Cornell Engineer magazine

The Cornell Engineer magazine was the student-written, student-edited magazine published monthly by the students of the Cornell University College of Engineering. It was incorporated under the laws of the state of New York.

The Cornell Engineer in its various forms existed at Cornell for nearly 90 years. It began as the Sibley Journal, a publication of the Sibley school of civil engineering. It was one of the magazines in the Engineering College Magazines Association, or ECMA. The umbrella organization held an annual convention at which editorial awards were presented in areas including best cover, best editorial(s), and best feature articles.

The office space was a single expansive room, encompassing the entire basement level of Carpenter Hall on the Cornell campus.

Staffing

The magazine had an editorial and business staff. The former consisted of the editor-in-chief, the managing editor, the feature editor, an art department, and a photography staff. The business staff sold advertising and managed the accounting. A yearly dividend was paid to those on the masthead. They were often honored by selection into the Cornell chapter of the journalism honorary, Pi Delta Epsilon.

An annual faculty-student staff banquet would was held at the end of each academic year. As part of the evening, a faculty or staff member would be honored for its support of the magazine and a notable faculty member would be asked to present the after-dinner speech. Cornell luminaries who spoke included astronomer Frank Drake.

Some Notable Alumni

The editorial department was recruited by word of mouth and by approaching freshmen in the engineering school who had received top grades on the advanced placement test in English as high school seniors. Editors who went on to successful careers as writers include Mary Ann Huber, Stan Schlozman, Les Golden, Christine Lewin, and Howard Bales. From the business side, Phil Meyer and others went onto successful careers in engineering.

Later History

In 1966, the college of engineering under the direction of assistant dean Donald Berth began publication of the professionally-staffed Cornell Engineering Quarterly. This would feature the research activities of the Cornell engineering faculty. The Cornell Engineer itself then became a quarterly as well. Golden received one of the four proof copies of the first issue from Berth as token of appreciation at the annual Cornell Engineer faculty-staff banquet, held in 1966 at Sylvan Hills restaurant following a blinding snow storm.