CSU, Chico News

The Concrete Industry Management Program (CIM) is up and running for its first semester at California State University, Chico. The program recently received a $50,000 check from the National Steering Committee for Concrete Industry Management. The steering committee has pledged an additional $50,000 for the spring semester. It is part of a $5 million pledge that the industry has made to the program, with half of that coming from local industry leaders and the other half from the national steering committee.

The CIM at CSU, Chico came about as the result of a partnership between industry and education. Leaders in the concrete industry recognized a dearth of managers trained in the business of the concrete industry-there were many people who knew concrete, but few who were trained on the business side. In a rare show of cooperative force, concrete industry executives came together to solve the problem through higher education.

"The concrete industry is a $150 billion industry," said Gene Martineau, president and CEO of US Concrete and chairman of the National Steering Committee for Concrete Industry Management. "We believe that the future for our industry depends on having good, talented, degreed individuals that have more than a basic knowledge of concrete."

Industry leaders got together to fund the first academic program at Middle Tennessee State in 1995. The program was very successful, according to Martineau, and met the growing demands of the industry. It provided students with an opportunity to enter a field that has an urgent need for professionals. With a proven successful program, industry leaders set out to replicate the program in three other parts of the country: in Arizona to serve the Southwest; in New Jersey to serve the Northeast; and in California, at CSU, Chico, to serve the Northwest.

CSU, Chico was chosen for several reasons, including that a graduate of Chico was a director on the steering committee. Martineau made several visits to campus on behalf of the national committee, visiting with Ken Derucher, dean of the College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Construction Management, and key faculty. The committee decided that CSU, Chico would be a good fit and could provide a program to serve northern California and the Northwest.

"Certain elements are key to making a program successful," said Martineau, "and one is the uniqueness of industry coming together with academia. Our pledge to academia is that there is a solid financial approach. We are very excited about what Chico is doing and the interaction with their local patrons. We look for exciting things in the future."

The new program at CSU, Chico has 12 majors this semester, and there are 22 students in the first class, Concrete 101. "We are pleased with the student response," said Kristin Cooper Carter, director of the program, "and from what we hear from the students, they are very excited about this opportunity."

"The knowledge and expertise provided by those involved in the industry has shown me there is more to concrete than I previously realized," said Jeff Kelly, a CIM student who is currently enrolled in Professor Tanya Wattenburg Komas's Concrete 101. "The specialized training I am getting has also dispelled my fears of leaving college without a firm foundation from which to start a career."

The educational goals of the major include producing students who are adept at oral and written communication, proficient in basic math and science, knowledgeable about concrete technology and techniques, able to manage people and systems, and capable of promoting products or services related to the industry.

The CSU, Chico curriculum has been adapted to serve the climate, geography and needs of the West Coast and Northwest regions. Courses that have been developed include Sustainability and the Built Environment, Seismic Considerations in Concrete, and Concrete Fixtures and Surfaces.

For more information about the CIM program at CSU, Chico, contact Cooper Carter at KCooper-Carter@csuchico.edu or call her at 530-898-4316

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 29th, 2006 at 8:30 am and is filed under 2006 Fall.