Hollis Godfrey
Encyclopedia
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
.
Early life
Godfrey was educated at Tufts CollegeTufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, receiving degrees in Engineering. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in Engineering from 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...
in 1889. After graduation Godfrey stayed on to teach at his Alma Mater, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1906 to 1910 Godfrey was the administrator of scientific studies at the Girl's High School of Practical Arts in Boston.
Writing career
While employed at the School of Practical Arts in Boston Godfrey published several literary works. These works include the "ingenious scientific novel" The Man Who Ended War in 1908 and Elementary Chemistry in 1909. Published after Elementary Chemistry Godfrey started the series "Young Captains of Industry" the first book, For The Norton Name, being printed in 1909. His article "The Air of the City," was selected for admission into the Hodgkins Library of Atmospheric Air.Drexel Institute
Sometime after moving to Philadelphia Godfrey was commissioned to survey the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and IndustryDrexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
's facility. The original intent of the survey was possibly to see if the Institute would be appropriate for the "training [of] city employees." As a result of his survey he recommended that the institute be restructured internally. He was then offered the presidency of the Institute by the Board of Trustees and assumed office on December 1, 1913. During his presidency, per his survey, Godfrey reorganized the Institute by consolidating departments, creating three schools, and standardizing the programs of study into two and four year programs. In January 1919 Godfrey developed the cooperative educational system in the School of Engineering. Godfrey resigned on October 1, 1921.
Advisory commission and later life
In 1916, during his tenure at Drexel, Godfrey was selected by President Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
to be an advisory member for the Council of National Defense
Council of National Defense
The Council of National Defense was a United States organization formed during World War I to coordinate resources and industry in support of the war effort, including the coordination of transportation, industrial and farm production, financial support for the war, and public...
, an organization formed to coordinate resources and industry for national security. Godfrey served in that capacity, advising in the area of engineering and education, from 1916 to 1918. In his last year at Drexel he established the Council of Management Education in Boston in March 1920, following his resignation at Drexel he became chairman of the council. He later went on to be president of the Engineering-Economics Foundation. He died on January 17, 1936.