Finding Aid for American Industry Project (slides), 1963-1968

The American Industry Project began in the academic year of 1962-1963 when a small group of faculty and administrators at Stout decided to investigate changes that ought to be made in the traditional program of industrial arts education. A grant of $7,900 dollars from the U.S. Office of Education was used to carry the program through its initial stages. A subsequent grant of $65,000 was received from the Ford Foundation to train ten selected industrial arts teachers to field test the program. In 1965, a five-year grant was received from the U.S. Office of Education for the study of American Industry. The original staff of the project included Wesley Face and Eugene Flug as co-directors; Orville Nelson, research specialist; William Daehling, instructional media specialist; Harlyn Misfeldt, supervisor of participating teachers; Lorry Sedgwick, director of pilot teacher education; and Richard Gebhart and Dwight Davis, curriculum specialists. The staff chose to take a conceptual approach towards the study of industrial arts. It was decided that concentrating upon concepts, rather than specifics, would enhance subject retention and help in applying knowledge to new and different situations. Following the end of the U.S. Office of Education grant in 1970, the American Industry Project became part of the School of Applied Science and Technology (currently the School of Industry and Technology). The program faced two immediate problems: loss of staff and secretarial services, and low undergraduate enrollment. Many freshmen had never heard of American Industry and many juniors and seniors were reluctant to turn away from the traditional approach of teaching industrial education. Even so, for many years, American Industry was to play an important role in the School of Industry and Technology. However, the role diminished as the school began to place more emphasis on preparing its students for placement in industry rather than as teachers. The major in American Industry was eventually put on a hold status.Slides from the American Industry Project used for classes and presentations