The 1940s was an tumultuous time for the development of the cooperative education program at Northeastern University, for both students and faculty alike. The concept of cooperative education gained a formal definition in 1946 with the publication of “The Cooperative System – A Manifesto,” which brought Northeastern’s co-op program some legitimacy. However, due to World War II, the co-op program was temporarily suspended for the early part of the decade, allowing students to expedite their studies at the university, with students receiving their degree in half the time it usually took. Instead of the usual split periods of academic studies and co-op, co-op periods were used for classes. During the years of the war, Northeastern initiated several wartime training programs – with authorization and funding by the War Department – including the Engineering, Science, and Management War Training Program. An estimated 5,000 Northeastern students fought in the war. Furthermore, the end of the war saw large numbers of war veterans attend Northeastern as students. Additionally, another pivotal moment for the university occurred in 1943, which saw the first six female students admitted to Northeastern; Grace McKinley Mattern, who studied math, physics, and German, was one of these students. When asked about her experience at Northeastern, she stated, “Northeastern was good to me... I’m sure they admitted us women in part because they needed students, but by the same token, we were treated just like the men” (Northeastern News). Several students commented on the fact that classes were very small due to the war, allowing for more focused and overall beneficial work within the classroom. During her time at Northeastern, Mattern completed her co-op at Jackson and Moreland Engineering, though she had more of an assistant-like role at first: “One time the chief executive had me looking for ripe figs... I went all over the city, but I didn’t find them” (Northeastern News).