The October 5th Chicago Tribune featured an article on IIT alumnus Charles Warner Pierce, who in 1901 became the first African-American to receive a degree in chemical engineering. Pierce received his degree from the Armour Institute of Technology, a predecessor school of Illinois Institute of Technology.

As a technological college, Armour offered courses primarily in engineering, opening in 1896 with degree programs in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. Civil Engineering was added in 1899, and Chemical Engineering in 1901, making Pierce a member of the first class to be offered this program. In fact, Pierce was the only member of the Class of 1901 (a total of 13 graduating students) to receive the Chemical Engineering degree.

Learn more about Pierce’s accomplishments through exhibits researched and organized by University Archivist Catherine Bruck. Visit the online collection and check out the materials on display inside and outside of the Archives, located on the lower level of Galvin Library.

Thomas Mann, author of The Oxford Guide to Library Research, has a new essay posted online in which he exposes the deficiencies of using the internet for scholarly research. While a search engine can generate lists, Mann argues that it is a classification system controlled by librarians that provides the necessary guidance through deep and relevant research. While he is accepting of the web’s ability for quick and inexpensive indexing, according to Mann, librarians must continue to “promote scholarship of the highest possible quality–and that is a goal very different from striving to provide something quickly.” Read responses to Mann’s essay at the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Graham Resource Center, library for the College of Architecture, has temporarily relocated its holdings to Galvin Library. During the expansion of GRC space, architecture faculty and students can find the GRC’s reference, periodical, and circulating collections, as well as a staffed reference desk, on the Lower Level of Galvin Library. GRC materials are on the west wall of shelves located between the Academic Resource Center (ARC) and the University Archives. The GRC project should be completed in Summer 2007.

Dean of Libraries Christopher Stewart and Dr. Ellen Mitchell, Director of IIT’s Institute of Psychology, were interviewed and photographed by Chicago Tribune staff reporter Ron Grossman for a story featured on the front page of the January 14^th Sunday edition. The article highlighted Dr. David Boder’s 1946 interviews with displaced persons after WWII in Europe. At the time, Dr. Boder was Head of the Psychology Department at Lewis Institute, which merged with Armour Institute to become IIT. Visit the Voices of the Holocaust site or read the article.