Dr. Wildenthal does not make it clear in the history section at the 1:36 mark as to who was the opposition to the university. Was it Texas A&M? Was it SMU, which did not have an engineering department at the time? Richardson had one of the highest concentration of residents with PHDs' and Masters' degrees in the U.S. back in the 1950s and 1960s. Those engineers with only Batchlor's degrees wanted higher degrees, hence the interest in a local engineering school.
Dr. Wildenthal does not make it clear in the history section at the 1:36 mark as to who was the opposition to the university. Was it Texas A&M? Was it SMU, which did not have an engineering department at the time? Richardson had one of the highest concentration of residents with PHDs' and Masters' degrees in the U.S. back in the 1950s and 1960s. Those engineers with only Batchlor's degrees wanted higher degrees, hence the interest in a local engineering school.