Waukon High School alum Len Rodman honored as ISU Distinguished Alumni

Len Rodman, a 1967 graduate of Waukon High School and the son of the late Loren and Nyda Mae Rodman of Waukon, has been honored by Iowa State University (ISU) in Ames with the school's highest honor bestowed upon alumni. Rodman, a 1971 Iowa State University graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, received the 2012 Iowa State University Distinguished Alumni Award at a ceremony held on the ISU campus last year.
The Distinguished Alumni Award was established in 1961 and honors ISU alumni who are nationally and/or internationally recognized for preeminent contributions to their professions or life’s work. The award is administered by the ISU Alumni Association on behalf of the university and honors up to five alumni each year.
Following his graduation from ISU in 1971, Rodman joined Black & Veatch, a global engineering, consulting and construction company headquartered in Overland Park, KS. The company specializes in critical, human infrastructure development in the areas of energy, telecommunications and water. He later earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering in 1978 from the University of Missouri, from where he was also bestowed with that school's 2011 Alumni Achievement Award.
When asked what role he felt his upbringing in Waukon has played in his professional success, Rodman responded with the following trip down memory lane:
"Certainly, my parents had a strong work ethic and that set the tone for higher education and ISU engineering was the obvious choice," he shared. "Beyond that, I found the after school job I had at Jacobi’s (a clothing store in downtown Waukon) a meaningful work experience. I’ll never forget as a freshman in high school being called out of study hall to the principal’s office. I really didn’t know what to expect, but was told I should go to Jacobi’s Clothing Store and tell Mr. Jacobi I was interested in the job. The job turned out to be a combination of sweeping floors, washing windows, stocking shelves and waiting on customers. This was my first experience understanding what it meant to help customers meet their needs. I’ve recalled these lessons for many years in my professional career and it is really surprising to see how well the experiences translate to my engineering career."
Having worked his way through a variety of engineering and project management roles at Black & Veatch, Rodman was named the company's Chief Executive Officer and President in 1998 and added the role of Chairman of the Board in 2000. Under his leadership, Black & Veatch evolved from a general partnership of 160 partners to an employee-owned corporation that is listed among Forbes largest private companies.
With annual revenues of nearly $3 billion and a workforce that includes more than 9,000 professionals, Black & Veatch has more than 100 offices worldwide and has completed projects in more than 100 countries on six continents. Under Rodman’s leadership, Black & Veatch has expanded its global reach and is ranked number one in both power and telecommunications, and among the top ten in water, infrastructure design by Engineering News-Record.
At Iowa State, Rodman has served on the College of Engineering’s Industry Advisory Council and he is currently the vice chair of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Directors. In addition to these roles, Rodman currently serves on the Board of Allete, Inc. in Duluth, MN, a publicly held company which provides regulated energy services in Minnesota and Wisconsin; and on the Industry Advisory Panel for the Government of Singapore, providing recommendations on investment strategies for the water industry.
Along with his wife, Julie, who is also a 1971 ISU graduate in the home economics education curriculum, Rodman is an active supporter of charitable, civic and educational initiatives around the world. He has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Missouri-Kansas City; the Board of Advisors of the University of Kansas – Edwards Campus; and on the Dean of Engineering Advisory Board for the University of Kansas. He also has served on the Board of INROADS, a minority-based organization that helps to transition high school students through college and into productive business careers. Rodman also has served on the Board of the United Way of Greater Kansas City.
Stating that the advice would offer today’s youth to help them achieve success is "probably not unlike the advice I give here at Black & Veatch or at ISU," Rodman offered the following words of wisdom:
"No one can define success for you, you have to do that yourself," he reasoned. "Some individuals have a very clear understanding of what is important and these individuals can readily find things that will be meaningful for them. Most of us, however, are not as decisive, which is perfectly fine; attitudes change over time. It is most important that you understand where you get your personal energy, what motivates you, and where you can make a sustainable income. When you understand these drivers, then you can find situations that maximize your personal energy sources. You have to realize that there are very few careers where there is 100% alignment with job content and your personal energy drivers. Said another way, every career has some things that you don’t enjoy as much as others. Finding a career where the benefits and drivers outweigh the other parts is the key. Early in your career, don’t be afraid to experiment. Try a variety of things and assess how well these work for you. Certainly, there is more to life than career, but I find that careers and job satisfaction are often the most difficult for people to find satisfaction or success."
The Rodmans live in Olathe, KS. They are members of the Order of the Knoll’s Campanile Society and W.M. Beardshear Society, and are life members of the ISU Alumni Association.