Rose-Hulman’s Student Civil Engineering Chapter Named Nation’s Best
For Second Straight Year
For the second consecutive year, Rose-Hulman’s Cecil
T. Lobo student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers
has been awarded the Robert Ridgway Award as the nation's best
chapter based on outstanding community service, professional
activities, campus service and chapter performance reports.
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| Best In The Nation, Again: 2005-06
officers and faculty advisors of the Cecil T. Lobo student
chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers gather in
front of the Lobo Civil Engineering Sculpture after
receiving the Robert Ridgway Best Chapter Award. The group
included (from left) Kevin Sutterer, faculty advisor; Chris
Hollen, treasurer; Cassidy Sutton, vice president; Michael
Reeves, president; Lauren Hughes, community service chair;
Josh Jacobs, activities director; and Jim McKinney,
professional contact. |
Patrick Natale, ASCE executive director, cited
Rose-Hulman’s chapter for “excellence in the effective and
meritorious conduct of its affairs as a student chapter of ASCE
through the ability and professional diligence of the Chapter
officers, members and faculty advisors.” The committee particularly
noted the chapter’s exemplary activities and public service.
The award will be presented on campus May 17 prior
to the Department of Civil Engineering’s Senior Picnic.
The chapter’s 91-page report detailed public service
activities such as the annual campus fund-raising drive to support
The Terre Haute Tribune-Star’s Christmas food basket program, a golf
tournament for Wabash Valley’s Habitat for Humanity organization, a
training workshop to educate engineers on HEC-RAS flood routing
software, educational activities for Rose-Hulman’s Explore
Engineering and Youth Science Day programs, supporting Terre Haute’s
Day of Caring program, and building a wheel chair ramp for a local
resident.
On-campus chapter activities included quarterly
cookouts and social events for all Rose-Hulman civil engineering
students, publishing a quarterly magazine, providing review sessions
for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and making numerous field
trips which included the new Indianapolis Airport terminal, Indiana
641 bypass, and an Indianapolis-based pre-cast manufacturing plant.
“We have a high level of pride in our chapter and
believe that we have helped educate many people on the importance of
civil engineers in our society,” acknowledged 2005-06 President
Michael Reeves, a senior from Avon, Ind. “We’re proud of the way
that all civil engineering students stepped up to take leadership
roles this past year. Many students assisted in community service
projects and participated in our ‘Civil Pride Fridays’. We hope that
our work benefits not only those who were involved on campus but
also those who saw our work from a distance.”
Rose-Hulman’s ASCE chapter includes 105 students.
Joining Reeves as 2005-06 chapter officers were Cassidy Sutton, vice
president, a senior from Loogootee, Ind.; Chris Hollen, treasurer, a
junior from Eckerty, Ind.; and Michael Krantz, secretary, a
sophomore from Hanover, Ind. Kevin Sutterer, the chapter’s faculty
advisor, is an associate professor of civil engineering and director
of Rose-Hulman’s Engineering Forensics Research Institute.
Professional contact members are Jim McKinney, Rose-Hulman’s R.C.
Hutchins Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering, and Kevin
Forbes, director of engineering for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kathy Nicoson, department secretary, and Keith Royer, department
technician, have also provided valuable assistance to the chapter.
Rose-Hulman joins Mississippi State University and
West Virginia University as back-to-back Ridgway Award winners since
1990. Rose-Hulman also earned the nation’s top honor in 1998. Past
winners include Brigham Young University, Northeastern University,
Cornell University, California Polytechnic State University and
South Dakota State University. The honor was established in 1965 in
honor of Robert Ridgway, who served as ASCE’s president in 1925.
