History

Out of the Past

"F.I.T." – The College for the Apparel Industry
From The NEEDLE’S EYE – June 1950 – By Max Meyers
Mr. Max Meyer was the Director of Sterling National Bank of New York and also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Educational Foundation for the Apparel Industry in 1950.
More and more manufacturers are turning to the Fashion Institute of Technology for well-trained personnel. A cooperative public college, F.I.T. provides thorough education and experience in this field. Have you been listening with growing interest to the stories of lower cost, better quality, and generally greater effectiveness resulting from the work of industrial engineers – as employees or consultants – in the plants of some of the leaders in your industry?
Have you been wondering how best to go about getting these results in your own organization? You may have considered retaining a consultant but, even if your firm is large enough to warrant the expense, you realize that the results of the sizable expenditure can well be only temporary without a trained person permanently in the organization for follow-up. The answer, for a constantly growing number of manufacturers, has been to hire a "co-op" student or graduate of New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. The F.I.T.'s Management Department trains its carefully selected students both in the most advanced management methods, including motion and time study, plant layout, production quality, and cost control, and provides a thorough grounding in apparel technology – textile, sewing, cutting, pattern-making.
Repeat orders – a sign of a satisfied "customer" in any field of endeavor – have gratifyingly come from several multi-plant organizations now employing F.I.T. graduates in positions of responsibility. In order to give students supervised experience prior to graduation, F.I.T. provides a 10-week work-study program during the last semester. This has proven a popular feature with manufacturers who like the opportunity for co-operation with the engineers of the school's faculty during this period; the co-op report which the student prepares; and the opportunity to decide on the student's adjustment to his firm during what amounts to a trial period. Besides its primary job of training, the Institute feels it can serve its industry through active research on equipment, methods, and other production and personnel problems of an industry-wide nature. It is always interested in hearing from manufacturers concerning problems they feel would be suitable for research, as well as the results of any investigations now being made. It was in 1944 that F.I.T. was established by a committee representing industry and labor in the New York needle trades, in cooperation with the city of New York. The committee obtained an Absolute Charter from the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, establishing the Educational Foundation for the Apparel Industry. It is this Foundation that cooperates with the New York City Board of Education in the maintenance of the Fashion Institute of Technology as the public college for the apparel industry. F.I.T. accepts students solely on a free scholarship basis and the Educational Foundation welcomes associations, firms, and leaders in management and labor to share actively in this unique cooperative program of "education for a purpose" — the purpose being the service both of talented youth and the apparel industry.
In reading the 1950’s article, it is a good reminder of our heritage and what has made FIT a leader in education for the fashion and creative industries. It remains and continues to be part of our mission. We come full circle once again to consider the future of Higher Ed and the needs of the rapidly evolving industries we serve.
Shannon Maher, Interim Dean Baker School of Business and TechnologyFashion Institute of Technology 227 W 27th Street, Room B423New York, NY 10001Tel: 212-217-4333
Here management students study a production scheduling procedure for a men’s shorts plant for which they previously prepared the layout.
F.I.T. management students get the "feel" of the knife in the cutting lab. Other F.I.T. students are interested in the textile testing lab.
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