Corn monument design-build offers CEE students a crash course in project management and leadership.
Tyler Mroz and Cody Hall entered the fall 2023 semester with plans to design and construct one of the most visible symbols of University of Iowa’s annual homecoming festivities—the corn monument. The civil and environmental engineering undergraduates had just five weeks to pull it off.
"It was a crash course in project management, engineering style,” Mroz said.
Iowa engineering students are believed to have started the corn monument tradition during the 1919 homecoming, and it has continued with some lapses over the years. The towering structure coated with corn kernels serves as a beacon for Hawkeye pride.
The UI chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has assumed the mantle of leading the effort. Former ASCE and corn monument advisor Bill Eichinger, a long-time professor of civil engineering who died in 2023, helped revive the corn monument tradition in 2015 after a hiatus.
Each year’s committee brings their own twist: the Old Capitol, a Kinnick Stadium goal post, the Park Road bridge, and I-O-W-A letters are some past examples.
The 2023 version would take the shape of a large “I” with a machined etching of the Tigerhawk.
Mroz, of Aurora, Illinois, and Hall, of Dallas Center, Iowa, who both graduated in May 2024, quickly discovered the project had a much broader, more complex scope than they realized.
Tasks were numerous and far reaching: design approval, risk management, campus permitting, safety protocol training, budgeting, fundraising, creating a work plan, delegating duties, and construction. The last step was recruiting a couple dozen volunteers to assemble the finished product for all to see on the west lawn of the Pentacrest.
Given the short timeline, planning was critical.
The design had to be straightforward to assemble and detailed so volunteers could operate efficiently. Each build day had to be structured with tasks and necessary materials to keep volunteers engaged.
“Not many engineers design a project and then see things through on the construction side, from start to end,” Hall said. “Creating the design and seeing how it will be executed in the real world was a valuable experience.”
Much credit goes to the corn monument advisors, Rick Fosse and Brandon Barquist, the students said.
Barquist, shop manager at IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, was a resource for construction, offering guidance on design feasibility and teaching building techniques.
“The accelerated build schedule meant they needed to have weekly materials lists and goals planned while maintaining a decent turnout without burning out the volunteers,” Barquist said. “Overall, they did a great job bringing it all together for a successful design and build.”
Fosse, professor of practice in civil and environmental engineering, provided guidance on the management and regulatory aspects, particularly safety.
“This is a great opportunity to develop their project management skills, which will be valuable to them in their careers as engineers,” Fosse said. “Few of our captains begin with a full appreciation for the effort it takes to assemble a random group of volunteers into multiple productive teams that have all the tools, materials, and direction they need. That is one of the things that makes this a valuable leadership experience.”
