Herbert Schofield (1883-1963)
Dr. Herbert Schofield (C1883-1963), founder of Loughborough College
1964 Obituary [1]
Dr Herbert Schofield, C.B.E. (Member), founder of Loughborough College in its present form died on the 18th September 1963, aged 80. The Loughborough Rotary Club of which he had been Vice-President described him as "a great man whose vision and achievements have influenced many lives . . ."
Herbert Schofield entered engineering as an apprentice with the family concern in Halifax. It was not until 1905 that, at the age of 22, he embarked upon his further education at Halifax Technical College and later at the Royal College of Science, where he was awarded a Whitworth Exhibition in 1908. The next four years were spent on research at Imperial College, London, followed by a three year term as Principal of the Dover Technical Institute. Then, in 1915, Dr Schofield was appointed Principal of Loughborough College, an appointment which was to prove of momentous consequence both to the College and to technical education generally. At the time the College had only a few hundred evening students. In 1950 when he handed over the keys of office there were 1,545 full-time and some 2,240 part-time students.
Dr Schofield was a member of many learned societies: they cannot all be listed but even a few will indicate the versatility of his mind and the wide range of his activities. He was a Member of the Institutions of Structural, Civil, Electrical and Production Engineers and also of the Institute of Public Administration: a Fellow of the Physical Society, of the Institute of Linguists and of the Royal Society of Arts. He had been Chairman of the Council of the Association of Technical Institutions and of the European Advisory Committee, Rotary International. He was also closely associated with the East Midland Branch of this Institution and served on its committee.
Among the many books and papers which Dr Schofield wrote, one of the most important was Technical Education and its relation to the Engineering Industry. But his true memorial is to be found in Loughborough College, the great centre of technical education of which he was the driving force throughout his 35 years as Principal.