The $63 million ETRC complex is the largest capital project ever undertaken by Iowa State. It has been financed equally by both state funds and private gifts. Stanley and Helen Howe Hall, Phase I of the ETRC, was completed in 1999 at a cost of $40 million. Gary and Donna Hoover Hall, Phase II, will cost about $23 million to build. A ceremonial groundbreaking for Hoover Hall is scheduled for Saturday, September 8, 2001.

Hoovers' gift makes ETRC Phase II a reality
A $3-million gift from an engineering alumnus and his wife has enabled the college to begin construction of Phase II of the ETRC.

In early September, ISU President Martin Jischke announced the generous donation from Donna and Gary Hoover, BSME’61, of Omaha, Nebraska. In honor of the donation, the proposed name of the building will be Gary and Donna Hoover Hall.

“Iowa State’s College of Engineering is a worldwide leader in engineering education and research,” said Gary Hoover. “I am pleased to team with my alma mater and bring a new level of educational opportunities to bright young men and women who will be the leaders of tomorrow.”

Gary Hoover spent 20 years in leadership positions as an engineer with Westinghouse. He retired in 1995 as vice president of Tenaska, Inc., a company he co-founded in 1987 to design, develop, construct, and operate large-scale power plants. Donna Hoover was also a part of the start-up team, providing critical administrative and clerical skills in the company’s early years.

“The engineering fundamentals I learned at Iowa State are the most important factors in my professional career,” he said. “I’ve always stayed closely connected with the ME department people at ISU. It’s very heart-warming to see a university moving the way Iowa State is.”

Dedicated to the Future
On a bright, crisp football Saturday morning, 500 Iowa Staters gathered on the west edge of campus. They came together to honor the end of a decade of dreams and determination and to celebrate the beginning of a new era of excellence in engineering learning.

The dedication ceremony was one of several events celebrating the opening of Howe Hall. The architecturally striking and technologically advanced building is the first of the two-building Engineering Teaching and Research Complex.

The guests of honor on this special day were Helen and Stanley Howe, BSEngr’46, of Muscatine, Iowa. Their $6-million gift in 1996 gave the ETRC a “jump start.” The Howes understood early on what this facility could mean to ISU students and to the people of Iowa.

“The goal has always been to create a more practice-oriented and collaborative approach to engineering education,” said Engineering Dean James Melsa. “We have done that in Howe Hall. We have the high-tech space needed to provide not only a high-quality educational experience for undergraduate and graduate students, but also for engineers throughout their careers. This is a facility dedicated to the idea of engineering being a profession based on a lifetime of learning.”

Stanley Howe is chairman emeritus and a member of the board of directors at HON INDUSTRIES, a manufacturer of office furniture and prefabricated fireplace units. The Howes’ gift is supplemented with an additional $1 million in furniture from HON.

“When all is said and done, this building is about students,” said Engineering Student Council President Ben Golding, ConE 4, who spoke on behalf of the engineering student body. “Impossible dreams and impossible missions become possible thanks to alumni like the Howes. We promise to be the best engineers possible.”