had a strong technician emphasis and the radio repair shop projected the "true" Cal Poly image of "earn while learning" with the student project system.
The 1955-56 President's Report stated; "The instructional program continued to emphasize students' abilities to know how to do things, to do them well, and to know why they are done. Particular emphasis was placed on the following unique features:
a. Skills courses in the freshman year.
b. Extensive laboratory work.
c. Concentration in the major.
d. Emphasis on the production, planning, sales, application, and service phases of engineering
e. Prime attention to the needs of employers.