Herman Schneider became President of the University of Cincinnati in 1929 but would not remain in the position for long. Schneider found very quickly that his new role removed him from the students he so dearly loved. He told the presidential search committee to reconvene and keep looking for a president for he would remain in that role only until his successor could be found. In 1932 Schneider again assumed the position of Dean of Engineering, a role he would have for the rest of his days.
Perhaps the greatest test for Schneider's cooperative plan of education came in the early 1930's as the great depression caused wide spread unemployment. Co-op faculty advisors had to become very creative in finding jobs for students. Often advisors would load their cars with students and drive throughout Ohio stopping at factories to inquire about possible work. If they found a position, they would drop off the student, suitcase in hand, and then keep driving to find the next position.
In 1937 UC engineering graduate Joseph Strauss unveiled his crowning achievement, the Golden Gate Bridge, which incorporated bricks from UC's old McMicken Hall as attribute to his alma mater.
Also in 1937 co-op students bailed out the City of Cincinnati during the Great Flood. Co-op students provided fresh water to those affected, piled sandbags around Union Terminal, and rescued stranded families taking them to higher ground. The co-op student wireless club became the only mode of communication with a city that was one-sixth underwater. By relaying messages from the outside world and finding loved ones to reassure their families in other cities these co-op students became saviors to a flood ravaged community already struggling with the depression.
Dean Herman Schneider passed away in 1939. Schneider was a national figure and his obituary was carried in the New York Post and Chicago Tribune. The day of his funeral, the University of Cincinnati cancelled classes to allow faculty and students to pay tribute to his memory.
The Second World War did not put a stop to the co-op program but did have a significant impact. The college reduced its requirements to enable co-op students to graduate more quickly and join the war effort. Perhaps an even more profound change happened as female co-op students began to take on much more prominent positions in industry to support the war effort.
As World War II ended, enrollment in the College climbed to 2,073 with 2,044 men and 29 women. At that point the University of Cincinnati decided to divide the college into three new colleges, the College of Engineering, the College of Business and the College of Applied Arts. The department of coordination that operated the co-op program was left in tact and became an independent academic unit serving all three colleges.
