3The school which began as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute is today known as the New York University Tandon School of Engineering. Remembering a Mistress is not intended to be a complete history of this storied institution. Rather it is an insider's account of the last 60 years of its challenges and triumphs as observed by one who had the privilege of serving in many capacities, affording a close-up opportunity to experience its history in the making and occasionally influencing some of the recorded events.

The emphasis of this book is on back-stories relating to challenging and triumphant events of the last 60 years as observed first-hand by the author. Every effort has been made to achieve accuracy and objectivity in summarizing these events, something difficult to achieve when one has lived through them. Where the author speculates or offers opinion he has tried to so indicate. During the six decades covered in this historical memoir, this formidable engineering school had six different names. No one name is suitable for this entire span of 60 years, but she was always his mistress.

Remembering a Mistress is intended to stand alone as a (hi)story with lessons extending beyond this particular institution and period in time. It also intended to inform future generations that the world didn't begin the day they were born. It is a reminder that we are the sum of our past and our aspirations for the future.