60 Years of Elevating Generations of Engineers to Lives of Service

Valparaiso University’s College of Engineering takes pride in the technical education the program provides its students, but it recognizes that becoming a well-rounded individual requires more. For those students who excel both in the classroom and in the community, Tau Beta Pi — the engineering honors society— is now celebrating 60 years on Valpo’s campus.

Established in 1885 at Lehigh University, Tau Beta Pi was founded to foster a spirit of liberal culture in engineering students. In 1963, a chapter of the organization was founded at Valparaiso University. The process of bringing that chapter to campus began several years earlier with then-dean of the College, Herman Hesse, who wanted to bring the opportunity for honors and prestige to his students. It was an idea that one group of students was eager to help make a reality.

Stewart “Stu” Walesh ’63 Ph.D., P.E., retired Valpo professor and former dean of the College of Engineering, served as the first president of the society at Valpo and was part of the original three students who, along with a faculty member, presented the chapter proposal to the national convention in California.

“I got to travel by train across the country,” Stu recalls. “That’s how we got to California. It was also the opportunity to be the president of something. I was the first president of the chapter, and when you’re in a position like that, you learn a lot.”

One of the lessons learned early on was that things often do not go as planned. After countless hours of getting their application and proposal in order, halfway between Indiana and California, the group ran into a significant snag.

“Imagine the four of us going on the train from Chicago to California, and in the middle of the trip, before we got to New Mexico, one of us managed to get an appendicitis attack,” Stu says. “That was my classmate, Robert Brems. I was elected to get off of the train with him in Albuquerque, New Mexico, get him to a hospital, stay overnight, then pick up the train the next day and catch up with the others.”

Despite the unexpected medical emergency, Stu was able to find his classmate medical attention in time for the pair of them to make it to California and help present their proposal at the Tau Beta Pi national convention.

“That was exciting, but also challenging,” Stu says. “I was 21 years old, we knew we were going to go before the national convention of this society, so the weight was on us to do a good job of presenting our petition. If we did, we could look forward to initiating the local chapter of Tau Beta Pi the next spring.”

The proposal was a success, and Stu and his classmates were able to kick off the now-60-year-old organization of some of the best and brightest Valpo had to offer.

“Being a member meant that you were a very successful student in an academic sense, a high grade point average,” Stu says. “It meant that you were a person of good character, and it may have meant that you had provided some service to the University.”

Today, Tau Beta Pi is still going strong, and its members still embody those same qualities as their predecessors.

“Being in Tau Beta Pi means being both a strong engineer and a person of high character,” says McKenzie Pearson ’23, Tau Beta Pi president, environmental engineering major, and member of Christ College — the Honors College. “Being in Tau Beta Pi recognizes the people behind the engineers.”

The society is invitation only, and only juniors in the top eighth of their class and seniors in the top fifth of their class are eligible to enter. Beyond academic performance, membership is contingent on the upstanding character of the student.

“I think it makes it stand out as a society on campus,” McKenzie says. “It’s not just about doing well in school, but also about having a sense of ethical responsibility in the field of engineering. I think Valpo especially breeds engineers who are really involved in the community and are getting these done.”

Once a member, these engineers have access to an immense network of professionals through Tau Beta Pi’s national convention, as well as a sizable advantage in the eyes of employers upon graduation.

“I think having that and building those connections really helps jump-start your career,” McKenzie says.

According to Stu, the processes of forming and leading Tau Beta Pi taught him an important lesson about setting goals.

“Don’t ever hesitate to shoot for the best,” he says. “I think that in organizations, and in life, there’s a temptation to shoot low so that you know you’ll make it. We shot high. I don’t know what the probability was that we’d be successful, but we made it.”