Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering: History of Mackay

Morrill Act of 1862 Provides Land for a State University
In response to the Morrill Act of 1862, which provided grants of public lands to state universities, the framers of the Nevada Constitution, in 1864, under Section 4, "made detailed provision for a State University, providing for departments in agriculture, mechanic arts and mining, as well as for the establishment of a state normal school."¹ In 1864, Nevada was granted statehood in the Union so the U.S. government could benefit economically from the world-class silver bonanza in Virginia City and, thereby, offset Civil War costs.

University Opens Doors in Elko, Nevada
Nevada was slow in responding to the Morrill Act, and it was not until 1874 that a state university was established in eastern Nevada, in Elko. At its inception, there was no mining engineering department within the University. Still, in 1882 and 1883, G. E. Gignoux taught the first courses in mineralogy, assaying and ore dressing. Education in mining related technologies was a common theme in the early days of the Nevada Legislature and in 1883, the 11th legislative session directed that the "University must maintain a Mining Department."

Relocation to Reno
On July 15, 1885 the University of Nevada closed its doors in Elko and moved to Reno where it reopened in 1886. Upon reopening, the University offered courses in assaying, mineralogy and metallurgy under Frank Fielding. In 1888, a School of Mechanic Arts and Mining was organized as one of three schools comprising the University of Nevada.

Mackay School of Mines Building and John Mackay Statue
In 1906, the family of John Mackay, one of the four major developers of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, presented the University of Nevada with a gift that enabled the construction of the historic Mackay School of Mines building on the north end of the Quadrangle. The building was designed by Stanford White of Mc Kim, Mead and White, the leading architects of the time. At the front of the building, a statue of John Mackay, with upturned face looking out toward Virginia City was erected. The sculptor of the John Mackay statue was none other than Gutzon Borglum of Mount Rushmore fame. The donors, Clarence H. Mackay and Marie Louise Mackay, were prominently honored during the dedication of the new building on commencement day, Wednesday the 10th of June, 1908. This day was made a state holiday by order of the Governor of Nevada, and people traveled on horseback and in wagons from throughout the state for the dedication and festivities.

Dawn of the Mackay School of Mines
Although a mining school was organized in 1888 and instruction in mining fields had continued in Nevada since 1882, the year 1908 marks the true beginning of the Mackay School of Mines. The original Mackay building included a mining museum whose design was based on the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. In 1926, the Mackay family again donated endowment funds for the support of the School and for expanding the School's laboratories. From 1926 until 1963, the historic Mackay School of Mines housed the Mining Library, the Nevada Mining Analytical Laboratory, the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, the Seismological Laboratory, the Mackay Mining Museum and the academic degree programs consisting of chemical engineering, geological engineering, metallurgical engineering, mining engineering, geochemistry, geology, geophysics, hydrology/hydrogeology, earth science and geography.

Dr. Jay Carpenter, Mackay's First Dean
When the School was co-located within the College of Engineering, it was managed by directors from 1888 to 1951. In 1951, Dr. Jay Carpenter became the first Dean of the Mackay School of Mines for a short period until Dr. Vernon Scheid was appointed Dean later that same year.

Dean Scheid, Mackay's Second Dean
Upon Dr. Scheid's appointment as Dean, Mackay became a separate college within the University of Nevada. Dean Scheid served for 20 years, and he was largely responsible for developing the academic programs and statewide public service divisions. One of his major contributions was the development of the Earth Science and Engineering Library as an add-on between two wings of the historic Mackay Mines building. Through Scheid's efforts, the State of Nevada appropriated funds for the Schrugham Engineering-Mines building in 1963. The mining wing of that new building was designed to house the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. The Mining Analytical Laboratory, the Nevada Seismological Laboratory and Mackay's academic programs remained in the historic Mackay School of Mines Building.

Dean Baker, Mackay's Third Dean
Upon Dean Scheid's retirement in 1972, Dr. Arthur Baker became the School's third dean in 1973. He continued to serve as Dean until 1981 when the School had approximately 300 students. During his tenure as Dean he successfully led a campaign for a dedicated new mineral engineering building, the first portion of which was constructed in 1982.

Dean Taranik, Mackay's Fourth Dean
Dr. James V. Taranik became the School's fourth Dean in 1982. Taranik led a campaign to secure funds to construct the second portion of the mineral engineering building and for refurbishment of the historic Mackay School of Mines. In 1986 and in recognition of long-time Senator Paul Laxalt, Congress appropriated $15 million in funding for the construction of the Paul Laxalt Mineral Research Center and for the refurbishment of the historic Mackay building. The State Legislature appropriated over $2 million for equipment in the new Laxalt building and the W. M. Keck Foundation also provided $4 million in funding to support mineral engineering education in that new building. In 1987, when Dean Taranik left the School to become the 5th President of the University System's Desert Research Institute, the Mackay School of Mines School had 525 students—a record number of students that remains to this day.

Reorganization of the Mackay School of Mines
From 1987 to 2003, the Mackay School of Mines had a series of deans: Dr. Richard Bradt, Dr. Jim Hendrix and Dr. Jane Long. During this time, the minerals and energy industries suffered a severe decline and student enrollments in the School dropped below 300. In 2002, Dr. Joseph Crowley, who had served as President of the University of Nevada since 1979, retired and a new President, Dr. Lilley, was appointed. In 2002, the University embarked on a campus-wide reorganization, and that reorganization recommended a new College of Science. This concept combined the academic departments of Biology, Chemistry, Geography, Mathematics and Physics, and the academic and statewide programs from the Mackay School of Mines.

The Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering
In 2003, Dr. James Taranik, who had returned to the University as a Regents Professor and Arthur Brant Chair of Geophysics in 1998, was called back to serve as Acting Dean of the Mackay School of Mines for the purpose of transitioning the School from college status to that of a school within the College of Science. With the assistance of a key group of Mackay supporters, called the Mackay Group, the School was able to retain its critical functions as a "Mining School." The Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education approved the University of Nevada, Reno campus reorganization in 2003. On January 1, 2004 the Mackay School of Mines became the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, with Dr. Taranik as its first Director.

A New Era: Building on the Traditions of the Mackay School of Mines
Under the reorganization, the new Mackay School now consists of the academic departments of Geography, Geological Sciences and Engineering (including the degree programs of geology, geological engineering, geophysics, hydrogeology and geochemistry) and Mining Engineering. The Department of Mining Engineering now has an extractive mineral engineering program included in its mission. The statewide departments of the School consist of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (including the Nevada Mining Analytical Laboratory), the Nevada Seismological Laboratory, the Nevada State Climate Office, the W.M. Keck Earth Sciences and Engineering Museum and the DeLaMare Earth Sciences and Engineering Library. Today, the Mackay School has approximately 150 faculty and staff and approximately 400 undergraduate and graduate students who are mostly supported on scholarships and on grants and contracts. The School has endowments totaling $13 million and annually brings in over $9 million in outside research.

¹ Doten, Samuel Bradford. An Illustrated History of the University of Nevada. University of Nevada, 1924.