Cyclone nation ovation

Warren Madden

Photo by Luke Lu.

The man getting applause and cheers at Hilton Coliseum center court Tuesday night surely triggered a few tears as well. Warren Madden, senior vice president for business and finance, will wind down a 50-year Iowa State career when he retires this summer.

Back then

When Madden began his ISU professional career, 15,000 students were traversing a considerably smaller campus and future NBA-er Zaid Abdul-Aziz was playing for the Cyclones in the Armory. Shortly after arriving on campus, the young Madden was enlisted to help those planning and developing the Iowa State Center.

As President Steven Leath noted the impending retirement and began his remarks about the longtime VP, generations of Cyclones erupted into a standing ovation.

Madden, a 1961 ISU industrial engineering grad, had embarked on a career in industry and was mulling law school when he returned to Iowa State in 1966 at the request of ISU VP Wayne Moore. Madden became the first contracts and grants officer, was named VP for business and finance in 1984, and the rest is a whole lot of Iowa State history.

Madden and his wife Bev, former food science and human nutrition professor and career services director, plan to remain in Ames and continue volunteering in the university and community.