PULLMAN, Wash. — Glen L. Hower, a member of the Washington State
University electrical engineering faculty for 43 years, received the WSU
Alumni Achievement Award Oct. 6 at a retirement dinner in Moscow, Idaho.
He was recognized for his “excellence in teaching and mentoring, research,
administration and service to the university and the college of engineering and
architecture.”
Hower joined the faculty in 1957 and rose to the rank of department chairman.
He also was acting chair and associate chair of the department of electrical
engineering and computer science. When the school of EECS was created in
1990, he was named associate director.
When the late Karl Hansen, a WSU gymnast, was left a quadriplegic in an
accident while training in the late ‘50s, Hower visited him in the hospital during
his long convalescence and gave him personal lectures on material being
covered in classes. Hansen credited Hower for lifting his spirits and
convincing him that he could still be an engineer. Hansen graduated and went
on to a distinguished career at Boeing.
Hower came to WSU from Dryden, Wash., and completed bachelor’s (1956)
and master’s (1961) degrees in electrical engineering. He was a member of the
American Society of Electrical Engineering; the Inland Empire Electrical
Engineers; and Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Tau and Phi Kappa Phi scholastic honor
societies. He earned his doctorate at Stanford, where he was a Ford
Foundation Fellow, 1961-63.
His many honors at WSU include being named ALCOA professor, 1972-75;
outstanding professor in the college, 1988; and outstanding professor in
electrical and computer engineering, 1988 and 1992. In 1996, the Golden Key
Honor Society selected him as academic adviser of the year.
Hower served on a host of WSU and college committees dealing with academic
affairs, budget, curriculum, accreditation, planning, and advising; on the
Faculty Senate; and on the Washington Higher Education Telecommunication
committee. He is author or co-author of more than 25 research papers.
The Pullman resident still hears from former students, including some who are
now retiring. He has taught the sons and daughters of some of his early
students.
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