The civil and construction engineering department received a $175,000 donation from a former ISU student and his family.

Gerald Olson of Olathe, Kan., said he and his wife Audrey donated the money to the ISU Foundation because of the experience Gerald had at Iowa State.

“My time at Iowa State was a major factor in my success and I wanted to give something back,” said Olson, former president and CEO of Terracon in Kansas.

Lance Cavanaugh, senior development officer in engineering administration, said the donation will be used for a laboratory.

“The money will be used to purchase state of the art equipment for an experimental soil mechanics lab in the Town Engineering Building,” he said.

Bruce Kjartanson, associate professor of civil and construction engineering, said the lab will allow ISU researchers to attract top masters and Ph.D. candidates.

“This facility will allow geotechnical engineering graduate students to learn how to operate and analyze data from state of the art testing equipment,” he said.

Olson said he made sure his family donated the money while he is still alive, in order to avoid any mix-ups.

“My wife and I started a family foundation because we felt it’s more important to give money while we were alive so we could see how it was used,” he said.

Cavanaugh said Olson wanted to give back to the university he is so proud of.

“[Olson] really feels strongly that he received a good education here,” he said. “We’re very grateful for the generosity of Gerald and Audrey.”

The lab is due for completion in August.