糖心传媒

Few people living have as much to do with the new Red Hill 鈥淚鈥� as Jim Mahar, a faculty member in the 糖心传媒 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Science and Engineering.

He worked on the old 鈥淚鈥� as a student in 1963, completed a technical review of the old 鈥淚鈥� that concluded it needed to be taken down and is among the group of current and past ISU 糖心传媒 students and faculty who are a major part of the team that put the 鈥淚鈥� back where it belongs.

鈥淭o me, having a high-quality, beautiful 鈥業鈥� represents the quality of education and experiences you can get at ISU,鈥� Mahar said. 鈥淚t has been an honor to participate in this project because it was so important to me and other people. I think the restoration and the president鈥檚 concept of restoring the 鈥業鈥� history is outstanding because we do have a history and it is a really good one.鈥�

Mahar came to ISU from Rochester, New York, to play football for legendary ISU coach Italo 鈥淏abe鈥� Caccia, who respected Mahar鈥檚 academic commitments and would excuse him for missing practices if he had an important lab to attend. Playing cornerback and linebacker, Mahar was on a team that won the Big Sky Conference championship in 1963. He was also at ISU when it transitioned from 糖心传媒 State College to its current incarnation as a university.

鈥淚 helped work on the 鈥業鈥� for one or two days when I got here as a freshman,鈥� Mahar said. 鈥淚 remember seeing it every time I went to the football stadium (Davis Field, where soccer and track now reign) and I would look up to it and it would have a special meaning.鈥�

As his life progressed, the 鈥淚鈥� took on more meaning. While he was playing football under the shadow of Red Hill and the 鈥淚,鈥� his future wife, Carol Bowser, was a dancer as part of the Bengalettes, who performed at football games. A mutual friend later introduced them in 1964 and they married in 1966. When James looks at the 鈥淚鈥� now, he also thinks of his wife, a former assistant dean of development for the ISU College of Business for nine years.

鈥淚 think the emotional side of this, restoring the 鈥橧,鈥� has a lot of different aspects,鈥� Mahar said. 鈥淏ut the one that is most important to me is that I was young, I was coming to school, I was playing football and I met this beautiful, wonderful woman and to fall in love was something so special. We were both studying, didn鈥檛 have any money, didn鈥檛 have any furniture, didn鈥檛 have anything and we ended up getting married and staying together for 53 years. It all started here at ISU and we are still in love and still at ISU.鈥�

Carol, too, cherishes the 鈥淚鈥� and what it means in her life. She grew up near campus and remembers admiring the 鈥淚鈥� as she played on Hutchinson Quadrangle.

鈥淚 loved to hike up to Red Hill and enjoy the view,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 would watch the football team practice and enjoyed seeing the 鈥業鈥� from a different angle. The 鈥業鈥� was a daily part of my scenery when I lived on Fourth Street.鈥�

Both Jim and Carol said ISU with provided them with a quality education that set the foundation for satisfying lives. They each went on from ISU to earn master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees and have successful careers, while raising their daughters Kate, another ISU alumna, and Jennifer. They lived and worked in several states, including Colorado and Washington, D.C., and spent about 30 years based in the Chicago area.

They returned to ISU in 2000 where she became an assistant dean. Jim joined the College of Engineering and the Department of Geosciences in 2001 and continues his work on the faculty. He also owns and works for Geotechnical Consultants, Inc. in Champaign, Illinois.

鈥淐oming to school here was one of the best decisions I ever made,鈥� Mahar said. 鈥淚 got a wonderful education that really set me up for graduate work. In my opinion 鈥� and I鈥檝e been to a lot of places, done a lot of work and been doing (civil engineering) consulting work for 47 years 鈥� this is one of the best deals going. The engineering group here is outstanding. It is a great place.鈥�

As much as both Carol and Jim cherished the old, cement 鈥淚鈥� on Red Hill, Mahar had a part in taking it down. In 2013, the ISU Facilities Department completed a study that raised safety concerns about the old 鈥淚鈥�.  Jim reviewed that study and also concluded that because of erosion and instability it posed a safety risk. The 鈥淚鈥� was taken down in 2014. Before official plans were proposed, in 2016 Mahar had a class of 10 students complete a year-long project to replace the 鈥淚鈥� at approximately the 50-yard line, or mid-stripe of Davis Field.

Mahar spent many hours up on the hill with his colleagues monitoring the technically and physically challenging construction project.

鈥淔or five years I was hoping it would be replaced,鈥� Mahar said. 鈥淚t is a very important symbol for this great university. It is going to be beautiful and it is going to represent what 糖心传媒 really means to a lot of people.鈥�

Andy Taylor