Julius Adams Stratton
Encyclopedia
Julius Adams Stratton was a U.S. electrical engineer and university administrator. He attended the University of Washington
for one year, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi
fraternity, then transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree
in 1923 and a master's degree
in electrical engineering (EE)
in 1926. He then followed graduate studies in Europe and the Technische Hochschule of Zurich (ETH Zurich
), Switzerland, awarded him the degree of Doctor of Science in 1927.
He served as the president of MIT between 1959 and 1966, after serving the university in several lesser posts, notably appointments to provost
in 1949, vice president
in 1951, and chancellor
in 1956. He also served as the chairman of the Ford Foundation
between 1964 and 1971. During that period, Stratton was seconded to chair a Congressionally established "Commission on Marine Sciences, Engineering and Resources" whose work culminated in a report, "Our Nation and the Sea" that had a major influence on ocean sciences and management in the United States and abroad. The commission itself became commonly referred to as the Stratton Commission.
Stratton was also a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering
.http://www.nae.edu/nae/naehome.nsf/weblinks/NAEW-4NHMJ7?OpenDocument
Stratton collected his speeches in a 1966 book titled Science and the Educated Man: Selected Speeches of Julius A. Stratton (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1966), with a foreword by the historian of technology Elting E. Morison who had been on the faculty of MIT as a professor of humanities in the Sloan School of Industrial Management from 1946 to 1966.
MIT's Julius Adams Stratton Student Center at 84 Massachusetts Avenue is named in his honor.
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
for one year, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi
Zeta Psi
The Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America was founded June 1, 1847 as a social college fraternity. The organization now comprises about fifty active chapters and twenty-five inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand brothers, and is a founding member of the North-American...
fraternity, then transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT), from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1923 and a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in electrical engineering (EE)
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
in 1926. He then followed graduate studies in Europe and the Technische Hochschule of Zurich (ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
), Switzerland, awarded him the degree of Doctor of Science in 1927.
He served as the president of MIT between 1959 and 1966, after serving the university in several lesser posts, notably appointments to provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
in 1949, vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
in 1951, and chancellor
Chancellor
Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
in 1956. He also served as the chairman of the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
between 1964 and 1971. During that period, Stratton was seconded to chair a Congressionally established "Commission on Marine Sciences, Engineering and Resources" whose work culminated in a report, "Our Nation and the Sea" that had a major influence on ocean sciences and management in the United States and abroad. The commission itself became commonly referred to as the Stratton Commission.
Stratton was also a founding member of the National Academy of Engineering
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
.http://www.nae.edu/nae/naehome.nsf/weblinks/NAEW-4NHMJ7?OpenDocument
Stratton collected his speeches in a 1966 book titled Science and the Educated Man: Selected Speeches of Julius A. Stratton (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1966), with a foreword by the historian of technology Elting E. Morison who had been on the faculty of MIT as a professor of humanities in the Sloan School of Industrial Management from 1946 to 1966.
MIT's Julius Adams Stratton Student Center at 84 Massachusetts Avenue is named in his honor.