The Distinguished Alumnus responsible for adding hands-on manufacturing technology to TU's mechanical engineering curriculum has been building things his whole life.
"I grew up surrounded by machinery, projects, and manufacturing, so I've always loved it," said Arthur H. "Chip" McElroy, II, P.E. (BS '85), president and chief executive officer of Tulsa-based McElroy Manufacturing, Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of pipe fusion machines and fintube manufacturing equipment.
"Designing on the computer is one thing, but prototyping is another. All future mechanical engineers need to know how to cut, shape and build their ideas into a working solution to meet a customer's needs."
Thanks to the McElroy family's belief in the power of hands-on experience, TU's College of Engineering and Natural Sciences is the home of the McElroy Prototyping Laboratory, dedicated in January 2007. The machinery in this fabrication facility, including a computer-controlled mill and lathe, allows students to put their designs to the reality test.
"The McElroy Prototyping Lab is a dream come true," said Steve Bellovich, dean of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences. "TU's mechanical engineering program is one of the few in the nation to provide students with an on-site machine shop. You would be hard pressed to find a facility like this on any other campus."
Over the past half century, McElroy Manufacturing has grown from a start-up in the family garage to an international operation with annual sales approaching million and offices in Europe, South America and Asia.
McElroy and his sisters - Peggy Tanner, the company's executive vice president, and Donna Dutton, executive vice president and chief financial officer - run the business, which was founded in 1954 by their parents, Frances "Panny" and Arthur H. McElroy. An inventor and engineer, Art McElroy patented many products. The company today holds more than 40 U.S. and foreign patents.
As a TU student, McElroy worked part time for the company and became a full-time employee after graduation in 1985. He has held a number of positions: draftsman, engineer trainee, project engineer, manufacturing and systems engineer, vice president-general manager and finally president and chief executive officer. Today the company is a leader in the science of joining thermoplastic pipe, a booming area with the growth of buried utilities, and manufactures pipe fusion equipment used around the world.
"I'm one of those people who always ask 'what's next?'" said McElroy, who with his team have increased the company's sales by more than 250 percent over the past four years. During this time, he also oversaw the transformation of an 110,000-square-foot former retail space into McElroy's manufacturing plant. "I'm always looking for ways to develop the company and increase our reach into the markets we serve."
McElroy also looks for ways to contribute to his alma mater. As a member of the TU Board of Trustees, he played a key role in the founding of the TU President's Council, a group of Annual Fund donors. As a member of the Advisory Board for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, McElroy continues to build strong ties between industry and academia. His induction in the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences Hall of Fame in 1995 is emblematic of that commitment to service.
In addition to the McElroy Prototyping Lab, McElroy and his sisters have established the Arthur H. McElroy Presidential Scholarship in memory of their father. McElroy and his wife Sharon (BS '86) have also endowed a second Presidential Scholarship. As members of TU's Circle Society, they support many other University programs including the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge, the Annual Fund Challenge Program, the Golden Hurricane Club and the new engineering building that is a centerpiece of TU's "Embrace the Future" campaign. The McElroys are serving as fundraising cochairs for the engineering addition along with Duane and Helen Wilson.
Their generosity is matched by an enthusiasm for recruiting TU students as company interns and employees. "The engineers we need are people who can take the skills of analysis and design and apply them to practical applications on day one," said McElroy. "The students who come out of TU are ready to contribute immediately to our company's growth. They are truly prepared for success in the professional world."