Bill Wilhelm Endowed Engineering Scholarship

William Bill Wilhelm, dean and professor, emeritus, of the WSU College of Engineering, is credited with building a nationally respected engineering program. Dean of the college of engineering for 21 years, he arrived at WSU in 1979 from West Virginia University, where he served as chair and professor of civil engineering. Dr. Wilhelm earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1958 and a master’s in civil engineering in 1963, both from Auburn University. In 1968, he obtained a Ph.D. in civil engineering from North Carolina State University. Early in his professional career, he served as a structural design engineer with a large consulting firm in Mobile, Alabama and as an active duty officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

During his tenure at WSU, he led the college of engineering s efforts to join the ranks of outstanding national colleges of engineering with comprehensive doctoral programs; broad doctoral programs were established in all four engineering departments in 1983 by the Kansas Board of Regents. Dr. Wilhelm also added new undergraduate programs, strengthened ties to NASA and the FAA, and ensured female role models, within the college of engineering, by bringing in women faculty members and appointing women to positions of assistant dean and director of wind tunnel operations.

Dr. Wilhelm is a Licensed Professional Engineer in Kansas. In addition, he is a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Concrete Institute, the American Society for Engineering Education, the National Society of Professional Engineers and is a Senior Member in the Society for Women Engineers.

In 2000, upon his retirement, colleagues and friends established the Bill Wilhelm Endowed Engineering Scholarship to honor his illustrious career.