James E. (Jim) Rowings (BSCE 1975, MSCE 1979, Ph.D. 1982) has been honored by ASCE with the 2023 Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) award for innovation and excellence in construction of civil engineering projects and programs.

Rowings is vice president, Kiewet University, Kiewet Corporation. He holds bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in civil engineering from Purdue University. Upon earning his bachelor’s degree, he began his career working abroad for Aramco as a construction engineer on large projects. After earning his master’s and PhD, he joined academia beginning at the University of Kansas, later joining the faculty at Iowa State University. As a professor and researcher for nearly 20 years, Jim taught every fundamental construction engineering course and many graduate level construction engineering and management courses.

In 1997, he developed an original construction learning lab where students could practice core concepts and apply skills. In 2007, he was named chief learning officer and vice president, Kiewit University. This unique university has five colleges covering 17 subject areas, eight core schools, 11 technical schools, and several specialty schools. In addition, several hundred online and distributed learning courses are available. This role perfectly combines his academic background, teacher/researcher expertise, and industry experience.