Analysis

Comparing the number of students majoring in Science and Engineering in 1966 to 1974, the increase was significant with about 77 percentage point difference. In 1974, there were 326,230 students in the STEM field, and this was the highest number out of all the years between 1966 and 1980. This notable increase in the number of students studying STEM related field represents that the Science & Engineering field was booming nationally in the United States unprecendetly, also causing Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn to also benefit off of it. Referencing from historical backgrounds, I could guess that this was because of the effect of the Sputnik Launch. As the Sputnik was launched and the Cold War tension escalated, the interest in science and engineering augmented as well.

Sputnik was the first artificial satellite which was launched in 1957 by the Soviet Union. This launch “signaled the opening salvo in another phase of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union” (National Geographic Society). Due to this launch, the United States tried to “enact reforms in science and engineering education so that the nation could regain technological ground it appeared to have lost to its Soviet rival” (Powell). According to Powell's article, the United States Congress responded a year later with the National Defense Education Act, which increased funding for education at all levels. The Act included low-interest student loans and college students with the focus on scientific and technical education.

Therefore, we can refer that the Sputnik launch inspired the development of the United States education in science and engineering. Thus, it expanded the funding for education in science and technology and at the end of the day, this led to the increase of students majoring in science and engineering field nationally.

However, 1964 to 1969, the student enrollment in Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn decreased at a 17.5% rate, according to the source based on the 1969-1970 course catalog. There was no information of student enrollment in course catalogs after 1969. We could guess that PIB did not want to officially announce their financial difficulties and reduction in student enrollment. They tried to overcome the hard situations and attract the students. Thus, it is reasonable to guess that they intended to hide their internal difficulties. Also, there were no course catalogs in Poly Archives from 1971 to 1974. This can be due to the processing of the mergers of the two institutions, PIB and NYU.

Then, why did this decrease happen even though students majoring in STEM increased nationwide in the US?

In order to solve this question, I interviewed a New York University Tandon School of Engineering professor Richard Thorsen, who also worked at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn previously. According to Thorsen, he said that there were local exceptions such as New York. “In the case of the NYU School of Engineering, which was at the Heights campus, enrollment decreased. This was largely due to the financial difficulties of NYC which, in turn, exacerbated the decline of the neighborhood surrounding the campus. Attracting students to attend a high tuition school in a declining neighborhood was difficult at best. Similar issues of urban decay plagued Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn," he said (Thorsen). Also, he mentioned that “NYU at Washington Square faced different problems. It did not benefit from increased funding for engineering and relied on national recruiting of students, not just students from NYC. The problems of NYC were known nationwide and it appeared that students were reluctant to come to NYC. Eventually (late 70s), the financial difficulties of the City were overcome and many urban renewal projects were initiated. NYC again became a "destination" and NYU has thrived in this new environment” (Thorsen).

All in all, even though the science and engineering enrollment had increased in the 1970s attributed to Sputnik Launch, there were local exceptions like New York, and this was because of the economic crisis in New York. Due to these several fiscal difficulties in New York, students were not inclined to apply to universities in New York, causing the financial crisis between two institutions: New York University and Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Therefore, we could conclude that this was the main reason for mergers and financial difficulties that they had suffered from.