A letter from Jerome Cochran to John A. Widtsoe, dated May 16, 1908, requesting information about internship possibilities in the Mathematics or Civil Engineering Departments at the Utah Agricultural College [click to enlarge; click again to browse all pages] (University Archives 3.1/5-2 Box 4 Folder 2)

Response from John A. Widtsoe to Jerome Cochran, dated May 21, 1908, stating that the Utah Agricultural College was no longer allowed to teach engineering, per state law [click to enlarge; click again to browse all pages] (University Archives 3.1/5-2 Box 4 Folder 2)

Widtsoe’s appointment as president of USU in 1907 came at a tumultuous period in the institution’s history. In 1905, the state legislature had restricted the courses offered at USU to include only those subjects related to agriculture, prohibiting the teaching of civil engineering, which the legislature reserved for the University of Utah.

Widtsoe made the case that water was paramount to Utah agriculture and that the institution should be allowed to teach those principles of engineering that related to water and irrigation.