Eloise Zimmerman

Eloise James Zimmerman was the first Iowa Alpha recipient of the Tau Beta Pi Women's Bridge, and one of Iowa Alpha's first women to be accorded full Tau Beta Pi membership in 1970.

The only woman in many of her college courses, as well ast he advance high school courses she took preparing for college, she recalled having a feeling that women were being discouraged from a career in Architectural Engineering. She considered one of her greatest thrills in college being selected as the first Iowa State recipient of the Tau Beta Pi Women's Badge.

While a student she spent 2 summers working for Temple and Temple, Davenport architects. After graduating from Iowa State with a Bachelor of Science in architectural engineering in 1946, she accepted employment with Temple and Temple in Davenport, working for them until 1947. Following her marriage to Robert Zimmerman in 1948, she was employed for six months in the Department of Architectural Engineering at Iowa State, while her husband was finishing his degree, after which they moved to Bettendorf, Iowa.

Marriage and motherhood brought no termination to her architecture career. After working as an architect for three years, she passed the four day state Examination and received her professional license to practice architecture in 1952.

She specialized in the design of homes in the quad-city area and Ames. However, she also designed Iowa State's television and several other campus buildings. She was active in the quad-city community spedning 10 years on the school board, and assisting her husband in the manufacturing company they owned.

Eloise Zimmerman died in 1971.

Paver Inscription:

"Iowa Alpha Chapter of Tau Beta Pi
Women's Badge Recipients:
Eloise Zimmerman '46 Arch E
Mary Hurd '47 Civil E
Jane Templeman '53 Arch
Judy May '58 Chem E
Karen Gray '60 Chem E
Idelle Peterson '60 Chem E
Beverly Audeh '61 Aero E
Mardith Baenziger '68 Arch E"