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6/1/2008
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When I was an undergraduate student, becoming an ACI member was not on my radar. The first link with ACI for any student then was through the 318 Code and it certainly made ACI seem like a Pantheon that was not a place for students. As a graduate student, my peers helped me see I was wrong and insisted that I join ACI. Over the years, I came to realize the benefits of ACI membership. Now, recent developments in ACI have changed things for the better for students and young ACI members. They're able to take advantage of many available opportunities and resources we could not have dreamed of previously. The cornerstone of these developments is free ACI e-membership to full-time registered students. The impact of this program can be judged by comparing the numbers. ACI had 914 student members before initiating this benefit, but it has 4244 student members as of March 2008. The student e-members who become individual ACI members after graduation prove that this program is a wise investment in ACI's future. A quick visit to the welcome page of the Student section of the ACI Web site points out all the connections, resources, and opportunities ACI has available for its student members. Links will direct students to the Career Center, the Collegiate Concrete Council, Student Chapters, and Competitions, just to name a few. Among the many opportunities, the possibility of joining one ACI committee as an associate member has been very successful in increasing the number of student members serving on committees from 10 in 2006 to 41 in 2007. Following an e-mail promotion last March, 50 additional students applied for associate committee membership. A similar reaction is expected from a recruitment article published last month in Concrete International. During the recent ACI Board of Direction meeting in Los Angeles, at the urging of 2007-2008 ACI President David Darwin, an innovative step was taken to provide additional funding to the ACI Foundation, the nonprofit organization formed within ACI that receives, administers, and expends funds for educational, research, and scientific purposes through its three separate councils: the Concrete Research Council, the Strategic Development Council, and the Scholarship Council. Under the new provision, $3 million from the ACI general fund will be "lent" to the ACI Foundation. ACI can request the return of these funds at any time. The yield from these funds each term will be split, with half used to increase the Foundation endowment fund and the rest to be divided among the Foundation councils. This action means a substantial increase in funds available for fellowships and scholarships for students. Only students nominated by faculty members who are also ACI members are eligible to apply for the ACI Student Fellowship Program (valued at $10,000), offered to high-potential undergraduate and graduate students in engineering, construction management, and other appropriate curricula. The finalists receive an all expenses paid invitation to attend an ACI convention. The purpose of the Student Fellowship Program is to identify, attract, and develop outstanding professionals for productive careers in the concrete field. The available fellowships include the ACI Graduate Fellowship for Concrete Research, ACI/Baker Student Fellowship (two awards), ACI/Elmer Baker Student Fellowship, ACI/Richard N. White Student Fellowship, Cagley ACI Student Fellowship, Charles Pankow Foundation ACI Student Fellowship, the ACI/BASF Fellowship (recently added), and the ACI Fellowship recently renamed the ACI Presidents' Fellowship to honor all ACI members who have served in the past as ACI Presidents. The ACI Graduate Scholarship Program awards funds (valued at $3000) through the ACI Foundation for graduate study in the field of concrete. The awards include the ACI-W.R. Grace Scholarship, V. Mohan Malhotra Scholarship, Kumar Mehta Scholarship, Katharine and Bryant Mather Scholarship, ACI Bertold E. Weinberg Scholarship, and the ACI Scholarship-a very important one funded by ACI members who indicate their willingness to contribute to it each year when renewing their membership. We're investing in ACI's future and we need the help of every ACI member to expand all these programs focused on current students. Your contributions are more than welcome and easy to make by using the ACI Web site link (www.concrete.org/giving) just for that purpose. Luis E. GarcíaAmerican Concrete Instituteluis.garcia@concrete.org Back to Memo List
When I was an undergraduate student, becoming an ACI member was not on my radar. The first link with ACI for any student then was through the 318 Code and it certainly made ACI seem like a Pantheon that was not a place for students. As a graduate student, my peers helped me see I was wrong and insisted that I join ACI. Over the years, I came to realize the benefits of ACI membership. Now, recent developments in ACI have changed things for the better for students and young ACI members. They're able to take advantage of many available opportunities and resources we could not have dreamed of previously.
The cornerstone of these developments is free ACI e-membership to full-time registered students. The impact of this program can be judged by comparing the numbers. ACI had 914 student members before initiating this benefit, but it has 4244 student members as of March 2008. The student e-members who become individual ACI members after graduation prove that this program is a wise investment in ACI's future.
A quick visit to the welcome page of the Student section of the ACI Web site points out all the connections, resources, and opportunities ACI has available for its student members. Links will direct students to the Career Center, the Collegiate Concrete Council, Student Chapters, and Competitions, just to name a few.
Among the many opportunities, the possibility of joining one ACI committee as an associate member has been very successful in increasing the number of student members serving on committees from 10 in 2006 to 41 in 2007. Following an e-mail promotion last March, 50 additional students applied for associate committee membership. A similar reaction is expected from a recruitment article published last month in Concrete International.
During the recent ACI Board of Direction meeting in Los Angeles, at the urging of 2007-2008 ACI President David Darwin, an innovative step was taken to provide additional funding to the ACI Foundation, the nonprofit organization formed within ACI that receives, administers, and expends funds for educational, research, and scientific purposes through its three separate councils: the Concrete Research Council, the Strategic Development Council, and the Scholarship Council.
Under the new provision, $3 million from the ACI general fund will be "lent" to the ACI Foundation. ACI can request the return of these funds at any time. The yield from these funds each term will be split, with half used to increase the Foundation endowment fund and the rest to be divided among the Foundation councils. This action means a substantial increase in funds available for fellowships and scholarships for students.
Only students nominated by faculty members who are also ACI members are eligible to apply for the ACI Student Fellowship Program (valued at $10,000), offered to high-potential undergraduate and graduate students in engineering, construction management, and other appropriate curricula. The finalists receive an all expenses paid invitation to attend an ACI convention. The purpose of the Student Fellowship Program is to identify, attract, and develop outstanding professionals for productive careers in the concrete field.
The available fellowships include the ACI Graduate Fellowship for Concrete Research, ACI/Baker Student Fellowship (two awards), ACI/Elmer Baker Student Fellowship, ACI/Richard N. White Student Fellowship, Cagley ACI Student Fellowship, Charles Pankow Foundation ACI Student Fellowship, the ACI/BASF Fellowship (recently added), and the ACI Fellowship recently renamed the ACI Presidents' Fellowship to honor all ACI members who have served in the past as ACI Presidents.
The ACI Graduate Scholarship Program awards funds (valued at $3000) through the ACI Foundation for graduate study in the field of concrete. The awards include the ACI-W.R. Grace Scholarship, V. Mohan Malhotra Scholarship, Kumar Mehta Scholarship, Katharine and Bryant Mather Scholarship, ACI Bertold E. Weinberg Scholarship, and the ACI Scholarship-a very important one funded by ACI members who indicate their willingness to contribute to it each year when renewing their membership.
We're investing in ACI's future and we need the help of every ACI member to expand all these programs focused on current students. Your contributions are more than welcome and easy to make by using the ACI Web site link (www.concrete.org/giving) just for that purpose.
Luis E. GarcíaAmerican Concrete Instituteluis.garcia@concrete.org
Back to Memo List
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