Herbert Hawkes
Encyclopedia
Herbert Edwin Hawkes was an American
mathematician and educator. His 25-year tenure as Dean of Columbia College
, the longest of any Columbia College dean, earned him the title "the dean of American college deans".
Hawkes studied mathematics at the Georg August University of Göttingen in Germany
as well as at Yale
, where he received his doctorate in 1900. After authoring several texts in algebra, Hawkes accepted a position as professor of mathematics at Columbia University
in 1910. When Columbia College dean Frederick P. Keppel departed to work for the U.S. War Department
in 1917, Hawkes became acting dean, ascending to the full deanship a year later.
As dean, Hawkes was known as a supporter of general education. He promoted a full undergraduate education and opposed the "Columbia plan" to fast-track students to graduate school in under four years. In 1919, he and a small group of other faculty members helped assemble a sequence of war-issues classes known as "Contemporary Civilization;" this would become a more general year-long philosophy course and the cornerstone of the college's famous Core Curriculum. In the 1930s he pushed through a similar year-long humanities sequence, to become the Core Curriculum's "Literature Humanities" course, over some faculty objections. His advocacy of general education classes in the natural sciences, however, did not meet with the same success.
Hawkes served as dean of the college until his death in 1943.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mathematician and educator. His 25-year tenure as Dean of Columbia College
Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...
, the longest of any Columbia College dean, earned him the title "the dean of American college deans".
Hawkes studied mathematics at the Georg August University of Göttingen in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as well as at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, where he received his doctorate in 1900. After authoring several texts in algebra, Hawkes accepted a position as professor of mathematics at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1910. When Columbia College dean Frederick P. Keppel departed to work for the U.S. War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
in 1917, Hawkes became acting dean, ascending to the full deanship a year later.
As dean, Hawkes was known as a supporter of general education. He promoted a full undergraduate education and opposed the "Columbia plan" to fast-track students to graduate school in under four years. In 1919, he and a small group of other faculty members helped assemble a sequence of war-issues classes known as "Contemporary Civilization;" this would become a more general year-long philosophy course and the cornerstone of the college's famous Core Curriculum. In the 1930s he pushed through a similar year-long humanities sequence, to become the Core Curriculum's "Literature Humanities" course, over some faculty objections. His advocacy of general education classes in the natural sciences, however, did not meet with the same success.
Hawkes served as dean of the college until his death in 1943.