General Archie Higdon arrived from the Air Force Academy in September of 1967 to assume the deanship of the School of Engineering. Pressure from the Chancellor's Office on President Kennedy (appointed in May, 1967) to gain ECPD accreditation for the engineering majors was great. Cal Poly had the largest engineering enrollment in the system, yet was unaccredited. Accreditation was definitely of first priority on the new Dean's agenda. 1968 was a year of preparation for the accreditation visit expected in early 1969. Besides minor curricular revisions and the usual housekeeping chores such a visit tends to promote two very significant steps were taken. "Cleansing" the faculties of non-professional credentialed faculty by the forming of an Engineering Technology department (mentioned earlier), and staffing the faculties with as many Ph.D. degree holders as possible. This was approached differently by the two departments. In the EE Department, three Ph.D.'s with industrial experience were brought in, two at the full professor level in 1968. In the EL Department, no Ph.D. additions were made except that a new department head with a Ph.D. would arrive for the opening of the summer quarter in 1969. President Kennedy had him flown in from Florida to meet with the inspecting team during the accreditation visit.
In the Fall of 1969, the Ph.D. population looked like this: EE Department, 4 out of 10 faculty; EL Department, 1 (department head) out of 18 faculty. The emphasis on Ph.D. preparation for faculty has led to 25 out of 29 in 1988, not counting two lecturers.In the Fall of 1969, the Ph.D. population looked like this: EE Department, 4 out of 10 faculty; EL Department, 1 (department head) out of 18 faculty. The emphasis on Ph.D. preparation for faculty has led to 25 out of 29 in 1988, not counting two lecturers.
One of the recommendations of the ECPD team was to merge the two departments. This idea may not have been totally original on the part of the team. For several years, Professor Bowden had been quietly planting the seed for this transaction. In his discussions with President Kennedy, he had expressed the wish to serve as EE Department Head twenty years, Thus, 1971 early became a target date.
Both majors received four-year accreditation in the fall of 1969. With that goal accomplished, the Dean turned his attention to affecting a merger. He appointed a committee composed of faculty from both departments to study the situation and make a proposal and/or recommendations.