Engineer Memoirs
A ..
I wrote a thesis as an undergraduate, but not as a graduate student. Iowa had an
alternative system, particularly if you were taking a master's in a
other than the
subject of your bachelor's degree. They did not requ re a
they required
of 40 hours of course credit
additional course work. As I remember, I took a
rather than taking 36 hours and writing a thesis.
Q ..
And you had your bachelor's in mechanical engineerir
and your master's in civil
engineering`?
A ..
(11
Right. Apparently, things went well enough during the year at Iowa that in
years after I graduated), the university asked me to retire from the Army and be the
Dean of Engineering at the school, which,
some consideration, I decided to
decline.
Q ..
Was that while you were at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces [ICAF]?
A ..
Just before went. Actually, they had approached me the year before, and I told them
that I couldn't afford to leave the Army short of 20 years' service. When they came
back the next year, I had to make a decision before I went to ICAF because attendance
there would lock me in for four more years of service.
Q ..
Was that a hard decision to make?
A ..
Well, we thought about it seriously enough that my wife and I made a trip out there and
investigated it on the site and talked to the people. I wasn't ready to leave the Army,
and there were some other factors.
Q ..
At that point you had about 20 years?
A ..
I would have had exactly 20 years. But there were other reasons why I thought it was
not the right thing to do.
Q ..
And you had quite a career ahead of you!
A ..
Of course, I didn't know that then.
Q ..
No, you didn't.
A ..
events in my opinion, I made the right decision, both from the point
With
of view of the Army and the school.
Q ..
Were there any other times in your career when you were tempted to retire?
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