BS 1912 Civil Engineering

While still a young man, Archie Alexander broke through two deeply entrenched barriers. He was the second African American football player at the University of Iowa and the first African American to receive a civil engineering degree from the UI in 1912.

Alexander was born in Ottumwa, Iowa, the son of a janitor and coachman. After enrolling at the University of Iowa, he played tackle from 1909 to 1911. Alexander graduated in four years at the age of 24 in 1912, earning a BA in civil engineering and a varsity letter in football. Upon graduation, he moved to Des Moines and joined the Marsh Engineering Company. In 1914, Alexander struck out on his own and founded A.A. Alexander, Inc. A few years into his business, Alexander was joined in business by George F. Higbee. Alexander would again be the sole proprietor of his company after Higbee was killed in a construction accident in the early 1920s. During this time, he expanded the firm’s portfolio, building tunnels and power plants, including the University of Iowa Power Plant and steam tunnels that traveled under the Iowa River, providing steam and heat to the west campus. In 1929, he took on his former classmate and football teammate Maurice A. Repass as a junior partner and changed the firm's name to Alexander & Repass. Their work included construction of the Whitehurst Freeway, a bridge and seawall at the Tidal Basin in Washington DC, the Kutz Memorial Bridge in Washington, DC, and the Moton Airfield, where the Tuskegee Airmen trained.

A lifelong Republican, Alexander worked his whole life to improve the lives people of color. In Des Moines he helped to found the local chapter of the NAACP in 1944. He also served on the boards of Howard University and the Tuskegee Institute, both historically Black institutes. In 1946, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Engineering by Howard University. Alexander was appointed governor of the United States Virgin Islands by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954—the first Republican governor there since the establishment of the civil government. In 1947, the UI named Alexander one of 100 outstanding alumni among 30,000 graduates.

Inducted: Saturday, June 12, 2010