Editing Pratt Institute (section)

==History==

===Inception===
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2018}}
[[File:Charles Pratt.jpg|thumb|left|170px|[[Charles Pratt]], founder of Pratt Institute]]
Pratt Institute was founded in 1887 by American [[industrialist]] [[Charles Pratt]], who was a successful businessman and oil tycoon and was one of the wealthiest men in the history of Brooklyn. Pratt was an early pioneer of the [[oil industry]] in the United States and was the founder of [[Astral Oil Works]] based in the [[Greenpoint, Brooklyn|Greenpoint]] section of Brooklyn which was a leader in replacing [[whale oil]] with petroleum or natural oil. In 1867, Pratt established [[Charles Pratt and Company]]. In 1874, Pratt's companies amalgamated with [[John D. Rockefeller]]'s companies. They became part of the [[Standard Oil]] trust where Pratt continued his active involvement on the board and the running of it.

Pratt, an advocate of education, wanted to provide working men and women the opportunity to better their lives through education. Even though Pratt never had the chance to go to [[college]] himself, he wanted to create an affordable college accessible to the working class. Beginning with the 1884 purchases of large plots of land near his home in Clinton Hill to open a school. The school would end up being built only two blocks from Charles Pratt's residence on Clinton Avenue.

From his fortunes with Astral Oil and [[Charles Pratt and Company]], in 1886 he endowed and founded Pratt Institute. In May 1887, the [[New York State Legislature]] granted Charles Pratt a charter to open the school; on October 17, 1887, the institute opened to 12 students in the Main Hall. Tuition was $4 per class per term (approximately {{Inflation|US|4|1887|fmt=eq|r=1}}).<ref name="wilw">{{Cite web |title=Prattfolio Fall/Winter 2011 "Generations Issue" by Pratt Institute – Issuu |url=https://issuu.com/prattinstitute/docs/prattfolio-fallwinter-2011-generations |access-date= |via=issuu.com. 28 September 2011.}}</ref> The college was one of the first in the country open to all people, regardless of class, color, and gender. In the early years, the institute's mission was to offer education to those who never had it offered to them before. Pratt believed that teaching technical skills-drawing, building, designing-promoted intellectual thought and creativity. And in a reciprocal manner, exposure to the ideals and aesthetics of fine art. Specifically, many programs were tailored to the growing need to train industrial workers in the changing economy with training in design and engineering. Early programs sought to teach students a variety of subjects such as architectural engineering, mechanics, dressmaking, and furniture making. Graduates of the school were taught to become engineers, mechanics, and technicians. Drawing, whether freehand, mechanical, or architectural, thought of as being a universal language, united such diverse programs and thus all programs in the school had a strong foundation in drawing. In addition, the curriculum at the institute was to be complemented by a large Liberal Arts curriculum. Students studied subjects such as history, mathematics, physics, and literature to better understand the world in which they would be working, which is still used in Pratt's curriculum.<ref name="wilw" /><ref name="issuu-125th" />

===Early years=== 
[[File:NIE Kindergarten Pratt Institute Brooklyn.jpg|thumb|Pratt Institute Kindergarten, 1905]]
Enrollment grew steadily from its inception. Six months after opening, the school had an enrollment of nearly 600 students. By the first anniversary of the school, there were 1,000 students in attendance. In five years the school had nearly 4,000 students.<ref name="wilw" /> In 1888, ''[[Scientific American]]'' said of the school that "it is undoubtedly the most important enterprise of its kind in this country, if not in the world".<ref name="wilw" /> [[Andrew Carnegie]] visited Pratt for inspiration and used the school as a model in developing Carnegie Technical Schools, now [[Carnegie Mellon University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2249&dat=19020116&id=zZ4-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=R1oMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3973,2142724|title=Boston Evening Transcript – Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com|access-date=2016-10-08|archive-date=2016-05-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512201902/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2249&dat=19020116&id=zZ4-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=R1oMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3973,2142724|url-status=live}}</ref> At the first Founder's Day celebration in 1888, Charles Pratt addressed what would become the school's motto: "be true to your work and your work will be true to you"—meaning that students should educate and develop themselves diligently and go out into the world working hard, giving all of themselves.

As public interest grew in the school and demand increased, the school began adding new programs including the Pratt High School, Library School, Music Department, and Department of Commerce.<ref name="scup">{{Cite web |url=http://www.scup.org/asset/52919/45073%20Pratt%20MP%20Report-Part%201-Composited.pdf |title=45073 Pratt MP Report-Part 1-Intro-Analysis-060912.indd<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2013-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192319/http://www.scup.org/asset/52919/45073%20Pratt%20MP%20Report-Part%201-Composited.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-29 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Because of the overwhelming popularity of the Department of Commerce, the department broke off from the main institute and formed its own school, under the guidance of Norman P. Heffley, personal secretary to Charles Pratt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/draftbuilding-of-the-day-375-pearl-street/|title=Building of the Day: 375 Pearl Street|first=Suzanne Spellen (aka Montrose|last=Morris)|date=August 23, 2011|website=Brownstoner|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107195627/https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/draftbuilding-of-the-day-375-pearl-street/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aRRSAAAAYAAJ&dq=Heffley+School+of+Commerce&pg=PA2|title=Shorthand Educator: A Monthly Magazine|date=January 7, 1898|via=Google Books}}</ref> '''The Heffley School of Commerce''', the former Pratt Department of Commerce, originally having shared facilities with Pratt, evolved into [[Brooklyn Law School]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-life/walkabout-steno/|title=Stenography and the Law|first=Suzanne Spellen (aka Montrose|last=Morris)|date=September 2, 2010|website=Brownstoner|access-date=January 7, 2022|archive-date=January 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107195627/https://www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-life/walkabout-steno/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1891, the institute's founder and first president, Charles Pratt, died and his eldest son, [[Charles Millard Pratt]], became president of the school. In 1893, Charles Pratt's other son, [[Frederic B. Pratt]], was elected President of Pratt Institute taking over from his elder brother. Because Charles Pratt Snr. died so soon after the college was founded, Frederic Pratt is ascribed with guiding the college through its early decades.<ref>[http://www.pratt.edu/about_pratt/history/the_pratt_family/ The History of Pratt] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530124449/http://www.pratt.edu/about_pratt/history/the_pratt_family/ |date=2013-05-30}}, Pratt Institute. Retrieved 8 May 2013.</ref> Under the direction of Pratt's sons, the institute thrived both financially and critically with many new construction projects and courses. By 1892, the number of students enrolled was 3,900. In 1897 the most popular major was domestic arts.<ref name="issuu-fallwinter2011">{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/prattinstitute/docs/prattfolio-fallwinter-2011-generations|title=Prattfolio Fall/Winter 2011 "Generations Issue" by Pratt Institute – Issuu|website=issuu.com|date=28 September 2011}}</ref>

In 1896, the school opened its monumental [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Victorian-Renaissance Revival]] [[Pratt Institute Libraries|library]] with interiors designed by the [[Louis Comfort Tiffany|Tiffany Decorating and Glass Company]] and sprawling gardens outside the library. The library was open to students and the general public as well. The Pratt Institute Library was the first and only public library in Brooklyn for nearly 15 years. It served as a working classroom for the training of librarians and was one of the first schools of [[library science]]. The Pratt Institute Library also made available the first reading room for children in New York City.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://library.pratt.edu/libraries/ |title=About |publisher=Pratt Institute Libraries |access-date=2022-01-07 |archive-date=2022-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107195627/https://library.pratt.edu/libraries/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the turn of the century, The School of Science and Technology had become Pratt's most prestigious and well-known school and constituted most of the school's enrollment.<ref name="issuu-125th" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/06/02/100585742.pdf |work=The New York Times |title=From an Educational Experiment, Pratt's Institute Has Grown in 25 Years Into a Splendid Institution With 4,31 0 Students |date=2 June 1912 |access-date=14 June 2018 |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520194446/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/06/02/100585742.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Across from East Building on Grand Avenue, the institute constructed a new quad for the engineering school over a quarter of a century. The Chemistry, Machinery, and Engineering buildings were constructed in the same architectural style, unifying all disciplines offered by the School. Pratt also had a variety of courses dedicated specifically to women. Some of the 25 courses women could partake in included [[library science]], [[nursing]], [[home economics]], and [[fashion]].<ref name="issuu-125th">{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/prattinstitute/docs/prattfolio-125th-anniversary-2012|title=Prattfolio "125th Anniversary Commemorative Issue" by Pratt Institute – Issuu|website=issuu.com|date=16 May 2012|access-date=7 January 2022|archive-date=7 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107195626/https://issuu.com/prattinstitute/docs/prattfolio-125th-anniversary-2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

By 1910, all of the departments of the institute were organized as individual schools including the Library School, School of Domestic Science, School of Fine and Applied Arts, and the School of Science and Technology.<ref name="issuu-125th" />

===Degree-granting status and increase in enrollment===
[[File:Pratt war flagpole base jeh.jpg|thumb|150px|World War One Memorial in the Rose Garden]]

As [[World War I]] faced the nation in 1914, Pratt partnered with the [[United States government]] to aid the war effort. The School of Science and Technology had its own Student Army Training Corps which taught enlistees engineering skills needed for the war. Students designed aircraft used in the war and trained pilots. In 1927, [[mechanical engineering]] alumnus [[Donald A. Hall]] designed the ''[[Spirit of Saint Louis]]'', used by [[Charles Lindbergh]] in the first transatlantic flight.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://125.pratt.edu/gallery/artist/donald_a._hall |title=Pratt Institute {{!}} Celebrating 125 Years {{!}} Pratt Icons Gallery {{!}} Donald A. Hall<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2013-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728184905/http://125.pratt.edu/gallery/artist/donald_a._hall |archive-date=2013-07-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

By 1938, most programs at the school had begun offering four-year [[Bachelor of Science]] [[Academic degree|degrees]] and Pratt transformed itself from a [[technical school]] to a college.<ref name="bulletin">[http://www.pratt.edu/uploads/undergrad_bulletin.pdf Undergraduate Bulletin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217212051/https://www.pratt.edu/uploads/undergrad_bulletin.pdf |date=2015-02-17 }} pratt.edu</ref> By granting bachelor's degrees, Pratt had to revise its curriculum from two years to four years. The changes also reflected New York State requirements for granting degrees and stricter government and professional licensing regulations for graduates. During this decade, the basic program for all Art School students was founded.<ref name="issuu-125th" /> In 1940 Pratt began granting graduate degrees.<ref name="bulletin" />

During [[World War II]], Pratt also helped in the war effort as it did during World War I with the engineering school training servicemen before they were deployed. Students helped to design [[camouflage]] for soldiers, buildings, and weapons. Following the war, the school saw a large influx of [[veterans]] enrolling as part of the [[GI Bill]].

In the 1940s, the School of Science and Technology changed its name to the School of Engineering and in 1946 established its own [[honor society]] with [[mechanical engineering]] becoming the most popular major at Pratt.<ref name="issuu-fallwinter2011" /> In 1953, Francis H. Horn became the first president of Pratt who was not a member of the Pratt family. Enrollment continued to climb throughout the decade and in 1948 the institute reached an all-time high in attendance with 6,000 students.<ref name="issuu-fallwinter2011" /> By 1950, Pratt had become [[Higher education accreditation in the United States|accredited]] by the [[Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools]].<ref name="scup" /> In 1954, the architecture department split from the Engineering School to become its own school.<ref name="issuu-125th" />

===Campus reorganization===
[[File:Prattdekalbjeh.JPG|thumb|DeKalb Avenue Gate of Enclosed Campus]]

As part of [[white flight]] in the 1950s and 1960s which affected the majority of [[New York City]] the neighborhood of Clinton Hill began to see a transformation from an upper-class, affluent, white community to one chiefly populated by poor and working-class people of color. Pratt considered moving its campus to more affluent [[Long Island]] or [[Manhattan]] to increase its attractiveness but decided to stay at its original Brooklyn campus due to the history and Charles Pratt's mission.<ref name="issuu-125th" />

As a consequence of [[Robert Moses|Robert Moses']] plan for [[urban renewal]] in New York City, Pratt's physical campus saw the greatest amount of change in its history. Before the 1950s, the school was located in separate buildings located on several public streets. However, after Moses' clearance of many structures located between Pratt's buildings, including homes, the land was given over to the school, and a true campus was established. Ryerson Street, Grand Avenue, Steuben Street, and Emerson Place were closed to automobile traffic, and the campus was enclosed, forming the Grand Mall to connect the institute's buildings.<ref name="Powell">{{cite news|last=Powell|first=Michael|title=A Tale Of Two Cities|work=The New York Times|page=1|date=6 May 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/nyregion/thecity/06hist.html|access-date=12 February 2017|archive-date=3 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103002343/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/nyregion/thecity/06hist.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The elevated train running along Grand Avenue between the East Building/Student Union and the Engineering Quad was dismantled. In the new real estate, the school was able to build several new structures, Dekalb Hall, Information Science Center and North Hall, all designed by the firm of [[McKim, Mead & White]], including the Information Science Center and Dekalb Hall as well as a new student union.<ref name="campus">{{Cite web |url=http://mysite.pratt.edu/~cg520/frames_c/campus/text.txt |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512101253/http://mysite.pratt.edu/~cg520/frames_c/campus/text.txt |archive-date=2015-05-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Moses' construction projects around the school helped to build the School of Architecture. Research funds were granted to the school to help discover new building techniques. By 1963, the urban planning department formed the Pratt Center for Community Development in an attempt to revitalize Pratt's surrounding neighborhood and Brooklyn.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://prattcenter.net/pratt-center-story|title=The Pratt Center Story &#124; Pratt Center<!-- Bot generated title -->|accessdate=8 July 2023|archive-date=22 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022005911/http://prattcenter.net/pratt-center-story|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Enrollment decline and financial issues===
In the 1970s and continuing well into the 1980s New York City and Brooklyn still faced large amounts of crime and poverty. Enrollment fell and the school faced a [[budget deficit]]. Prospective students and faculty felt uneasy about the safety of the campus and community. In 1974, the men's basketball team came to the attention of national media outlets when Cyndi Meserve joined the team becoming the first woman to play men's [[NCAA basketball]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19750609&id=QK8wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1PoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6957,2437699|title=Lakeland Ledger – Google News Archive Search|website=news.google.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pressherald.com/archive/making-history-but-just-wanting-to-play-ball_2008-12-04.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130628042726/http://www.pressherald.com/archive/making-history-but-just-wanting-to-play-ball_2008-12-04.html|url-status=|archive-date=2013-06-28|title=Making history, but just wanting to play ball &#124; The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram}}</ref> More students earned architecture degrees than mechanical engineering degrees in 1975. Architecture degrees became the most popular degree at Pratt, and remain so.<ref name="issuu-fallwinter2011" /> In anticipation of the institute's centennial in 1987, several capital improvements were made to the campus, in an attempt to restore many dilapidated buildings. The Grand Mall was re-landscaped with new plantings, brick pathways, and lighting and the Newman Amphitheater was built in 1988 in celebration of the hundredth anniversary. President [[Richardson Pratt Jr]] retired in 1990 after nearly twenty years as president. He was the last president descended from founder Charles Pratt.

By 1993, [[Thomas F. Schutte]] was appointed as president and became the longest-serving president not from the Pratt family. In the same year, Pratt controversially closed its School of Engineering as announced in 1991.<ref name="nyt-1991-12-13" /> The School of Engineering had been an integral part of founder Charles Pratt's long-term vision. Historically, the school was Pratt's most successful, and many associated the school with its engineering program.<ref name="issuu-125th" /> In response to the institute-wide decrease in enrollment and school-wide budget issues, closing the School of Engineering was thought of as being the only feasible option to keep the school's other programs afloat and to address the budget. Students in the Engineering program were transferred to [[Polytechnic Institute of New York University]] while tenured professors were relocated to the School of Architecture and the science and math departments in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences.<ref name="nyt-1991-12-13">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/13/nyregion/pratt-decides-to-end-school-for-engineers.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm | work=The New York Times | title=Pratt Decides To End School For Engineers – Page 2 – New York Times | first=Mary B. W. | last=Tabor | date=13 December 1991 | access-date=12 February 2017 | archive-date=3 August 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803063106/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/13/nyregion/pratt-decides-to-end-school-for-engineers.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Revitalization and growth===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Pratt Institute Higgins Hall rebuilt center section.jpg|thumb|left|Higgins Hall center section rebuilt by Steven Holl]] -->
By closing the costly School of Engineering, the school was able to clear its debt and get on the track to financial success. Funds were allocated for campus-wide beautification projects and restoration and modernization of historic buildings, starting with Memorial Hall. Part of the beautification projects included adding the Pratt Institute Sculpture Park in 1999 where contemporary art sculptures are placed throughout the campus lawns and gardens, making it the largest contemporary sculpture park in New York City.<ref name="gridskipper">{{Cite web|url=http://gridskipper.com/archives/entries/57510/57510.php|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130628042722/http://gridskipper.com/archives/entries/57510/57510.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-06-28|title=Pratt Sculpture Park – Gridskipper<!-- Bot generated title -->|accessdate=8 July 2023}}</ref> Pratt began a partnership with [[Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute|Pratt Munson College of Art and Design]] and [[Delaware College of Art and Design]] for art students to study for two years at either campus and finish their degrees at Pratt's School of Art and Design in Brooklyn. During the 1990s the school was able to increase enrollment by twenty-five percent, from approximately 3,000 students in 1990 to 4,000 students in 2000.<ref name="issuu-125th" />

Vincent A. Stabile, a 1940 graduate of the School of Engineering, donated about $13 million to Pratt, the largest donation made by any alumnus in the college's history,<ref name="issuu-125th" /> with the request to President Schutte that the donation be used to reopen the School of Engineering. President Schutte rejected Stabile's request and allocated his funds to construct a new residence hall named in his honor. From the mid-1980s to the 2000s Pratt experienced the transition from being mainly a commuter school to becoming a residential school through the construction of new residence halls Cannoneer Court, Pantas Hall, and Stabile Hall.

===Presidents===

# [[Charles Pratt]] (1830–1891), president from 1887 to 1891
# [[Charles Millard Pratt]] (1855–1935), president from 1891–1893
# [[Frederic B. Pratt]] (1865–1945), president from 1893–1937
# Charles Pratt (1892–?), president from 1937–1953
# [[Francis H. Horn]], president from 1953–1957
# [[Robert Fisher Oxnam]] (1915–1974), president from 1957–1960<ref>{{Cite news |date=1974-08-06 |title=Obituary for Robert Fisher Oxnam |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/progress-bulletin-obituary-for-robert-fi/57225233/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=Progress-Bulletin |pages=4}}</ref>
# [[Richard H. Heindel]] (c.1913–1979), president from 1961–1967,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1979-08-02 |title=Dr. Richard H. Heindel, Ex‐Penn State Dean, 66 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/08/02/archives/dr-richard-h-heindel-expenn-state-dean-66.html |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
# [[James B. Donovan]] (1916–1970), president from 1968–1970
# [[Henry Saltzman]], acting president from 1970–1972<ref>{{Cite news |date=1970-02-12 |title=Ex‐Education Aide Here Named Acting Head of Pratt Institute |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/02/12/archives/exeducation-aide-here-named-acting-head-of-pratt-institute.html |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
# [[Richardson Pratt Jr|Richardson Pratt Jr.]] (1923–2001) (grandson of Charles Millard Pratt; great-grandson of Charles Pratt), president from 1972–1990
# [[Warren F. Ilchman]] (1933–), president from 1990–1993
# [[Thomas F. Schutte]] (1936–2025), president from 1993–2017<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 29, 2025 |title=Dr. Thomas F. Schutte |url=https://www.post-journal.com/obituaries/2025/03/dr-thomas-f-schutte/ |access-date= |website=The Post-Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>
# [[Frances Bronet]], 2018–present