Oregon Tech was founded as the Oregon Vocational School on July 14, 1947 to train and re-educate returning World War II veterans. Under the direction of Winston Purvine, the first classes were held in a deactivated Marine Corps hospital three miles northeast of Klamath Falls. The following year, the school's title was changed to the Oregon Technical Institute. In the first school year, 1947-1948, veterans constituted 98 percent of student enrollment. By 1950, the figure was 75 percent. In that year, in response to the Korean conflict, the school received a contract for training soldiers in welding and warehouse management. In 1953, Associate degree programs in Surveying and Structural Engineering Technologies were first accredited by the Engineers Council for Professional Development. The campus was transferred to its current location in 1964, followed by another name change to the Oregon Institute of Technology in 1973.