A Conversation with Edmund T. Cranch

Abstract

This former dean of engineering, Edmund T. Cranch, gave a wide-ranging, 97 minute interview that was led by friend and colleague, Frank C. Moon . He recounts how he was drawn to a career in engineering. After employment at Bell Labs and a stint in WWII, Cranch returned to Ithaca for further study and immediately thereafter was appointed to the faculty. He is well-known for his role in writing “Engineering Mathematics” (a classic that enhanced the strength of the undergraduate engineering program). He advanced through the administrative ranks from Department Chair and then to Associate Dean of Engineering. His faculty colleagues elected him to a five-year term on the Cornell University Board of Trustees. His leadership skills were demonstrated through his leading of two major university committees —one on long-range financial planning (a.k.a., the Cranch Report) and (1974-1976) the Committee on Special Educational Projects (a.k.a., COSEP). After almost six years as Dean of Engineering at Cornell, he served as president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Ed Cranch’s personal qualities of “…unassuming manner, openness, attentiveness, and kindness”, his “… underlying courage and toughness” and his “…respect for the opinions of others” made him an especially effective leader. Supplemental resources include articles from the Cornell Chronicle, the Engineering Quarterly and the two volume book, “Engineering Mathematics.” [Running time: 97 minutes.]