On Campus Yesterday
When Bob Howe was teaching an urban transportation class at UC in 1959, a large highway project was under construction in Cincinnati. Using a map of the I-75 expressway, then called the Mill Creek Expressway, Howe explains to students how traffic patterns will change when the Hopple Street interchange opens in 1962.
Howe, Eng '43, MS (Eng) '55, began teaching at UC after serving with the Navy Seabees in World War II. The first professor to teach computer programming "by the numbers," he worked with civil engineering students for 37 years. "I never wanted to do anything else," he says.
He continued the work through nearly 24 years as professor emeritus, helping grad students with theses, presenting slide shows and programs for community groups about the history of the Tristate region and authoring history textbooks with his wife, Helen, who passed away last fall.
Helen Cooper Howe, A&S '43, Ed '44, taught ancient medieval history at Walnut Hills High School, before writing a history book with Bob, which was adopted by Cincinnati Public Schools. Howe is now working on a book about regional history, "How Cincinnati Became Greater."
The Howes also instilled the love of teaching in their three children: Steven Howe, A&S '74, MA (A&S) '78, PhD (A&S) '81, is professor of psychology at UC; Barbara Howe, A&S '69, is professor of women's studies at the University of West Virginia; and Nancy Howe Bull, Ed '71, MA (Ed) '74, is an associate dean at the University of Connecticut.