UE Student Receives Ernie Jones Memorial Civil Engineering Scholarship

University of Evansville student Forrest J. Plumlee has been named the first recipient of the Ernie Jones Memorial Civil Engineering Scholarship. This $2,500 scholarship will be awarded annually to a junior or senior civil engineering student at UE’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. Plumlee, a resident of Columbus, Indiana, received the scholarship during the University’s 19th annual Engineers Week Banquet hosted by the UE College of Engineering and Computer Science on February 24.

The National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) and the Tower Family Foundation recently announced the establishment of the scholarship during the annual NATE UNITE 2016 conference.

Jim Coleman, a member of the Tower Family Foundation board of directors and former NATE chairman, said that NATE and the Tower Family Foundation were honored to recognize Jones’s legacy through the establishment of the scholarship at UE.

“Ernie was one of the most prominent structural engineers in the United States, and his contributions to NATE and the entire industry made an indelible impact on safety,” said Coleman

Jones died tragically in 2015 while inspecting a tower. A structural engineer who worked in the broadcast tower industry for 30 years, Jones served as a professional engineer and president of Consolidated Engineering, Inc., and as vice president of structural engineering at Electronics Research, Inc. He was a member of the TR-14.7 Committee of the Telecommunications Industry Association and Electronics Industry Association, assisting with writing and approving the ANSI-TIA/EIA 222 standard, the American National Standard for steel Antenna Towers and Antenna Supporting Structures.

“The University of Evansville’s College of Engineering is excited to begin offering this scholarship to a deserving student,” stated Brian Swenty, chair of UE’s Mechanical and Civil Engineering Department. “The faculty and staff in the College of Engineering are committed to honoring Ernie Jones through this program and educating the next generation of civil and structural engineers.”

Kathy Jones, widow of Ernie Jones, expressed her appreciation for the establishment of the scholarship.

“On behalf of our entire family, we are humbled by this scholarship that has been created in Ernie’s name. I am excited that Ernie’s contributions to the industry will continue through the Ernie Jones Memorial Civil Engineering Scholarship at the University of Evansville.”