Co-op's fortunes were frankly chaotic on the University of Cincinnati campus as the 60s and 70s squeezed out the post-World War II generation. Just as enrollment soared after World War II thanks to the G.I. Bill, the Baby Boomers sent numbers rocketing again in the late 60s and 70s, resulting in helter-skelter growth. So, while buildings reared up, co-op suffocated for want of space. Recruiting employers from the era recall interviewing students while contorting themselves into the crannies of the stadium press box or the nooks of halls and labs. Ron Poole, a '62 finance graduate and former co-op admits, "I did anything I could to avoid UC's facilities even while I made excuses for the school. In the winter, when we recruiters were sent to the press box, both we and the students had to keep our coats on. We couldn't take notes because our hands were so cold, and we couldn't even really face each other and talk." Eventually, Poole developed his own strategy for interviewing UC students. When the weather was fine, he'd suggest a walk around campus with a potential employee: "We sat around the quadrangle or walked. I would say, 'I haven't been on campus for a while. Let's go and see what's new.' It wasn't true, but the lie was better than the facilities."
"The beginning of the end of our 'space wars' began in January 1970 when I walked into our office in Baldwin Hall to find an entire wall just plain gone. There was nothing but clear plastic between us and the frigid outdoors", recollected former Director Sam Sovilla. "Recruiting was going to start in a few days. We had no rooms. I was so mad!" Sovilla added. Mad enough so that he and other staff staged their own protest. Sovilla and his colleagues simply cancelled all recruiting on campus. Employers howled, loud enough to be heard in then UC President Walter Langsam's office. So, in fall 1972, co-op had a new home - with interviewing space - in Old Chemistry it settled for a peaceful 32 years.
Yes, protestors targeted co-op and co-op employers. Protestors would fill the interviewing schedules, never show up for interviews, but then, other students would have missed the chance to interview. UC faculty and administrators would have meetings at 7 a.m. to plan how employers could recruit and avoid protests each day. Ted Brown, '69 chemical engineering grad, stated, "The anti-Vietnam protests really came home to me when I was working on my senior project in a chemistry lab. I vividly remember the protestors running through the halls and smashing the glass windows of the professors' office doors. Then, they went to the Physics Building and began throwing furniture through the upper-floor windows out onto the lawn. But mostly, the protestors carried signs that said things like, 'Make Love, Not War', usually at the student union."
In 1976, Title VIII of the Higher Education Act recognized co-op as a higher form of education and provided federal funding to institutions to implement co-op programs. Sam Sovilla, Director of the Division of Professional Practice at the time, stated "The advent of federal funding to provide resources to expand the number of programs was likely the most significant force in Cooperative Education's evolution over the modern era. Over the roughly twenty-five years when funds were available, hundreds of colleges and universities were awarded grants to plan and implement programs." The University of Cincinnati, with an established co-op program, was awarded funding to create an employee training center - the only one of its kind established through Title VIII funding. As a leader in the field, UC faculty served as readers of Title VIII grants and on national task forces in addition to recieving approximately $2 million in federal grants.
The undeniable importance of cooperative education all over the globe led to the 1st World Conference on Cooperative Education. The conference was held at Brunel University in London, England in 1979. As a result of the success of this first international conference the World Association for Cooperative Education (WACE) was founded. WACE was founded in 1983 by a group of university presidents, educational specialists, and corporate leaders from eight countries. It is the only organization devoted to promoting Work-Integrated Learn programs internationally.
The 75th Anniversary of the co-op program at the University of Cincinnati was held in 1981. The celebration was dubbed "A salute to a Man and His Idea". Ceremonies were held in Zimmer Auditorium and UC President Henry R. Winkler delivered a tribute to Herman Schneider saying "During his lifetime Dean Schneider demonstrated an unstinting commitment to improving the educational experience of his students. We, at the University of Cincinnati, are proud that Herman Schneider is part of the heritage of this University and we are proud of the contribution which he made to the world."
In the spring quarter of 1986, the UC administration commissioned a survey of employers who hire UC co-op students by the University's Institute for Policy Research. Over 76% of the questionnaires mailed to employers were completed and returned. The major findings of the study indicated that those companies thought co-op was valuable, UC students were above average, UC professional practice (co-op) advisors were above average. The overall conclusion was that, while not perfect, the UC co-op program was a major asset for the University of Cincinnati and the organizations who employ its students.
