Olin History
Olin, the man
Franklin W. Olin (1860-1951) was an engineer, entrepreneur and professional
baseball player. Raised in Vermont lumber camps and lacking a high school
diploma, he qualified himself for entrance to Cornell University through
self-instruction. At Cornell he majored in civil engineering and was
captain of the baseball team. He even played major league baseball during
the summers to finance his education. He went on to found the company
known today as the Olin Corporation, a Fortune 1000 company.View Video About Mr. Olin (Real Media 56k[Dial up]-983kb) View Video About Mr. Olin (Real Media Broadband[High Speed]-8.65mb)
View Video About Mr. Olin (Quick Time Broadband[High Speed]-12mb)
Olin, the Foundation: F.W. Olin Foundation
In 1938, Mr. Olin transferred a large part of this personal wealth
to a private philanthropic foundation. In the 60 years since then, the
New York-based Olin Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than
$300 million to construct and fully equip 72 buildings on 57 independent
college campuses. Recipients include Babson, Bucknell, Carleton, Case-Western,
Colgate, Cornell, DePauw, Harvey Mudd, Johns Hopkins, Marquette, Rose-Hulman
Institute, Tufts, University of San Diego, University of Southern California,
Vanderbilt, and Worcester Polytechnic. The Foundation's commitment in
excess of $400 million to Olin College remains one of the largest such
commitments in the history of American higher education.View Video About Foundation (Real Media 56k[Dial up]-1.6 MB)
View Video About Foundation (Real Media Broadband[High Speed]-18.7 MB)
View Video About Foundation (Quick Time Broadband[High Speed]-27mb)
Olin, the vision
Starting in the late 1980's, the National Science Foundation and engineering
community at-large started calling for reform in engineering education.
In order to serve the needs of the growing global economy, it was clear
that engineers needed to have business and entrepreneurship skills,
creativity and an understanding of the social, political and economic
contexts of engineering. The F.W. Olin Foundation decided the best way
to maximize its impact was to help create a college from scratch that
can address these emerging needs.Olin, the college
The Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering received its educational
charter from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1997, the same year
the Foundation announced its ambitious plans for the college. Planning
and architectural design work for a state-of-the-art campus began almost
immediately. By the end of 1999, the new institution's leadership team
had been hired, and site development work commenced on 70 acres adjacent
to Babson College. Olin's first faculty members joined the college by
September 2000. The college officially opened in Fall 2002 to its inaugural freshman class. During the prior year, thirty student "partners" worked with Olin's world-class faculty to create and test an innovative curriculum that infused a rigorous engineering education with business and entrepreneurship as well as the arts, humanities and social sciences. They developed a hands-on, interdisciplinary approach that better reflects actual engineering practice. State-of-the-art facilities matched with first-rate students, nationally renowned professors and unbridled enthusiasm have made Olin an exciting whirlwind of activity and excellence. Olin's commitment to continual innovation and improvement promises to keep Olin College a place where the dust will never settle.
View Video About Founding of College (Real Media 56k[Dial up]-1.3 MB)
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View Video About Founding of College (Quick Time Broadband[High Speed]-27mb)
Read more about the history of Olin
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