Even though he has been teaching classes since 1976, Architecture Prof. Joe Howe said he considers himself "basically just a construction man."
Howe attended The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina, for his undergraduate education, which was interrupted by World War II.
"Dec. 2, 1942 the president addressed my class," Howe said. "He said it's time to stand up and be counted."
At that point, Howe enlisted in the Army along with about 700 other members of his class in The Citadel.
On active duty, Howe worked on anti-aircraft artillery in Germany.
"We didn't sail until the Battle of the Bulge," Howe said. "The first place we got shot at was at the bridgehead, but I didn't see a whole lot of combat because by the time we got to England the Battle of the Bulge was over."
After enlisting in the Army, Howe's college education was dispersed over various colleges and universities including Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech), Penn State, Cornell University and Lafayette College. After the war, Howe studied with other American officers in England at a school for royal engineers.
During the Korean War, Howe remained in the United States in the Army reserves, where he served until he retired as a major.
"At that point in time I was a widower and I didn't want my parents to have to raise my three children," Howe said.
After his military service, Howe received his graduate degree from the University and continued working in construction. He has been a project manager or president of many major construction endeavors, including the Savannah River Project in South Carolina where he worked on heavy oil refinement for a hydrogen bomb plant.
Howe said his experience in the military helped him with his current work.
"It's good training for civilian life, Howe said. "Things aren't that different, except the engineers get shot at."
Later, Howe worked on projects in Charlottesville ,including the first buildings at Barracks Road, the Aquatics and Fitness Center and various other projects around Virginia such as shopping malls, high schools and college dormitories.
He was also the project manager for Olsson Hall where he now teaches his class on construction. He said students often ask him how he remembers so much about the building team when giving his lectures.
"When you've been on the team, you remember the players," Howe said.
After having taught a granddaughter of one of his former Citadel classmates, and with his 82nd birthday approaching in June, Howe said many people ask him why he still teaches.
"Because I enjoy doing it," Howe said. "And I wasn't that great in golf or tennis."
Howe said he keeps in touch with many of his students because the best part of teaching for him is hearing from students after they graduate and find jobs they enjoy doing.
Howe will be taking next semester off to recover from knee replacement surgery this May, but he plans to return to teaching next spring.
"I feel very fortunate that I've had jobs that I enjoyed in construction and teaching and I can't ask much more than that," Howe said.
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