YSEA Heritage & Contributions

Sources: Havemeyer & Dudley; The Engineering History at Yale: 1852-1957; (1959).
               Cunningham; Engineering at Yale: 1932-82; (1992).

• Founded in 1914 by graduates of the Sheffield Scientific School, the Yale Engineering Association (YEA) has worked in many ways to promote the quality of engineering and science at Yale.
• In 1914, the Sheffield Scientific School had 1003 undergraduates and Yale College had 1226 undergraduates (i.e., Sheffield had 45% of the students).
• In 1926, YEA provided significant funding for the buildings that were erected at Sheffield's 1300-acre East Lyme civil engineering "camp."
• In 1932, the Yale Engineering School was established, separate from the Sheffield Scientific School.
• In 1947, enrollment in the Engineering School totaled 1049 (579 in engineering, and 470 in industrial administration).
• From 1902 -1952, Yale granted some 7300 engineering degrees, or about 150 per year (i.e., "trained an estimated 15% of the country's engineers")
• In 1954, YEA helped to organize the Yale Engineering Fund that raised more than $2 million to pay for an addition to Dunham Laboratory.
• In 1971, the name of YEA was changed to Yale Science and Engineering Association (YSEA) to reflect a broader constituency following the incorporation of engineering into the Faculty of Arts & Sciences,
• In 1981, enrollment in the Council of Engineering was about 230 students (in accredited and non-accredited programs).
• In 1992, YSEA mounted a successful campaign to retain engineering in the Yale curriculum.
• In 2003, YSEA succeeded in convincing AYA to hold an Assembly on the topic of engineering and science at Yale.

Generated by Bill Cashman, September 30, 2004