Our Experience Says It All
At the end of World War II, Dudley Williams returned home from the Navy to finish his college education, earning a degree in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University in 1948. After graduation Dudley completed his internship working for G. Hartwell, a well-established structural engineer in Wichita, before starting his own practice in 1952, Dudley Williams, Architectural Engineer.
The firm established expertise in various building types ranging from K-12 schools, university buildings, churches, healthcare facilities and office buildings to high bay and long-span structures for Wichita’s aircraft manufacturing firms. Notable projects include St. John’s College Physical Education Building (now Southwestern College), Cessna Wallace, Wichita University Union, and Boeing Reprocess Building.
In the mid-1960s, the firm was selected to design the Century II Civic and Cultural Center in Wichita, its most high-profile project to date. Based on the exposure and experience gained on the Century II project, the firm continued to expand its client base and the size and scope of its projects. Neal Stippich and John Nielsen were engineers and shareholders with the firm, which was renamed Williams and Stippich, P.A. in 1968.
During the decade of the seventies, the firm was selected to design several prominent projects including the Wichita Administrative Center, the Kansas Coliseum, and a multitude of projects at Wesley Medical Center including the East Tower. In 1976, the firm was renamed Dudley Williams & Associates, P.A. Two key hires were made, Ronald Brown in 1976 and Mark McAfee in 1979, who would later lead the firm as President and Vice President, respectively.
A major milestone occurred in the 1980s when the firm was selected to design a project at McConnell Air Force Base for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The success of this project helped establish a Federal client base that continues to be an important portion of the firm’s practice. In 1983, Mark Hodges joined the firm and would later become a shareholder and manage the firm’s Federal practice. The firm was selected to design several large projects including Bramlage Coliseum at Kansas State University, Epic Center, which remains to this date the tallest building in the State of Kansas, and the Boeing Plant II high bay manufacturing facility.
In January of 1988, Ronald Brown became the second President to lead the firm and in April of that year Dudley Williams retired from the firm. Throughout the next 30 years the firm expanded its capabilities and reputation for providing high-quality engineering services. A change in funding laws for school construction in Kansas in the 1990s led to an increase in school construction projects. The firm was selected to design numerous significant projects including the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Wichita’s Exploration Place, the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport Terminal Facility, the Koch Industries Campus Expansion, MarkArts, and multiple aircraft manufacturing-related projects. Desiree Morrell and Jon Lucas were hired in 1991 and 1992 and later became shareholders in the firm. Ronald Brown retired in January of 2019, and Mark McAfee retired in August of that year.
The officers, engineers, and staff of Dudley Williams & Associates look forward to continuing the tradition of service to the public through the work we do in structural design and engineering.
