Our Doors Opened Wide: Syracuse University and the GI Bill, 1945-1950

The College of Applied Science

Veteran enrollment after World War II transformed Syracuse University. While all its schools and colleges experienced growth, some were more affected than others. The Colleges of Business Administration, Liberal Arts, and Applied Science took in the most veterans. As enrollment increased so did the size of the faculty, which tripled between 1945 and 1950.  This was also a time for new, innovative administrators, such as Thomas Carroll, dean of the School of Business Administration, and Norman Rice, director of the School of Art, both of whom elevated the status of their schools. New undergraduate and graduate programs also sprang up, including an art program for liberal arts students and a special education department in the School of Education. Graduate student enrollment expanded almost sevenfold. 

The impact of the University’s enrollment and academic growth can be best seen in the College of Applied Science (now the College of Engineering and Computer Science). In response to an increased interest in technology, Syracuse University opened a 120-acre engineering campus in 1947 at the former naval war plant on Thompson Road.  The War Assets Administration divided the facility between the University and Carrier Corporation. Nicknamed “T-Road” by students, it attracted 30 new faculty and helped enlarge the College of Applied Science from prewar enrollment of 400 to a 1947 enrollment of 1,900, 72% of whom were veterans.

Photograph of the College of Applied Science’s students and faculty on the steps of Hendricks Chapel, October 1944. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.
Photograph of the College of Applied Science’s students and faculty on the steps of Hendricks Chapel, October 1946. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by I.U. Doust Photo Material, Inc.

This 1946 class photograph, compared with the 1944 photograph, shows the dramatic impact of veteran enrollment in Syracuse University colleges and schools like the College of Applied Science.

Aerial photograph showing Syracuse University’s facility at Thompson Road next to the Carrier Corporation buildings, circa 1950. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives.
Photograph of a laboratory at Syracuse University’s Thompson Road facility, circa 1947. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by William M. Rittase.
Photograph of a chemical engineering laboratory at the Thompson Road facility, circa 1947. Syracuse University Photograph Collection, University Archives. Photograph by William M. Rittase.