Records of Asian Institute of Technology
Scope and Contents
The Records of Asian Institute of Technology consists of documents dated 1959 to 1975. The collection contains meeting minutes from the Board of Trustees, progress reports concerning the school, personnel files, financial records, correspondence, photographs, and brochures and catalogs from the AIT. Financial materials--vouchers, requisitions, purchase orders, and budgets--comprise a significant portion of the collection.
Dates
- Creation: 1959-1975
Restrictions on Access
Due to the presence of personally identifiable information, boxes 4-9, 11-16, 18, 20-21, and 34 are restricted. Further, the collection is stored off-site so advance notice is required.
Restrictions on Use
Not all of the material in the collection is in the public domain. Researchers are responsible for addressing copyright issues.
History
The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), a postgraduate institution in Thailand, was developed under the auspices of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1959. SEATO saw a need for a regional graduate school of engineering to become a focal point for new ideas, solve the "brain drain" of students leaving Southeast Asia, and to focus on alleviating the engineering problems unique to the region.
On September 8, 1959, the SEATO Graduate School of Engineering opened its doors on the campus of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. Thomas H. Evans, Dean of Colorado State University's School of Engineering, served as the school's first dean. It began with one major, a masters degree in hydraulic engineering, and nineteen students, and it grew quickly. Majors were soon added that focused on other aspects of civil engineering, including structural, transportation, public health, soil and foundation engineering. The student body grew to 110 students by 1966.
Observing the success and growth of the school, a SEATO commission proposed transitioning the school from SEATO control to an independent institution to be chartered in Thailand. By 1966, the proposal was approved by every member country of SEATO, and in November 1967 the school changed its name to the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). Under the leadership of President Milton Bender, the school continued its growth, and by 1975 AIT had 334 students. New programs were offered in geotechnical, environmental, and industrial engineering and a new doctoral program was added in addition to the masters degree. In January 1973, with special permission from the King of Thailand, the AIT also relocated to a new 400-acre campus north of Bangkok.
The AIT is managed by an international Board of Trustees; the trustees held their first meeting January 15-17, 1968. It initially received all of its financial support from the SEATO member countries. Since its inception, many other interested countries have sent support. The majority of the initial financial support came from the United States through a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contract with the Colorado State University Research Foundation (CSURF). This USAID contract with CSU, overseen by Dr. Maurice L. Albertson, provided AIT with professors, equipment, books, scholarships, and training programs. By the time the contract came to an end in 1975, it had provided $10.9 million, accounted for 43 faculty and administrative staff members and provided nearly 90 percent of the library's holdings. After the CSU contract expired, the United States continued to offer support through other means.
Extent
51 linear feet (34 record cartons)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), a postgraduate institution in Thailand, was founded in 1959 as the SEATO Graduate School of Engineering at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Originally sponsored by the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and funded by a USAID contract administered by Dr. Maurice L. Albertson at Colorado State University, the school moved to its present location and changed its name to the Asian Institute of Technology in 1967. The collection, assmebled by Albertson, documents AIT's founding in 1959 through 1975, when the USAID conctract ended. Materials are primarily administrative files such as meeting minutes from the Board of Trustees, progress reports concerning the school, personnel files, financial records, correspondence, photographs, and AIT brochures and catalogs.
Acquisition
Records of Asian Institute of Technology was donated in three separate accessions by Maurice L. Albertson. In 1988, Albertson donated 83 boxes, which were divided into two collections, the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and the Office of International Programs (OIP). An initial inventory and finding aid for the AIT collection was created in 1996. In 2004, Albertson donated materials to the Water Resources Archive for the Papers of Maurice L. Albertson, and in 2008, five of those boxes were separated from the donation and added to AIT. In 2008, Albertson donated materials for a third time, and two boxes from the donation were accessioned to the AIT collection.
Processing
As of September 2018, the collection was found housed in a mix of acidic and acid-free boxes and folders. Portions of the collection did not have folders. Other than the renumbering of boxes in the 2008018 and 2008045 accessions, box contents were left as found.
Inventory Note
Note: Box contents are summarized below.
Subject
- Albertson, Maurice L. (Person)
- Bender, Milton E. (Person)
- Asian Institute of Technology (Organization)
- SEATO Graduate School of Engineering (Organization)
- Colorado State University (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Records of Asian Institute of Technology
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Author
- Prepared by Alice Spaulding and Monte Kniffen; revised by Clarissa J. Trapp
- Date
- Copyright 2018
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the CSU Libraries Archives & Special Collections Repository
Fort Collins Colorado 80523-1019 USA
970-491-1844
library_dl_specialcollections@mail.colostate.edu