Strong, hearty roots are often what lead to large, prosperous trees with expansive branches reaching in every direction. The same can be said for people and the lives they lead. By laying down good roots, sometimes it’s impossible to stop the reach that a person can have. This is true for Jim (ME 74) and Connie Green.
After a 37-year career with Caterpillar, numerous patents because of his work, and countless students’ lives changed, Jim can attribute much of their success to his time at South Dakota Mines.
Jim and Connie met on Oct. 4, 1968 at school in Bridgeport, Nebraska while he was the editor on the school yearbook and she was a staff member. After graduating, Jim went on to junior college in Scottsbluff for two years to start his education to be an engineer. After receiving his associate’s degree, they got married and moved into a one bedroom walkout apartment in Rapid City for $75 a month.
“We both came from very humble roots in terms of finance,” Jim said. “I grew up in an environment where if you could, with sweat, get something done and you didn’t have to pay to get it done, you were going to sweat.”
Connie agreed; they were very frugal and were okay with that.
In the fall of 1973, Jim finished up his bachelor’s degree at South Dakota Mines and they moved to Peoria so he could work for Caterpillar as a design engineer conducting structural analysis of engine components. He went on to work for Caterpillar for 37 years and served in positions such as 10-12 liter product manager, director of engine research, general manager of large power systems engineering, and general manager of engine components. He holds numerous patents for his work related to engine technologies with the company.
In his more recent roles prior to retirement, he served as the general manager for program management and conformance for large power systems. He was responsible for developing and introducing new engine products and was responsible for bringing in more than $8 billion in annual engine sales for Caterpillar. He retired in February 2011.
“We could’ve lived anywhere in the world. Living overseas was not a foreign concept for us,” Jim said. “But we chose to come back to Rapid City to retire.”
He may be retired, but he has not stopped working, alongside Connie, for the benefit of students at South Dakota Mines. He has served for 50 years on various boards, including the Mechanical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board, the University Advisory Board, and the foundation board. He has also helped to recruit for Caterpillar while on campus and made major contributions to the Pearson Alumni Center, the renovation of M Hill, and the Stensaas Lab Equipment Endowment.
Jim and Connie have established a four-year scholarship that is awarded annually to an incoming freshman student from their hometown of Bridgeport, Nebraska, which they also routinely visit to help educate and mentor students about the engineering field. They have also established an endowment that provides the James and Connie Green CAMP Award to faculty advisors for their time and support of students who are involved in CAMP teams. They do all of this because of their love of South Dakota Mines and the roots they laid down when they first lived here.
“The college for us was 2.5 years of college, but those were some of the best times of our marriage,” Jim said.
Connie echoed his sentiments, adding, that’s it’s important to remember where you came from.
“Don’t forget your roots,” she said. “Your roots can be your childhood, but your roots are also college.”
Jim said they chose to retire back to Rapid City to not only be closer to family and friends, but also be closer to the university so they can continue to be involved. The students and their success are important to the Greens and they are consistently working to help them anyway they can. Jim even gives two to four lectures a year on campus for freshmen, introducing them to mechanical engineering and giving them advice on how to make the most of their time on campus.
“I love to go and listen to the kids,” Connie said. “The last time we came for the (alumni) awards for the Outstanding Recent Grads, we talked with one of the winners who worked for Caterpillar and he remembered Jim (from his freshman class lecture). People in general don’t get what a difference you can make in a person’s life by making a small contribution.”
One of the things that Jim said he always encourages students to do is to get involved, no matter what. Find ways to be involved and take initiative.
“Stay true to your studies, grades matter, but they aren’t enough to have an interviewer be excited about talking to you,” he said. “It’s the other experiences you have that count.”
Because of their involvement, the Greens have become well known on the South Dakota Mines campus, to the point that Connie is regularly asked to sign senior hats. She never did, however, due to not being an alum of the school. However, a moment of pride for her was when she got to sign someone’s hat as Connie Green (MRS).