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Two leaders – Jerry Chase and Don Greenwood – in the Iowa construction industry will soon be named to the Iowa State University Construction Engineering Hall of Fame. The hall of fame was established in 2010 to recognize individuals who have played a significant role in the construction industry and who have contributed to the ongoing success of the construction engineering program at Iowa State.
Jerry Chase is an emeritus associate professor in Iowa State’s construction engineering program. Chase’s story began in 1934 in Glendale, Calif., where he was born. He attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated in 1957. First commissioned as a second lieutenant, Chase developed an illustrious military career throughout the world, including assignments in Ecuador, Vietnam, and various Army posts in the U.S. After retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1977, Chase joined the construction engineering faculty at Iowa State. He loved teaching and advising. He brought new things to the growing program, including an Introduction to Quality Management undergraduate course and a Quality Management in Construction course for contractors throughout Iowa and the U.S. Chase also authored Associated General Contractors’ manual on “Implementing Total Quality Management in a Construction Company.” He retired from Iowa State in 1996. Chase and W.A. Klinger Teaching Professor Chuck Jahren co-sponsor the Jerry Chase Scholarship for construction engineering students.
Don Greenwood (BSCE’76) is the president of Burns & McDonnell’s Construction Division, based in the company’s world headquarters in Kansas City, Mo. Greenwood was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1952. His love of math and science helped him discover a major at Iowa State that put them both into action – engineering. An internship at a construction company sparked Greenwood’s passion for building, where he learned how it intersects beautifully with engineering. He graduated in 1976 with a degree in civil engineering and joined a small, local construction company, where he spent more than a decade experiencing all critical aspects of managing a successful construction project.
He joined Burns & McDonnell in 1994 as the first construction division employee and vice president of the Construction Group. In 2001, he became president of the group, and was named to the board of directors in 2005. Under Greenwood’s leadership, the group has grown to more than 943 employee-owners.
Greenwood is an Iowa State University Foundation Governor and in 2003 received the Professional Achievement Citation in Engineering from the College of Engineering. Don and his wife, Sharon, established the Greenwood Chair in Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering to promote the university’s world-class program and ensure the success of future engineers.
Chase and Greenwood will officially be recognized in the Iowa State University Construction Engineering Hall of Fame Friday, April 24, at the Associated General Contractors-Construction Engineering Banquet.
Read about all Iowa State University Construction Engineering Hall of Fame honorees.