Wilbur C. Milhouse III, Receives CEE Distinguished Alumnus Award

“We all stand on the shoulders of giants. We stand on the shoulders of individuals who have come before us and set the tone for us to challenge ourselves to…raise the bar,” said Wilbur C. Milhouse III, PE, during the 2018 CEE (Civil and Environmental Engineering) Alumni Awards Dinner. Joined by hundreds of fellow University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign alumni, Wilbur accepted the 2018 CEE Distinguished Alumnus Award at the Union League Club in Chicago.

Having received both a Masters in Structural Engineering and Bachelors in Civil Engineering, Wilbur is an admirable product of U of I. From running the largest African-American – owned engineering firm in Chicago, to supporting opportunities for underrepresented youth through his non-profit Milhouse Charities, to taking on an initiative to tackle Nigeria’s challenge to attain a source of reliable energy, Wilbur is certainly a worthy recipient of this noble recognition.

Wilbur shared that his “time at the University [of Illinois] was incredible.” The professors, faculty, and staff truly shaped not only his potential, but his outlook on the world, fueling his motivation to make a change and leave a positive impact. To show his profound appreciation, Wilbur has sponsored the Milhouse Family Room, as a part of the newly remodeled CEE building upgrade on U of I’s campus. This room is for “my (personal) Milhouse family and my family of individuals who work at Milhouse.”

The CEE Alumni Association also recognized Juan Casillas Garcia de Leon, Daniel Dietzler, and George Leventis for their profound achievements, as well as, Yang Zhang, the Young Alumnus Achievement recipient.

Congratulations, Wilbur for exemplifying excellence and exuding active diversity, constant quality, and fierce integrity in all that he pursues.