page_title: Blake R Van Leer
section_title: Southern Polytechnic State University
hierarchical_section_title: Blake R Van Leer / Southern Polytechnic State University
caption_attribution_description: Kennesaw State University, Marietta Campus Kennesaw State University, Marietta Campus
context_page_description: Blake Ragsdale Van Leer was the fifth president of Georgia Institute of Technology, founder of Southern Polytechnic State University, former dean of University of Florida and North Carolina State University. He was also a United States Army officer. During his 12-year tenure at Georgia Tech, women were admitted for the first time, steps were made towards integration, Tech changed its name from Georgia School of Technology to the Georgia Institute of Technology and went through a dramatic change.
context_section_description: Van Leer played a crucial role in establishing the Southern Polytechnic State University now known as Kennesaw State University and considered its founder. After World War II, the need for technicians spiked due to a major economic shift in Georgia from being a largely agricultural state to one that is more industry heavy. The new industries required technicians to bridge the growing gap between engineers and craftsmen, effectively the gap between research/development and building/implementing. At the time, most technical institutes in the United States were in the northeastern states; thus the need for a technical institute in the south was great.
  In response to the growing demand, the president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Colonel Blake R. Van Leer, sought to establish a technical institute program in Georgia. In 1945 he was approached by the Associated Industries of Georgia (AIG) who shared their common desire to have such a program and offered Van Leer their support. It took years for Van Leer to convince the Board of Regents to give Georgia Tech authorization to establish a technical institute. On October 8, 1947 the authorization was granted. The location chosen for the fledgling institute was a Naval Air Station in Chamblee, GA, which eventually became the site of DeKalb–Peachtree Airport. The first director was to be Professor Lawrence V. Johnson, and it was going to open under the name of The Technical Institute. On March 24, 1948 The Technical Institute held registration for the spring quarter and 116 students enrolled (all but 10 World War II veterans), including one young woman named Barbara Hudson. The institute had a staff of 12.
caption: Globe
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