Published May 29, 2015
A group of alumni and local businesses donated a state-of-the-art structural steel
teaching sculpture to the University of Louisiana at Monroe’s School of Construction
Management with the hopes of advancing students’ knowledge about the engineering and
construction applications required to build such pieces.
The structure was fabricated by John Hunter, Jane Brown, and Joe Tannehill of Steel
Fabricators of Monroe. The foundation was constructed by Steve Traxler of Traxler
Construction, and erected by Ranger Steel Erectors. The structure was designed by
Bee Meadows, a local, retired engineer.
Hunter, Brown, Tannehill, and Traxler are ULM School of Construction alumni.
The sculpture sits in front of the Construction building
Hunter of Steel Fabricators said the structure was “created for the school to use
as a teaching aid, and to let the public know, without having to read words on a sign,
that this place has something to do with construction.”
The 10-foot-tall structure greets guests near the front door of the ULM Construction
Management building on Filhiol Ave.
The structure’s design was modeled after the first known 3D steel sculpture, which
was placed on the University of Florida campus in 1986. The sculpture was created
by a professor and civil engineer at the school as a way to provide engineering students
with up-close, hands-on exposure to structural steel members and connections.
To date, there are over 150 sculptures in place at various engineering schools around
the world.
“It is our hope that students for years to come can become more familiar with some
of the steel member shapes and connections that are used in various construction applications,”
said Hunter.
The construction management program at ULM was established in 1966 and became the
nation’s first accredited construction program by the American Council for Construction
Education in 1976.
