Bowen Engineering Corporation Laboratories Dedicated at UE
February 22, 2006

When Robert Bowen noticed the quality and character of some of his employees at Bowen Engineering he was impressed. When he discovered they were University of Evansville civil engineering graduates, his positive impression led him to want to expand his relationship with the University.

Today, the first step in the growth of the relationship between Bowen Engineering and the University of Evansville was christened. The generosity of Robert Bowen, president and CEO of Bowen Engineering Corporation, was honored and a wing of engineering laboratories in the Koch Center for Engineering and Science -- formerly coined the Engineering Annex -- was re-named the Bowen Engineering Corporation Laboratories today.

“For some time I have been impressed with the quality of the University of Evansville’s civil engineering graduates. The unique mix of their professional skills as civil engineers and the humanities instruction they have received at UE make them exemplary employees, engineers that I am proud to have as a part of my companies,” Bowen said. “I thought it was important to tangibly show my support for the University’s outstanding programs.”

UE President Stephen Jennings said, “We are so pleased in the vote of confidence in our engineering programs at UE.”

“We know what great successes our engineering graduates have had, but it always makes us proud to hear those successes confirmed by area industries and corporations. Over the years the University’s programs and students have succeeded, in part, due to the generosity of individuals like Robert Bowen.”

Bowen is a Purdue University graduate who holds a BS degree in civil engineering. He began his construction career in California with a company that built utilities and other heavy projects. In 1967, he returned to Indiana to establish his own construction company, Bowen Engineering Corporation. By 1990, Bowen Engineering has become Indiana’s leading and largest utility contractor. Today, Bowen is recognized as one of the best in the Midwest, with annual revenues of $120 million+ coming from constructing water and wastewater treatment plants, industrial facilities, power plant projects and underground utilities. Bowen is ranked among Engineering News Record’s Top 400 Contractors.

Bowen Engineering is the largest environmental contractor in the Indianapolis area, and also has offices in Evansville and Crown Point. Bowen Engineering is founded on the premise that a “contractor who has professional engineers on staff brings a new level of expertise and ethics to construction,” according to Bowen’s website.

Bowen will be the guest speaker tonight at the University’s ninth annual Engineers Week Banquet at 6 p.m. in Dunigan Hall at UE.

Pictured, l-r: UE President Steven Jennings, Mrs. Bob Bowen, Bob Bowen, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science Philip Gerhart