E-Week celebrations to start today

By Anna Koeppel

Published March 7, 2008

MU will turn green next week for Engineers’ Week, a celebration of engineers that coincides with St. Patrick’s Day.

Although the dome of Jesse Hall has been lit with green light during Engineers’ Week for 20 years, for the first time a ceremony will accompany the lighting. The dome-lighting ceremony will be at 6:30 p.m. today on the steps of Jesse Hall.

St. Pat’s Board President Matt Cozad said this year’s ceremony will be an honorable way to start engineers’ week.

“We want to make people aware of this tradition,” Cozad said. “I’m sure they see the green dome, and I’m not sure they understand why.”

The St. Pat’s Board and Engineering Club members organize Engineers’ Week.

Cozad said the week draws a strong showing of engineers, but the board wants to get more students from other schools and colleges, as well as people from Columbia, involved and excited.

“This is definitely a celebration of engineering, but at the same time a celebration of Mizzou tradition and history,” he said.

Cozad, who will graduate in May, said he also looks forward to Friday’s knighting ceremony, where graduating seniors are knighted. Cozad said Chancellor Brady Deaton will also be knighted because of his contributions to the College of Engineering.

Engineers’ Week culminates March 15, with the St. Pat’s Ball and coronation ceremony. At the ball, a King of Valor and Wit and a Queen of Love and Beauty are crowned.

Five men and five women sit on the St. Patrick’s Court, St. Pat’s Board member James Devaney said. The St. Pat’s Board solicits applications and interviews finalists for the court. Devaney said the board tries to select a court that represents different disciplines and groups within the school, and that the court members act as ambassadors of the school during Engineers’ Week.

Devaney said the patron saint of engineers appears to assist with the final ceremony.

“St. Pat whispers in the ear of the dean and his wife who the engineering queen and king are,” Devaney said. “St. Pat has appeared (for Engineers’ Week) every year since 1905.”

St. Patrick crowns the king and queen, he said.

“The core of Engineers’ Week is celebrating St. Pat and engineers,” he said. “St. Pat was the greatest engineer.”

“Devaney is a member of the Knighting Ceremony Committee and the Dome Lighting Committee and said he is a student of Engineers’ Week history.

Cozad said the week unites departments within the school and gives students the opportunity to network with one another.

“Professors are definitely on board with E-Week,” Cozad said.

One time when Engineers’ Week goes into classrooms and lecture halls is for Professor for a Day, where industry professionals are invited to come into classrooms and teach.

“It’s one thing to learn equations, but it’s another to have someone tell you how they use them in the real world,” Cozad said.

Cozad said the group elects St. Pat’s Board chairpersons about two weeks after Engineers’ Week and will accept applications for the St. Pat’s Board in the fall. The board averages 40 to 60 members, Cozad said. Members serve on 12 committees and meet every two weeks during the fall semester and once a week in the spring semester until Engineers’ Week.