The 50th anniversary of the construction engineering program at Iowa State continues its celebration Friday, when three individuals will be inaugurated into the Construction Engineering Hall of Fame.

Tom Jellinger, the program’s founder, will be one of the three individuals inaugurated at the banquet Friday night.

Jellinger started Iowa State’s construction engineering program in the fall of 1960. At the time, he was an assistant professor of architecture and architectural engineering.

Jellinger was in charge of constructing and developing a curriculum by the Master Builders of Iowa, an industry of building contractors. MBI played a large part in the conception of the program and provided funding for it as well, said Edward Jaselskis, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and head of the 50th anniversary of the construction engineering program.

“This program began because of a need for engineers specialized in the field of construction,” Jaselskis said.

Jellinger was the first professor in charge of the construction engineering program at Iowa State.

“The university offered me courses so we started an outline of a curriculum, getting students and figuring out what the hell we were doing,” Jellinger said. “It started with building construction then went to construction engineering and established a licensing of construction.”

Jellinger said that in the beginning there wasn’t anybody registered as a construction engineer.

“Iowa State was the first one in the country to have a degree in construction engineering,” Jellinger said. “It led the way in a lot of things.”

There are approximately 400 construction engineering students in the program, making it the largest in the nation. The construction engineering program has been declared the top program in the nation by the Gourman Report. Iowa State construction engineering graduates are estimated to make up more than half of the total graduates in programs across the country, Jahren said.

“More than 2,000 graduates for our program are in construction engineering,” said Charles Jahren, associate professor of construction engineering.

Assignments are very realistic, it ties back to Tom Jellinger who was a realistic architect, which is a continuing tradition at Iowa State, Jahren said. Students in the program have utilized their trade recently to aid in Iowa flood relief.

“Construction students did service projects rebuilding homes in Cedar Rapids after the floods,” Jahren said. “We have great faculty and students.”

Jaselskis is proud of the accomplishments the program has achieved, and is excited for its future.

“It is the best program hands down,” Jaselskis said. “It will go on to succeed over the next 50 years because it’s built on a strong, tested foundation.”

Jaselskis said another reason it will succeed relates to the steadfast support by its industry and alumni as well as the department, college and university. 

“Tom Jellinger is the main reason we are here,” Jaselskis said. “The many traditions we have today are because of him.”

The celebration will continue through Friday and Saturday, with a golf tournament, engineering campus tours, dedication of the Thomas and Ro Jellinger Laboratory and tailgating for the UNI football game beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday.