When Glen Bauer joined what was Lawrence Institute of Technology in 1982 as a junior faculty member, “we were definitely a mom-and-pop shop,” he recalls.
A Campus of Four Buildings
There were only four buildings that comprised the campus: the Engineering building was built in the late 1950s, the original Architecture building from the early 60s, the Science Building, which opened in 1967, and “the Buell Building, which was originally called the Management Building, was brand new in my first term,” Bauer said. “It was exposed raw concrete in the architectural style of the times.” In his nine years as a student at Wayne State University, Bauer found that he loved teaching. “God backed me into it by giving me a graduate teaching assistantship.” Then-mathematics adjunct professor Dr. Larry Brenton hired him to manage the review sessions and final exams for his two LIT evening classes while he was away. “That’s what led me to Lawrence Tech. It was a ‘teaching machine’ back then with 6,000 students, all undergrads. They needed a math teacher. It’s the only real job I’ve ever had!” Bauer recalls.
Seven years later, LIT became LTU. Under former president Richard Marburger, PhD, the institution began offering advanced degrees. Campus looked much different during the 80s with no dorms, but one high-rise on 10 Mile because “we were really a commuter school.” The faculty had one job: teaching. “I taught 25 contact hours a week, five classes with roughly 40 students per class.”
The LTU Difference: A Community That Cares
“You have to love teaching to come to Lawrence Tech. Faculty who come to Lawrence Tech love their students. We can’t compete with the big universities in some areas, but there is something special, something unique about this place that you can feel,” Bauer said. He cited the number of years the faculty stay with LTU, saying, “It speaks to the culture here.”
He also spoke about the impact that LTU faculty have on their students. At LTU, professors know their students by name and care about their academic success. “Even back in the day, it must have been a special place. At Dr. Sobh’s (current president, Tarek Sobh, PhD) inaugural banquet, as I was standing at the reception, a guy made a beeline toward me and said, ‘Professor Bauer, I had you in your first term at Lawrence Tech!’ It is encouraging and warms your heart,” Bauer said.
He described the dramatic changes initiated by Marburger, as he introduced technology and advanced the technology of the day. With the rapid growth and sophistication of today’s technology, they seem elementary, but the VAX system and email were then in their infancy. Bauer credits Marburger’s successor presidents Charles Chambers, PhD, and Lewis Walker, PhD, with advancing Lawrence Tech’s international reputation for technological education and research and expanding programs in emerging robotics, defense, and sustainability.
Academic and Athletic Expansions
“Virinder Moudgil, PhD, made a huge impact in moving Lawrence Tech toward the health sciences. He was a biochemist and did his post-doctoral work in molecular medicine. He moved us to introduce the nursing program, partnering with then-Providence Hospital and we now have a College of Health Sciences,” Bauer noted.
Outside of academics, LTU saw a great change in its culture with its move toward athletics, which saw residential expansion, from one dorm to now four. “We’ve done a tremendous job as an institution in accommodating residential life,” he said, from an almost totally commuter school.
What does the LTU of tomorrow look like to Bauer? “At Lawrence Tech, we need to stay on mission. We need to teach people how to think. It’s not about retrieving data. It’s about critical thinking. Communication skills are absolutely essential!
“AI is an amazing data retrieval tool. But the misuse of data can be dangerous. It’s important for schools, Lawrence Tech in particular, that we don’t lose sight of our role to train minds, not merely to produce engineers, for example. But to change lives,” Bauer said.
As he sat back in his chair, Bauer cautioned, “Especially for our young people, social media is a cesspool. If this is your primary source of information, you’re getting the wrong perspectives, missing out on so much. The Lawrence Tech of tomorrow will continue to help our students grow intellectually.”
By: Renée Ahee
