Marston Muses




		Cover Story Research & Learning Alumni College Briefs Upcoming Events Past Issues Alumni Interest Survey Credits Alumni Relations Research Today at ISU Cyclone News Admissions Muses Editor 212 Marston Hall Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011-2153 email: preinig@iastate.edu				ETRC: Hoover completes an elegant equation Achievement, say some, is a three-part process: setting a goal, reaching a goal, and then setting the next goal. Belief, too, might be characterized in three parts - vision, initiative, and persistence. The distance between belief and achievement remains elusive, perhaps even incalculable, and the ability to span it is not guaranteed. In fact, like any journey whose end is uncertain, you might not know you’ve arrived until you get there. Today, the College of Engineering has definitely arrived. The distance between belief and achievement has been bridged in a very tangible way: the Engineering Teaching and Research Complex has been completed, and a new era of excellence in engineering education has begun. The completion of the ETRC was celebrated in early October with the dedication of Gary and Donna Hoover Hall. More than 500 engineering faculty, staff, alumni, and friends gathered on the west end of the campus on a sparkling autumn afternoon to mark the end of more than a decade of dreaming, planning, fundraising, and building a brighter future for Iowa State engineers. The guests of honor were Gary, BSME’61, and Donna Hoover, of Rio Verde, Arizona, who provided a $3-million leadership gift that enabled the college to begin construction on the building that now bears their name. Hoover Hall is Phase II of the ETRC; Stanley and Helen Howe Hall, Phase I, was completed in 1999. 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 a critical member of the company’s start-up team. Other major donors to Hoover Hall include Barbara R. Palmer and her late husband Jim; the Kent-Stein Foundation, a charitable organization; and Stanley and Helen Howe. At $62.5 million, the ETRC is the largest capital project ever undertaken at Iowa State. Funding came from state, federal, and private resources. Cover story continues...