Long time Iowa State instructor Barbara Forker will be honored for nearly 50 years service this week with a building bearing her name.

The Barbara E. Forker Building will be dedicated Friday at 10 a.m. The ceremony will be held on the west lawn outside of the building formerly known as the Physical Education Building.

Among those speaking at the ceremony will be President Martin Jischke; Dean Anderson, professor and chair of health and human performance; and Miriam Satern, a former student of Forker’s.

“She was a great colleague, a firm but fair boss and a dear friend. I think a lot of people feel that way.” said Betty Toman, distinguished professor emeritus of home economics and Forker’s colleague for almost 50 years.

Toman went on to say that Forker’s personal motto was “the joy of effort.”

Forker came to Iowa State after earning her bachelor’s degree at Eastern Michigan University in 1942. She began as a physical education instructor at Iowa State in 1948. She then earned her master’s degree from the university in 1950. In 1957, she received a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Forker’s honors include serving as the first chairperson of the department of physical education at Iowa State, now the department of health and human performance. She was on the U.S. Olympic Committee and was appointed to the United States Blue Ribbon Olympic Commission by President Gerald Ford. Forker was also named one of Iowa State’s strong-minded women by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.

Forker remains active in the ISU and Ames communities. She is currently serving on the Iowa State Foundation Board of Governors, the College of Education Development Council, the Ames-Story County Senior Services Board of Directors, the Foundation Board of Mary Greeley Medical Center and the Board of the Octagon Center for the Arts.

Forker said she takes great pride in the dedication.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Forker said. “I am proud of the building, I am proud of the faculty that work there, and I am very, very proud of the students who come out of the human health and performance program.”

Friends and colleagues of Forker will be having a golf outing Friday at 2 p.m. at the Ames Golf and Country Club. There will also be an open house Saturday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Forker Building.

The public is invited to attend all events. If planning to attend, please contact Sandy Gartz at (515) 294-7730.