William Vernon Skiles

William Vernon Skiles

Skiles from The 1944 Blue Print
Born April 23, 1879
Troy Grove, Illinois
Died September 10, 1947 (aged 68)
Atlanta, Georgia
Fields Mathematics
Institutions Georgia Tech
Alma mater University of Chicago
Harvard University

William Vernon Skiles (April 23, 1879 in Troy Grove, Illinois - September 10, 1947 in Atlanta, Georgia)[1] was a professor of mathematics and dean at the Georgia Institute of Technology.[2][3] He helped create what is now the Georgia Tech Research Institute.[4][5]

Education

Skiles possessed a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Chicago, a Master of Arts degree from Harvard University and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Georgia.[6][7] He was a member of Beta Theta Pi, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and the Georgia Academy of Science.[6][8]

Georgia Tech

After Skiles' retirement in December 1945, the faculty were requested to donate to a fund to "give him a first class dinner and a gift." So much was donated that the remainder was put into the Dean Skiles Fund, which "provides the faculty expenses for flowers, gifts, entertainment" that could not be paid for with funds from the State of Georgia.[9]

Legacy

Skiles Walkway, facing east

The Skiles Classroom Building has been home to the Department of Mathematics since 1958; its previous home was the second Shop Building.[10] The nearby Skiles Walkway is the primary east-west pedestrian corridor through campus, connecting the Georgia Tech Library to the Georgia Tech Student Center.[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "My Family". familyorigins.com. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  2. ↑ Brittain, Marion L. (1948). The Story of Georgia Tech. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
  3. ↑ "Dr. William V. Skiles". The New York Times. 1947-09-11. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  4. ↑ Combes, Richard (1992). "Origins of Industrial Extension: A Historical Case Study" (PDF). School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
  5. ↑ McMath, Robert C.; Ronald H. Bayor; James E. Brittain; Lawrence Foster; August W. Giebelhaus; Germaine M. Reed. Engineering the New South: Georgia Tech 1885-1985. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Campus & Faculty". 1929 Blue Print. 1929. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  7. ↑ "Minutes of the University of Georgia Board of Trustees, 1920-1932". Hargrett Library. 1926-06-11. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  8. ↑ Catalogue of Beta theta pi. Beta Theta Pi. 1917. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  9. ↑ Gambill, Wally (1948-10-29). "Dean Skiles Fun Provides Gifts For Faculty Flowers and Dinners". The Technique. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  10. ↑ "SOM History-The First 80 Years". Georgia Tech College of Sciences. Retrieved 2010-01-27.
  11. ↑ Pon, Corbin (2009-03-27). "Skiles Walkway: Men at Work". The Technique. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
  12. ↑ "Historic Architectural Resources: Modern District, Georgia Institute of Technology". University System of Georgia. Retrieved 2010-01-27.