a true campus was established. Ryerson Street, Grand Avenue, Steuben Street, and Emerson Place ceased to allow automobile traffic, and the campus became enclosed, forming the Grand Mall to connect the institute's buildings. The elevated train running along Grand Avenue between the East Building/Student Union and the Engineering Quad was dismantled. As a result of new real estate, the school was able to build several new structures, all designed by the firm of McKim, Mead & White, including men's and women's dormitories and a new student union. In addition, Moses' construction projects around the school helped to build the School of Architecture. Research funds were granted to the school to help discover new building techniques. By 1963, the urban planning department formed the Pratt Center for Community Development in an attempt to revitalize Pratt's surrounding neighborhood and Brooklyn. Enrollment decline and financial issues In the 1970s and continuing well into the 1980s New York City and Brooklyn still faced large amounts of crime and poverty and as a result enrollment fell and the school began to face a budget deficit. Prospective students and faculty felt uneasy about the safety of the campus and community. In 1974, the men's basketball team came to the attention of national media outlets as Cyndi Meserve joined the team becoming the first woman to play men's NCAA basketball. Students earning architecture degrees exceeded those who were earning mechanical engineering degrees in 1975 and architecture degrees became the most popular degree at Pratt, a trend that still exists. In anticipation of the institute's centennial anniversary in 1987, several capital improvements were made to the campus trying to restore the condition of many of the dilapidated buildings. The Grand Mall was re-landscaped with new plantings, brick pathways, and lighting and the Newman Amphitheater was built in 1988 in celebration of the hundredth anniversary. President Richardson Pratt Jr retired in 1990 after nearly twenty years of serving as president, becoming the last president to be a descendant of founder Charles Pratt. By 1993, Thomas F. Schutte was appointed as president and has since become the longest standing president overseeing the institute not a part of the Pratt family. In the same year, Pratt controversially closed its School of Engineering, an integral part of founder Charles Pratt's long-term vision for the school. Historically, the school was Pratt's most successful school and many associated the school with its engineering program.