Nicholas R. Petry
A $1 million endowment to support the construction engineering and management program at the University of Colorado is set up to honor Nicholas Petry, who reshaped Denver — literally.
Petry, a 1940 graduate of CU’s Boulder campus, who went on to a career in construction management, is well known for the famed moveable east stands at the original Mile High Stadium that his company constructed, the renovation of the Brown Palace, and building downtown skyscrapers that redefined the city’s skyline.
The Petry Construction Co. completed the east stands in 1977. When fully extended, the stands would form a horseshoe for football games, but when retracted 145 feet, the stadium could fit a normal-sized baseball field.
Before his death in 1999, Petry and his wife, Nancy, created the $1 million endowment to support the construction engineering and management program in the Boulder campus’ civil, environmental, and architectural engineering department. Nancy and her son, Tim Harrington, recently redesigned the endowment to create the Nicholas R. Petry Professorship of Construction Engineering and Management.
In a news release, Nancy Petry said the gift combines two of her late husband’s passions. “He ardently supported CU, and loved the world of construction management,” she said. “It was a great pleasure for him to watch CU-Boulder’s construction management program grow over the years.”
The first Nicholas R. Petry professor was Bill Yearsley, a 30-year construction industry veteran, co-founder of the Denver-based American Civil Constructors, and a former CEO of Western Mobile. Yearsley said he hopes the position will help educate and inspire the next generation of construction managers to follow in Petry’s footsteps.
Petry, a 1940 graduate of CU’s Boulder campus, who went on to a career in construction management, is well known for the famed moveable east stands at the original Mile High Stadium that his company constructed, the renovation of the Brown Palace, and building downtown skyscrapers that redefined the city’s skyline.
The Petry Construction Co. completed the east stands in 1977. When fully extended, the stands would form a horseshoe for football games, but when retracted 145 feet, the stadium could fit a normal-sized baseball field.
Before his death in 1999, Petry and his wife, Nancy, created the $1 million endowment to support the construction engineering and management program in the Boulder campus’ civil, environmental, and architectural engineering department. Nancy and her son, Tim Harrington, recently redesigned the endowment to create the Nicholas R. Petry Professorship of Construction Engineering and Management.
In a news release, Nancy Petry said the gift combines two of her late husband’s passions. “He ardently supported CU, and loved the world of construction management,” she said. “It was a great pleasure for him to watch CU-Boulder’s construction management program grow over the years.”
The first Nicholas R. Petry professor was Bill Yearsley, a 30-year construction industry veteran, co-founder of the Denver-based American Civil Constructors, and a former CEO of Western Mobile. Yearsley said he hopes the position will help educate and inspire the next generation of construction managers to follow in Petry’s footsteps.