Objectives of the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute collection

In 1922, John A. Randall was selected as the fourth president of the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (RAMI). At the time, the school's future was uncertain. RAMI (renamed the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1944) had served an important role during the First World War, tailoring its programs to meet the needs of wartime production and training soldiers in trades and vocations essential to military success. Yet, at the start of Randall's presidency, it was unclear in which direction the school was headed.

In 1925, Randall invited Dexter S. Kimball, Frederick P. Keppel, and Channing R. Dooley to form a commission to study the future path of the Institute, including the possibility that the school might have no future at all. Although the commission determined that RAMI could serve an important role in the education community, it noted that important changes were needed, emphasizing the need for a clear educational policy.

Taking the recommendations of the commission, Randall approached Dr. Werrett Wallace (W.W.) Charters about serving as an educational consultant to RAMI. At the time, Charters (1875-1952) was working as the Director of the Bureau of Educational Research at The Ohio State University (OSU). He was known for his work in curriculum development, particularly his use of a scientific approach to develop programs focused on life activities and functions rather than subject material. Starting in 1928, Charters served as a continuing consultant to the Institute.

Additionally, Randall initiated a process to define the objectives of the Institute. With Charters help, the school's administration began drafting a set of objectives based on input from faculty and other members of the RAMI community. A final set of objectives was published in 1931. As the Institute grow into a world-class technical university, the objectives were continually revised and refined with the first revision occurring in 1940.