Hammond Technical Institute

During World War II, Purdue University began offering technical courses in the Calumet region of Indiana as part of the National Defense Training Program to enhance skills of plant workers. Purdue University and Indiana University had offered technical courses in the past, but the demand grew as a result of the war. By 1943, approximately six hundred plant training classes met in sixty-eight centers across the state of Indiana through Purdue University; the program was overseen by Director Charles W. Beese out of [West] Lafayette, Indiana. A permanent Division of Technical Extension was established in 1945 to accommodate the continued demand for regional education of World War II veterans. On 25 February 1946, Purdue University declared that the Calumet region would be home to extension operations as a permanent location for courses of the Technical Extension Division due to the abundance of applications from veterans. Purdue University rented space at the Board of Education Building on 5935 Hohman Avenue in Hammond, Indiana as its main location for courses. While the entirety of the Division of Technical Education was managed by Beese, the Hammond location, in particular, was directed by Harry C. Short out of [West] Lafayette, Indiana. As the program in Hammond continued to grow, Purdue University realized the need for a resident director and began searching for applicants to live and work in Hammond. Millard E. Gyte of De Smet, Nebraska began correspondence with Beese and Assistant Director, Von Daugherty, about the position in late 1946. By March of 1947, Gyte traveled to [West] Lafayette for an interview and was offered the position. Gyte and his wife, Christina, moved to Hammond, Indiana during the summer of 1947 and Gyte began his directorship. Hammond’s Technical Extension campus underwent a variety of titles during its lifetime. Prior to World War II, Purdue dubbed the Calumet center, the “Engineering, Science, and Management Defense Training Center” (during the war, the “War Training Center”). After its establishment in 1946, it was officially recognized as the Purdue University Technical Extension Center, and was colloquially referred to as the Hammond Technical Institute. In 1951, after the Hammond Technical Institute had established a central location on Woodmar Avenue and 171^st Street in Hammond, the campus became known as the Purdue University Calumet Center. By 1962, the name changed slightly to Purdue University Calumet Campus (PUCC). After receiving academic autonomy from Purdue University, West Lafayette in 1974, the campus again changed its name to Purdue University Calumet in 1979. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Hammond Technical Institute was best known for its courses offered in Building Construction Technology, Chemical and Metallurgical Technology, Drafting and Mechanical Technology, Professional Foremanship, Electrical Technology, and Industrial Technology. However, the campus began offering general education courses to allow students the option to receive a well-rounded college education. In addition, the Purdue-Inland Training Program was established in 1948 as a work-study program between the Inland Steel Company of Chicago, Illinois and Hammond Technical Institute. Employees of Inland Steel could take classes at the Calumet campus during the day and work at night or vice versa. Inland Steel paid for its students’ tuition, books, and supplies. Students had the choice to enter the Electrical, Mechanical, or Steelmaking Divisions of the Training Program to supplement their skill sets. Source: Trusty, Lance. Purdue University Calumet: The First Fifty Years. Hammond: Purdue University Calumet, 1996.

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