More About Dean Herman Schneider

In an interview with the Engineering News-Record (Vol. 96, No. 23, June 10,1926), Schneider was asked the question, "Just what are you driving at?" His answer showed a remarkable grasp of the engineering profession in the context of human society. Always quick to praise young people, Schneider eloquently said: "Believe it or not, nine out of every ten young students coming to college are idealists, not materialists. They don't like to admit it; they fumble and shift about at first when you confront them with it. But at bottom they have a sort of chivalry about being of service, especially the engineers; and they rise much more spontaneously than older and seemingly wiser people do, to the idea that a bridge is not an end itself — that it is a highway to greater inlets and outlets for the human mind; . . . They grasp the philosophy that the only durable things are the intangible ones — not the bridge but what the bridge stands for."

Schneider demonstrated a tremendous ability to balance opposites; in this case tempering his idealism with pragmatism, as reflected in his following comment on the co-op system: "It is not held, of course, that this method of training will supply full-fledged engineers, aged twenty three years; but it is believed that it will provide a better preparation, a stronger foundation, for the successful practice of engineering."