Founder Chauncey Rose, along with nine friends, created the Terre Haute School of Industrial Science in 1874 to provide technical training after encountering difficulties in local engineer availability during construction of his railroads. Mr. Rose donated the land on 13th and Locust St. and the majority of the funds needed to start the new school. A year later, the cornerstone of the new institution was laid and the name was changed to Rose Polytechnic Institute despite the objections of the president of the board of managers and chief benefactor, Mr. Rose. The original campus was a single building, with no dormitories or recreational facilities. The first class of 48 students entered in 1883, chosen from 58 applicants. Of the 48 students, all were male, and 37 came from Indiana. All but four students chose to major in Mechanical Engineering with Civil Engineering and Chemistry the only other majors. Nearly half of the original students would eventually quit their studies before graduation for a number of reasons, including poor grades or conduct. The first president was Dr. Charles O. Thompson, who modeled the education of Rose Poly after eastern institutions. Rose Poly was thus founded as the first private engineering college west of the Alleghenies. During the beginning years of the school, money was a major concern. A lot of faculty and staff were forced to take pay cuts in order to stay at the institution. In 1889 the school awarded what it considers to be the first Chemical Engineering degree in the country. Relocation In 1917, the school, having grown to more than 300 students, moved from 13th and Locust St. (on which now sits Chauncey Rose Middle School) to a new site consisting of 123 acres (0.50 km2) of farm land on U.S. 40 donated by the Hulman family of Terre Haute. The cornerstone of the new campus was laid in 1922. The new campus consisted of an academic building and a dorm � the institute's first. Early life at Rose consisted of social fraternities, athletics, and the occasional "high jinks." A popular "high jinks" involved the sophomore class inviting the freshmen class to a baseball game but were told to "leave their pipes with the nurse." The freshmen would produce the pipes at a specific time and a brawl would ensue

The mission of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is to provide our students with the world's best undergraduate science, engineering, and mathematics education in an environment of individual attention and support.

Tim Cindric 1990 (Mechanical Engineering), president of Penske Racing Barzilla W. Clark, 16th Governor of Idaho Ernest R. Davidson 1958, National Medal of Science winner Lawrence Giacoletto 1938, Transistor pioneer Marshall Goldsmith 1970, Noted Management consultant John Hostettler 1983, Former U.S. Congressman from Indiana Don Lincoln, Particle Physicist Chris Mack 1982, Noted Lithography expert Art Nehf 1914, Major League Baseball pitcher Abe Silverstein 1929, Aeronautical engineer, NASA center director, and Guggenheim Medal winner Mat Roy Thompson 1890�1891, Civil Engineer and builder of Scotty's Castle. Bernard Vonderschmitt 1944, Co-founder of Xilinx Robert L. Wilkins 1986, Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia

Suburban: 295 Acres (1.19 Km2)