Student + Alumni Feelings and Opinions Approaching the 2014 Merger
Student Opinions
While there aren’t a great deal of first hand statements found in the Polytechnic archives, it is possible to gain a bit of insight through certain documents and news articles, especially from the Polytechnic Reporter - the school newspaper of Polytechnic University. After all, their slogan at the time of the articles reviewed from the archives was “The Voice of the Student Body of Polytechnic Institute of NYU” (Silva, 2009). The subtitle “Caution is the watchword on finances” in the article Poly on track towards full school status with NYU immediately alludes to the financial difficulties that in part led to the merger and were quite public (Silva, 2009). One of the biggest selling points of the merger towards students was the much greater course depth and the opportunities that came with a large school like NYU, especially in the humanities. Dr. Richard Thorsen, vice president of Polytechnic academic affairs stated that on a student level, their goal was “to make every student, technical major or humanities major, feel - on both sides of the river - comfortable with each other, intermingling, taking courses together on the campuses, and engaging in student activities” (Silva, 2009).
There was a dissertation written by a PHD student Dennis M. Clark, that used Polytechnic University and NYU as a case study on organizational cultures and student perceptions dealing with school mergers titled Student Perceptions of Organizational Cultures and Identities in a University Merger: A Case Study of New York University and Polytechnic University of New York. In the dissertation, he interviewed students from both institutions around the time of the formal affiliation and found some interesting facts. For starters, students from both institutions did not seem to know almost anything about the other. This is surprising considering the fact that they lie just a few miles apart. There also seemed to be a sense of superiority at NYU. In one survey response by an NYU student, they stated, "I immediately think of a state school and a bit low-grade,” when referring to Polytechnic (Clark, 2009). There was a sense of pride at Polytechnic, with a few students wearing their Poly sweatshirts around the NYU campus. Despite what NYU students may have thought, the truth is that Poly has a long and storied history, being the second oldest engineering school in the country. Even then however, Clark found that in trying to describe the perception of pride at Polytechnic, there was limited amounts of it. One Poly student explained during an interview that Poly pride is limited to the academics at Poly and does not extend beyond. He stated, "There is pride of being a student at Poly in the academic world, but there is not pride of being a student at Poly socially” (Clark, 2009). In the end, neither school had a particular issue with the other, but there was certainly a lack of knowledge among the students as to what the other institution offered and what the other institution was like, definitely playing a part in the perception of a merger.
A separate smaller article in the same issue of the Polytechnic Reporter urges students to take advantage of the smaller perks of the NYU partnership as well. Silva goes on to say that only a handful of Poly students have taken advantage of things like the use of Bobst Library, movie ticket deals at the Kimmel Center, and the plethora of clubs and organizations open to all students at NYU (Silva, 2009). This is a telling article that there may be a hesitancy of Polytechnic students to truly interact and intertwine with NYU students, facilities, and organizations. When 2 schools are already such developed institutions, it is certainly a daunting task to merge them into one. Even to this day, the NYU Tandon School of Engineering campus still can feel isolating to students, almost as if it functions as its own school. And in all honesty it very well still could. It has its own dining halls, dormitories, classroom space, event space, athletic facilities, and administrative space. One could, in theory, go to study at Tandon and never even touch the Washington Square Campus until graduation time. Tandon even has its own university class run on site, such as Expository Writing, that would normally mix students on the Washington Square campus.
Although some programs of the Tisch School of Performing Arts have been moved to the newly renovated 370 Jay Street building, those students are still based and function at the Washington Square campus, retreating back to Manhattan after their classes are done for the day. This does beg the question as to whether NYU fully completed the merging job they had, or whether there is still a hesitancy to bring interaction between Tandon and the rest of the schools, not necessarily by the students themselves but by the faculty and administration left over from their old jobs at Polytechnic University.
Despite a lack of cohesiveness among the 2 schools at the time, the NYU name did bring Polytechnic a new wave of applicants. In just 2 years, average SAT scores of applicants rose from 1175 in 2007 to an expected average of 1300 in 2009. In addition, there was a significant improvement in the retention of graduate students, greatly helping the struggling finances of Polytechnic, as the schools were still technically separate institutions in 2009 (Silva, 2009).
Alumni Opinions
As for alumni, it seemed like there was general support for the affiliation. In an article in the Polytechnic Reporter titled “Hultin Refutes Times’ Report on a ‘New” Engineering School,” president of the Polytechnic Institute Alumni Association (PIAA) Christine Ianuzzi weighs in about some thoughts embodied by the Alumni Association. The article generally focuses on talks of expansion and renovation of the Downtown Brooklyn campus, but also weighs in on some alumni opinions. She stated that PIAA is “‘quite supportive of the NYU-Poly community’” and that she is “‘in favor of any infrastructure improvements that will be done to the Metrotech site for NYU-Poly’” (Li, 2010). She also goes on to say that she feels most alumni probably feel the same way and would gladly welcome infrastructure and expansion plans at Metrotech. This opinion is also shared by Horace Morancie, the vice president of PIAA, who also sees it as a chance to get renovations that the school desperately needs (Li, 2010).
A political cartoon with an unknown creator featured in the article seems to show possibly one of the main administrators at Polytechnic in half-human half-snake form wearing a 22% R.O.I badge. It shows many different organizations and institutions trying to hand him bags of money and he’s drooling while he looks at it all. It conveys the idea that some of the administration of Polytechnic were looked at as sellouts, not caring about the school’s reputation or prosperity, but ready to take any offer on the table to get more money no matter what the cost. It is an interesting contradiction to the article, which seems slightly more positive than the cartoon. Nonetheless, it definitely represents the viewpoint of many alumni and faculty of Polytechnic University (2010).
While there was a lot of hopeful commentary in the article, there was also some expressed doubt. Ron Kutchins, a former director on the international board of directors of the PIAA shared concerns about this affiliation being an interim entity with not a lot of demonstration of actual commitment. He states that he worries the affiliation is a temporary entity while Polytechnic aligns itself to become a school of NYU. That did end up happening, so he was not completely wrong. He goes on to say that the most important thing that needs to remain is the “image and perception and the value of a degree from Poly.” He believes that “if it is in NYU’s interest ‘to maintain Poly’s image and legacy, NYU will do so’” (Li, 2010).
It becomes apparent quickly that there are 2 things that many alumni would like from the NYU affiliation: for upgrades and expansion to the Downtown Brooklyn campus and for the Polytechnic name to remain relevant. At the end of the day, only one of those things was achieved. By 2024, the Downtown Brooklyn campus of what is now the NYU Tandon School of Engineering has been expanded to include administrative offices in 1 Metrotech Center, classroom and administrative space in 2 Metrotech Center, and the acquisition of 2 new buildings at 370 Jay Street (which is now open) and 3 Metrotech Center (which is pending renovation). Additionally, many renovations have been completed on the main academic building, Rogers Hall at 6 Metrotech Center, including a new Makerspace and upgrades to lab and classroom spaces on certain floors.
However, as for the legacy of Polytechnic University, it seems to be all but forgotten. After the official merger in 2014, the school was renamed the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering, still retaining some of its legacy. But after the Tandon family made a $100 million donation to the school, the name was officially changed to the NYU Tandon School of Engineering in 2015 (NYU Tandon School of Engineering, 2024). Since then, little has been done to recognize the roots of the school minus a few plaques scattered throughout the buildings and archives kept in the Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology. That is not to say the value of the degree has not held, as NYU Tandon has risen many rankings among engineering schools in the last decade and has become a sort of household name, especially for engineering schools in the New York metropolitan area. Additionally, worries about funding commitments to the school are all but in the past, as NYU has pledged to invest $1 billion dollars in the school over the next 10 years. While the Polytechnic legacy lives on in certain forms, many students at NYU Tandon today don’t even know of the previous school that formed their current institution.