Iowa State University Through and Through
No building on campus bears their names. No Iowa State University students receive a scholarship honoring them. Nor is any university faculty member the Warren and Beverly Madden Endowed Chair.
Recognition for the longtime Iowa State couple instead comes from the joy of supporting any number of programs, scholarships and facilities on campus. The list of areas that the Maddens have supported over the years is quite simply staggering.
From building projects to the arts and athletics to assisting their home academic departments of engineering and food science and human nutrition, few areas of the university haven’t been touched by the couple’s generosity.
“Iowa State has given us the opportunity to do lots of things,” said Warren, vice president for business and finance. “This place has played a significant role in our lives.
“We have been fortunate to be successful and feel that Iowa State should be a recipient of our philanthropy.”
Building legacies on campus
Over the course of the past 40 years, the personal and working lives of Warren and Bev Madden have melded. In many ways, Iowa State and the City of Ames have become their lives. The two have served in virtually every professional and volunteer capacity that the university and the surrounding community might offer, devoting their time, talent and resources to the betterment of these entities.
Warren is a 1961 Iowa State industrial engineering graduate, while Bev holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in home economics (’60) and family environment (’70), respectively. After moving away after graduation, the couple returned in 1966 and have become fixtures in the community.
By 1984 Warren had been named vice president for business and finance. In this capacity, he has been an invaluable resource and leader for six of Iowa State’s presidents. During his career on campus, enrollment doubled, the budget increased by more than $800 million, and the campus added more than 8 million square feet of space.
His reputation nationally is legendary. He is past president of the Central Association of College and University Business Officers; he chaired the Business Affairs Council of the National Association of State University and Land Grant Colleges; he serves on the board of directors for the Council of Governmental Relations; and he is a founding member and past president of the University Risk Management and Insurance Association. In 1993, the National Association of College and University Business Officers bestowed upon Warren its coveted Distinguished Business Officer Award.
He is an ISU Foundation governor and serves on the foundation’s Board of Directors. He is also a member of the ISU Alumni Association’s Board of Directors and a past member of the Memorial Union Board.
Bev’s legacy at Iowa State is also diverse and extraordinary. She was one of Iowa State’s very first honors students. While working on her master’s degree, she taught the home management residence course. A College of Family and Consumer Sciences faculty member, she taught food science for 15 years prior to coordinating the college’s career services office and spearheading the college’s development efforts.
She also served as the director of Iowa State’s Career Services Office. During her tenure, Iowa State was recognized for providing one of the top 35 career services programs in the nation and recent graduates were featured at the university’s Iowa State Fair exhibit. Before she recently retired from that position, her work in that office directly affected the lives of thousands of Iowa State students as they prepared to transition into the workforce. She is an ISU Foundation governor and has served on the foundation’s governance committee and the Women and Philanthropy board.
Philanthropy in and out of the workplace
It was about the time the couple came back to campus that the university’s philanthropy efforts kicked into high gear. Warren says he saw that transformation firsthand as a staff member in the business office.
“I had a chance as a young professional to work with the process of creating the Iowa State Center,” he said. “As I look back now, I think one of the things that changed Iowa State were those facilities. It took athletics and all of the performing arts events and placed them in state-of-the-art buildings.”
The Maddens have taken leadership roles in their philanthropy to Iowa State by supporting many projects on campus, most notably the Palmer Human Development and Family Studies Building; the Martin Jischke Honors Building; the renovations of Beardshear Hall, and Morrill Hall; the construction of the gateway to campus, as well as University Museums, Reiman Gardens and the Performing Arts Fund at Stephens Auditorium.
While each of the projects is special to the Maddens, the Beardshear Hall project holds a special meaning, since both had offices in the building. The couple helped fund the gold leaf that adorns the structure’s dome.
“Every day I have an opportunity to see the renovations to Beardshear Hall,” Warren said. “There are many times I see people touring the building and looking up at the dome and remarking how beautiful the facility is. It gives you a certain amount of satisfaction.”
The arts also are extremely important to the couple.
“The arts are part of what a university is,” Bev said. “I think you should support the things you are involved with, and music and art are both a large part of our lives.”
Honored for their philanthropic spirit
This past spring, the Maddens were recognized for their lifelong support of Iowa State. The ISU Foundation presented its Order of the Knoll Faculty/Staff Award to them, as well as to retiring College of Design Dean Mark Engelbrecht (B.A.R. ’63 architecture).
The award annually recognizes an individual or couple employed by or retired from Iowa State who has brought distinction to the university, its students, programs or research significantly beyond the expectations of the position held.
It almost sounds as if the award was created specifically for Warren and Bev Madden.
