College of Engineering at Michigan State University Timeline
| Year | Historical Event |
|---|---|
| 1855 | Agricultural College of the State of Michigan founded in East Lansing |
| 1857 |
Classes begin
|
| 1861 | College renamed the State Agricultural College of Michigan |
| 1862 | Passage of Morrill Land-Grant College Act establishes colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts |
| 1885 |
College renamed Michigan Agricultural College Original Mechanical Laboratory designed by Rolla Carpenter and constructed |
| 1888 | First undergraduate degrees granted to four engineering students |
| 1892 | Student chapter of Tau Beta Pi is founded by Lancaster P. Breckenridge |
| 1901 |
College renamed Michigan State Agricultural College Departments of Civil and Electrical Engineering are established, with master's degrees available in Electrical Engineering |
| 1902 |
Master's program in Civil Engineering established First Senior Engineering Society organized to discuss mechanical, civil and electrical engineering. Weekly meetings held; papers read and discussed |
| 1907 |
The State Board of Agriculture begins awarding professional degrees in mechanical, civil and electrical engineering for those engineers who have five years of practical service in the field George Bissel is appointed as the first Dean of Engineering |
| 1908 | Engineering Hall is dedicated |
| 1909 |
College renamed Michigan Agricultural College Division of Engineering is established with departments in civil engineering, drawing and design, mechanical engineering, physics and electrical engineering |
| 1916 |
Engineering Building and Mechanical Building destroyed by fire (click each of the thumbnails for a larger image)
|
| 1917 | R. E. Olds Hall of Engineering is built on the old foundation of the former Engineering Building |
| 1918 | War Service work begins; Student Army Training Corps for auto mechanics is established |
| 1924 | Engineering Experiment Station established |
| 1925 | College renamed Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science |
| 1927 | Michigan's first rural electrical power line, reaching from Mason to Dansville, is placed in service with the cooperation from the college |
| 1929 |
G. W. Bissel retires, H. B. Dirks appointed dean |
| 1932 |
Department of Chemical Engineering joins the Division of Engineering |
| 1936 | Seven academic departments receive accreditation that is continuous to the present |
| 1940 | Flat fee system adopted by college |
| 1946 |
First PhD awarded to Lawrence B. Hein, Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering Doctoral Program in Electrical Engineering approved |
| 1947 | The Electrical Engineering Building is constructed (now the Computer Center) |
| 1948 |
Dedication of Farrall Hall, the agricultural engineering building (now called Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering BAE) First annual College of Engineering Exposition H. B. Dirks retires and Lorin G. Miller, chairperson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, appointed dean |
| 1949 | Department of Metallurgy established |
| 1950 | JETS, Junior Engineering Training for Schools, is organized |
| 1951 | Department of Applied Mechanics established |
| 1953 |
|
| 1954 | Doctoral Program in Civil Engineering approved |
| 1955 | Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science renamed as Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science |
| 1956 |
The MSU Computer Laboratory was created to provide centralized academic computing functions |
| 1957 |
MSU's first computing system, called Michigan State Integral Computer (MISTIC), began operation 
|
| 1958 | Engineering Experiment Station renamed Division of Engineering Research |
| 1962 | Engineering Building is constructed where it is now, 428 S. Shaw Lane |
| 1963 |  Tau Beta Pi dedicates seven-foot replica of society's symbol, The Bent, to chapter founder Lester P. Breckenridge |
| 1964 |
Engineering program reduced to 180 hours including Natural Science and Physical Education Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science renamed as Michigan State University |
| 1966 | Engineering Science program established |
| 1968 | J. D. Ryder retires, Lawrence W. Von Tersch, associate dean, appointed dean |
| 1969 |
Department of Computer Science established and graduate program approved MiSTriga reactor becomes operational |
| 1971 | Material Science graduate degree program approved |
| 1973 |
Engineering Arts major approved Society of Women Engineering student chapter established |
| 1975 | Engineering Cooperative Education Program established |
| 1978 | A. H. Case Center for Computer-Aided Engineering and Manufacturing established |
| 1981 |
MSU purchases Jolly Road Research Facility Department of Civil & Sanitary Engineering renamed Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering |
| 1988 |
Ground breaking ceremony for Engineering Building addition and renovation Composite Materials and Structures Center established |
| 1989 |
Lawrence W. Von Tersch retires, Theodore A. Bickart, Dean of Engineering at Syracuse University, appointed dean $34.5 million addition and renovation to the Engineering Building adds 167,000 square feet of space The Crop and Food Bioprocessing Center established |
| 1990 | MSU purchases Hulett Road Research Facility |
| 1997 | $14 million, 46,000 square foot addition to the Engineering Building from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Institute for Materials Research |
| 1998 | Theodore Bickart retires, George Van Dusen named acting dean |
| 1999 | Janie Fouke, division director, Bioengineering and Environmental Systems at the National Science Foundation, is appointed dean |
| 2005 | Janie Fouke leaves MSU to become provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Florida, Satish Udpa is appointed dean |
| 2013 | Satish Udpa named MSU executive vice president for administrative services, Leo Kempel, associate dean for research, is named acting dean
|
| 2014 |
Leo Kempel is appointed dean MSU establishes Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) |
| 2015 | Department of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering established |
| 2016 |
|
Ethel V. Lyon is the first female granted permission to enroll in engineering
Dedication of Research Complex - Engineering
MSU's new $69.8 million Bio Engineering Facility opens
