The William D. Ashton Professorship in Civil Engineering honors UI engineering graduate William Ashton of Davenport, Iowa. The professorship is supported by the Ashton Professorships Fund at the UI Foundation, which was created by a recent major gift commitment from the Ashton Family Foundation in Dallas, Texas.
Ashton received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in civil engineering from the UI in 1962 and 1963, respectively. He founded Ashton Engineering Inc. in Davenport, Iowa, in 1982, and he is a member of the college's Distinguished Engineering Alumni Academy.
After graduating from the UI, Ashton served as chief of the Structural Design Section, Rock Island Corps of Engineers, and in 1970 earned the title of Quad City Engineer of the Year for his work on the 2,600-foot Milwaukee Railroad Bridge over Saylorville Reservoir. He has traveled throughout the United States as well as abroad to India, Ghana and other countries on many water-related projects. He received the U.S. Department of the Army Meritorious Civilian Service Award in 1974 and the Army Certificate of Appreciation in 1978. His extensive community service includes the Rotary Club of Davenport, where he served as board member and president and led service trips to India for National Immunization Day against polio and to Guatemala to design rainwater capture systems.
In 2004 Ashton and his brother, 1964 UI engineering graduate Jim Ashton of Dallas, Texas, provided the cornerstone gift to the UI Foundation to enable construction of the Ashton Cross Country Course at the UI. The brothers made their gift in memory of their former Hawkeye cross country coach, the late Francis X. Cretzmeyer. William and Jim Ashton were both letter winners on the Iowa Hawkeyes cross country team, and William is a former UI Varsity Club president.
College of Engineering recipient: David Cwiertny