Arthur J. ("A.J.") Knight, a member of the class of 1907, taught
civil engineering at WPI from 1919 to 1957 and was closely
identified with the growth of athletics and the campus for more
than half a century.
A.J. was certainly a legend in his own time at WPI, or "Tech" as
he called it. He was the treasurer of the Athletic Association and
a member of the Athletic Council from its founding in 1915 until
1968. In 1963, he was honored when WPI's athletic practice field
was named the A.J. Knight Athletic Field. His familiar face and
ever-present cigar could be found at most of WPI's athletic
contests.
In 1916 Knight became an assistant professor of civil
engineering and also superintendent of buildings and grounds. After
he retired from active teaching, in a pattern typical of all he
ever did, he continued to work for the college as was named
professor emeritus and a consultant for building and planning.
During a period of unprecedented growth in WPI's physical plant,
A.J. was often honored for his work supervising the renovation and
construction of many of the college's buildings. His pet project,
the construction of Kaven Hall, the civil engineering building, was
completed in 1954. A citation Knight received in 1960 read, in
part, "there is some part of A.J. in every facility constructed at
Worcester Tech over the last 50 years."
He also held memberships in both the Worcester and Boston
Society of Civil Engineers, the American Association of University
Professors, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Xi and Skull. He was also a
member of WPI's Consulting Committee on Development and
Building.
WPI is proud to honor Prof. A.J. Knight's accomplishments by
inducing him, posthumously, into the WPI Athletic Hall of Fame.
