News Detail

Get Involved

9/1/2007

For decades, civil engineering programs have been under pressure to reduce the number of technical courses on subjects that engineers need in practice. The big push came in the early 1970s when programs that typically required more than 140 credit hours for graduation were forced to reduce the number of classes to help ensure that students would graduate in 4 years. The choice was to reduce the number of credit hours or lose accreditation. As a result, programs across the country slashed their requirements so that today some require as few as 120 credit hours for a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering.

In more recent years, changes in accreditation requirements by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) have led to further pressure to reduce the number of "hard" subject matter classes. The result has been the general reduction in coursework provided to civil engineers in the fields of structural design and concrete materials. Some universities have removed both subjects as strict requirements for graduation. The ultimate impact is that the level of training provided for new civil engineers in the field of concrete technology has been on the decline.

I see this with some of our incoming graduate students-a number from prestigious U.S. universities-who need to take undergraduate courses in construction materials and structural design to provide the background they need for their graduate education. In my ACI travels, I hear over and over that the industry is in need of more individuals who understand concrete from both the materials and structural points of view.

One result of the ongoing need for expanded training has been the initiation of the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program, which began at Middle Tennessee State University and more recently expanded to three other schools. This is a fine program and worthy of support by the industry. This program will, however, provide only a fraction of the needs of those in concrete materials and construction and have no impact on the structural design community. Thus, while the CIM program is an excellent start, it would be wise for those of us in the concrete community to operate on a broader front, and as environmentalists like to say, we should think globally, act locally.

How do we do this? I've seen excellent examples at a number of universities. I'll use our experience at the University of Kansas (KU) as an example. Basically, it's a two-way street that involves members of the materials, construction, and design communities getting involved with their local institutions of higher learning that have programs in civil engineering, architectural engineering, and construction management, and faculty members from those universities participating in local organizations dealing with concrete materials and design.

The first experience we had at KU involved asphalt rather than concrete-KU had classes in concrete but not in asphalt. To encourage instruction in their field, local asphalt contractors helped equip our soils laboratory with asphalt testing equipment. Over the years, they continued to supply additional equipment, and in due time, a course on transportation materials was instituted at KU. While our history with concrete materials and structural design has been long standing, support from concrete materials, construction, and structural design firms has played an important role in strengthening our course offerings in these fields, as well, and in enhancing our laboratory facilities to improve the quality of the training we provide our students.

Based on our experience, I encourage you to visit your local university, visit again, donate funds, volunteer to serve on the department or school advisory council, and don't give up. Plan on making your participation a long-term effort. You'll be amazed at how well it pays off.

To my fellow professors, I suggest that you, if you haven't, join your local ACI Chapter, visit the local concrete materials boards that exist in many cities, and interact with your Department of Transportation. Ask for help, and over time I predict you will get it. The ultimate impact of these activities, on both sides, will be an improvement in the number and quality of individuals entering the concrete materials, construction, and design communities.

Get involved-you will see a payoff.

David Darwin
American Concrete Institute
daved@ku.edu

Back to Past-Presidents' Memo List