Iowa State’s College of Engineering received a $1 million gift to be put toward the endowment of a faculty chair.

The $1 million gift to establish the chair was bestowed to Iowa State by T.A. Wilson, former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of The Boeing Company, and his wife Grace, of Seattle. Both are Iowa State alumni.

The chair gives preference to the Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics.

President Martin Jischke said he is grateful for the endowment. He said Wilson’s leadership in engineering and business is exemplary and the gift will further Wilson’s engineering prowess and leadership.

“Throughout his career, T.A. Wilson has shown extraordinary leadership both in business and in engineering,” Jischke said.

“The gift to Iowa State continues Wilson’s visionary leadership in engineering.”

College of Engineering Dean James Melsa said the endowment will be used to help construct faculty expertise in teaching and engineering.

“Iowa State’s College of Engineering is creating a new learning-based environment that will prepare students to meet the engineering challenges of the 21st century,” Melsa said.

“This gift helps the college build a faculty with expertise in both engineering and teaching. The Grace Miller Wilson and T.A. Wilson Endowed Engineering Chair will help launch new generations of engineers on challenging and satisfying professional careers,” he said.

A faculty chair is granted to a professor with a “distinguished career,” Melsa said.

As a chaired professor, one earns a higher salary and has more flexible spending, he said.

The gift can be used to hire a graduate student for symposiums and other education-related purposes.

The grant has been invested with the ISU Foundation.

Five percent of the endowment will be used each year for the operations of the chair.

The Wilson Chair recognizes two families with ties to Iowa State spanning more than seven decades.

Grace Wilson’s father, Roy Miller, received a civil engineering degree in 1910 and a professional engineering degree in 1922 from ISU. He was an associate of Anson Marston, ISU’s first dean of engineering.

Wilson completed his degree in 1943, and his wife completed her degree in applied art a year later.

Following graduation from ISU, Wilson was hired at The Boeing Company where he worked for his entire 48-year career.

He had a hand in many Boeing projects and became chairman of the board in 1972.

Wilson’s gift to Iowa State is part of “Campaign Destiny: To Become the Best,” the largest private fund-raising drive in ISU’s history.

The campaign was launched in September of 1996 and has reached more than $140 million of it five-year, $300-million goal.