Alabama Construction Industry Gets a Boost from UA’s Newest Program

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama construction industry is beginning to reap the benefits from The University of Alabama’s newest program.

The Capstone launched its construction engineering program in 2006 and is graduating its first student May 10. UA graduates are in high demand in the quickly growing construction field.

Michael Smothers will be the first student to receive a construction engineering degree from The University of Alabama. UA’s program is one of 10 in the country and the only construction engineering program in the Gulf States Region.

“UA’s construction engineering program is perfect for students interested in working for general contractors as opposed to strict design work,” said Smothers. “I learned the basics of engineering design principles, but also diverged into management and estimating courses.”

Smothers, originally from Talladega, has accepted a position with Turner Construction Co. at the Dallas location, and he will begin work in June.

“This program is addressing one of our industry’s largest problems and that is our future workforce,” said Jay Reed, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama Inc. “We are thrilled to see this many students interested in construction engineering.”

Leaders in the construction engineering industry have said the impact of UA’s construction engineering program will be far-reaching.

“Alabama is unique in that we have a large group of construction firms that are continually hiring and looking for more educated construction graduates,” said Thomas Doster III, chairman of Doster Construction Co. Inc. “I see this program benefiting The University of Alabama, the students, and the construction industry. The students graduating from the program will be highly marketable and in demand because of their specialized training and experience.”

UA construction engineering students are required to complete 67 hours in the major. Two key features of the program are a required internship or co-op experience in the construction industry prior to a student’s senior year and a culminating construction engineering project in the last semester.

“The culminating project is developed with an industrial partner, and students interact with the industrial partner throughout the course,” said Dr. Edd Gibson, director of the construction engineering and management program. “At the conclusion of the course, the students are required to present their culminating and comprehensive design project to an industrial board.”

With these experiences, in tandem with traditional classroom instruction, Gibson said graduates will be well prepared to enter the construction industry and make an immediate impact.

“Having the new construction engineering program side-by-side with our civil engineering program is a win-win situation for our students and industry partners,” said Dr. Ken Fridley, professor and head of the civil, construction and environmental engineering department. “Our students benefit from learning about both design and construction, and industry benefits from having a new generation of design and construction professionals ready to join the work force.”

The University of Alabama Board of Trustees approved the construction engineering and management program in April 2006, and the College of Engineering began offering the program in August 2006. The construction engineering program has more than 70 undergraduate students enrolled, with an expected growth rate of more than 25 percent a year.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 2,300 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last seven years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.