Phi Kappa Upsilon

Phi Kappa Upsilon: Origins

A Narrative By Gary Lowell - Pledged Spring 1964

Minor Executive courses, given for free.19

U. of D. finances are beginning to come to the fore in October 1931. The school reports that it has spent over 1 million dollars supporting their education mission. Two hundred thousand is used to build additions to the Engineering facility and another large portion to keep tuition to 1/3 the actual cost of educating a student. As the students find they are unable to pay the tuition in full and in advance, unsecured loans, funded by the university, are being offered. A student placement bureau is set up to help students find jobs to retire their notes to the university.20

A transitioning plan is announced in December 1931 for the freshmen and sophomores who elect not to participate in the work portion of co-op education. It is referred to as an “accelerated course”.21 Later in the month, a longer article explains the reasons and benefits of this plan are published.22

When classes resume after the first of the year, an article about seniors teaching night classes for the Minor Executives is published.

In the same issue, there is also a second mention of the Dynamic Club. It says that the Detroit Dynamic Club will have a “welcome rally” for new initiates and old members on January 27, 1932 at the Masonic Temple. The U. of D. Band will supply the music. The affair will coincide with its regular monthly meeting. “The club is composed”, the article states, “of members of the Minor Executives’ classes. Robert A. Plumb is president of the organization.” It goes on, “Since its inception, a comparatively short time ago, the Dynamic Club takes rapid strides in development and furthering of interest of the university. In the beginning of the calendar year, the foremen outlined an ambitious program including field trips, lectures, and other social and academic activities. The club establishes itself as an integral part of the Minor Executive division.”23

In February, there are two notices that indicate what the Dynamic Club monthly meetings were like. At the time of the Feb 10th announcement, Dean Lawrence, says he expected full capacity enrollment in the engineering program and encourages those interested to enroll quickly to secure their spot. 24

By mid-February, after a year’s existence, The Dynamic Club is making quite an impression on the U. of D. campus as evidenced by an editorial in U. of D.’s The Varsity News. It states, “There is a class, of which a great number of students are not aware, that has accomplished excellent results, an organization that can be set up as an example for others to imitate. This class is a dynamic body – it is the Minor Executives division of the College of Engineering.” Separate is an

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2031_10_07-TVN-EngTuitionLoans

2131_12_09-TVN-AccelEngCourse

2231_12_16-TVN-NewEngPlan

2332_01_20-TVN-EngStudentTeachers, 31_01_23-NXX-StudentTeachClass

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April 3, 2016

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succeeded by Albert Lebrun.

•Japan invades China.

•The Communist Party of America organizes a “March on Hunger” in Detroit.

•Daughters of American Revolution ask for deportation of jobless aliens