Fall 2020

NSPE Today
Iowa PE’s Legacy Continues with Education Foundation Donation

THE CHARITABLE TRUST OF LONGTIME NSPE MEMBER RICHARD STANLEY, P.E., AND HIS WIFE, MARY JO, RECENTLY MADE A SIZEABLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE NSPE EDUCATION FOUNDATION “TO PROMOTE THE QUALITY AND PROFESSIONALISM OF THE ENGINEERING PRACTICE.”

When Richard Stanley, P.E., passed away in November 2017, the obituary headline in his hometown newspaper, the Muscatine Journal, declared “There will never be another Dick Stanley.”

The longtime NSPE member, recipient of the 2009 NSPE Award, and president of one of the largest engineering firms in the country, was known for being larger than life but also completely relatable. He was dedicated to making lasting change, not only in Iowa, where he lived and worked, but around the world.

That dedication to positive change recently arrived at NSPE in the form of a sizable gift to the NSPE Education Foundation from the Richard and Mary Jo Stanley Charitable Trust. The grant was designated “to promote the quality and professionalism of the engineering practice.”

The first NSPE program supported by this generous grant was this year’s Emerging Leaders Program for promising early-career professionals with 5–8 years of experience. Grant funds were used to purchase books for each of the 20 participants. The Foundation’s Programming Committee will continue to designate other potential programs and opportunities that fulfill the Stanley’s wishes.

Under Stanley’s leadership, Stanley Consultants grew to become Iowa’s largest engineering firm and among the largest engineering firms in the world. Today the firm specializes in energy, water, transportation, higher education, industrial, and environmental projects and has offices in 14 states, the Caribbean, Middle East, South Asia and the Pacific, and the United Kingdom.

Stanley’s global outlook shaped his work as chair and president of the Stanley Foundation, where he oversaw efforts to achieve a secure peace with freedom and justice, built on world citizenship and effective global governance. He was also a respected presence at the United Nations. In Stanley’s obituary in the Muscatine Journal, the foundation’s president put it this way: “The one constant has been this belief that global problems can’t be solved by any one nation working by itself.” Today, the foundation is known as the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.

During his career, Stanley devoted his energy to strengthening the practice of consulting engineering and its service to the public. He served on numerous boards and professional organizations, including serving as president of the Iowa Engineering Society, chairman of the American Council of Engineering Companies, and chair of the National Construction Industry Council.

Stanley’s commitment to his hometown of Muscatine included serving as director and founding chair of Unity HealthCare and as the first president of the Board of Eastern Iowa Community College. He was president and director of the Muscatine Health Support Foundation and past president of the Muscatine Chamber of Commerce.