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R. W. Selvidge

R. W. Selvidge, B. D. S., M. E., was an early dean of engineering, although there was no college of engineering at the time that he held office. Instead, the department was named the Mechanical Arts Department, and Professor Selvidge was superintendent of that department from 1904 to 1907.

Professor Selvidge was not a native of Louisiana; he was from Missouri. It was there that he was educated at the State Normal School, Warrensburg, MO. In addition, Professor Selvidge was also a student at the State University in Columbia, MO (University of Missouri).

From 1903 to 1904, Professor Selvidge was the supervisor of Manual Training in Joplin, MO. Then, in the fall of 1903, Professor Selvidge came to Louisiana to become a new faculty member at Louisiana Tech, then known as Louisiana Industrial Institute. From 1903 to 1904, Professor Selvidge was an Instructor in Wooodworking at Louisiana Industrial Institute. Also in 1904, Professor Selvidge also served the Institute as a professor of mathematics and mechanics.

It was in 1904 that Professor Selvidge succeeded Professor Harry Gwinner as Superintendent of Mechanical Arts Department. In 1905, a new Mechanic Arts building was erected under Professor Selvidge’s supervision. But, in 1907, Professor Selvidge resigned as head of the department, and was succeeded by Professor William B. Hamilton of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute.

Although Professor Selvidge was at Louisiana Industrial Institute for only four years, three of those years he was head of his department, which is quite remarkable. Professor Selvidge was very active in his role in industrial education, with and emphasis on the field of engineering.