Rose Polytechnic Institute
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| Motto | Labor et scientia (Latin) |
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Motto in English
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Labor and Knowledge |
| Type | Private coeducational |
| Established | 1874 |
| Endowment | $197 million |
| President | James C. Conwell |
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Academic staff
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182 |
| Undergraduates | 2,233 |
| Postgraduates | 71 |
| Location | 5500 Wabash Avenue Terre Haute, IN 47803 (812) 877-1511 |
| Campus | Suburban: 200-acre (0.3 sq mi; 80.9 ha) |
| Colors | Old Rose and White |
| Athletics | NCAA Division III – HCAC |
| Sports | 20 varsity teams |
| Nickname | Fightin' Engineers |
| Mascot | Rosie the Elephant |
| Affiliations |
AITU MUPEC |
| Website | www.rose-hulman.edu |
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Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology (abbreviated RHIT), formerly Rose Polytechnic Institute, is a small private college specializing in teaching engineering, mathematics and science. Its 200-acre (0.3 sq mi; 80.9 ha) campus is located in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Founder Chauncey Rose, along with nine friends, created the Terre Haute School of Industrial Science in 1874 to provide technical training after encountering difficulties in local engineer availability during construction of his railroads. Mr. Rose donated the land on 13th and Locust St. and the majority of the funds needed to start the new school. A year later, the cornerstone of the new institution was laid and the name was changed to Rose Polytechnic Institute despite the objections of the president of the board of managers and chief benefactor, Mr. Rose. The original campus was a single building, with no dormitories or recreational facilities.
The first class of 48 students entered in 1883, chosen from 58 applicants. Of the 48 students, all were male, and 37 came from Indiana. All but four students chose to major in Mechanical Engineering with Civil Engineering and Chemistry the only other majors. Nearly half of the original students would eventually quit their studies before graduation for a number of reasons, including poor grades or conduct. The first president was Charles O. Thompson, who modeled the education of Rose Poly after eastern institutions. Rose Poly was thus founded as the first private engineering college west of the Alleghenies.
During the beginning years of the school, money was a major concern. A lot of faculty and staff were forced to take pay cuts in order to stay at the institution.
In 1889 the school awarded what it considers to be the first Chemical Engineering degree in the country.
In 1917, the school, having grown to more than 300 students, moved from 13th and Locust St. (on which now sits Chauncey Rose Middle School) to a new site consisting of 123 acres (0.50 km2) of farm land on U.S. 40 donated by the Hulman family of Terre Haute. The cornerstone of the new campus was laid in 1922. The new campus consisted of an academic building and the institute's first dorm, Deming Hall, which is still used by freshman today.
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