New York Institute of Technology

and a liberal arts education, and ever since, it has been focusing on this model to prepare students for current and future careers.
By the 1958–1959 academic year, the university had 300 students, and the time had come to expand its physical operations. In April 1958, the college purchased the Pythian Temple at 135–145 W. 70th St. in Manhattan for its main center. The building, adjacent to the planned Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, was an ornate 12-story structure with a columned entranceway. Built in 1929 at a cost of $2 million, it included among its features a 1,200-seat auditorium. In 1958, NYIT sponsored the first National Technology Awards, created by Frederick Pittera, an organizer of international fairs and a member of the NYIT Board of Trustees, to help raise funds for the NYIT science and technology laboratories. The awards, held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, were attended by several hundred guests, with entertainment provided by the U.S. Air Force Band. Senate Majority Leader and future President …