Jeff Arviso, Kiewit
Sam Baker, Jr., Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker
Mike Bell, Sound Transit
Kurt Boyd, Valley Electric
Tamara Butler, MCA of Western Washington
Gary Chubb, Swinerton
John Claeys, Parker, Smith & Feek
Brice Cobean, Valley Electric
Jamie Creek, ABC/Rafn Company
Shanna Dennis, Sellen Construction
Kevin Eng, GLY Construction
Bruce Eskeberg, Exxel Pacific
Sonja Forster, AGC of Washington
Tara Harrington, Howard S Wright
Rick Hermanson, Hermanson Construction
Mike Holmes, Holmes Electric
Andrew Johnson, Lydig
Brian Jones, Sequoyah Electric
Eric Jones, Foushee
Ian Klein, Turner Construction
Steve Klimek, Redhawk Group
Diane Kocer, AGC Education Foundation
Phil Lovell, Retired
Dan Peyovich, Howard S Wright
Tristan Rynning, MacDonald-Miller
Barry Sherman, NECA Puget Sound Chapter
Tristie Tajima, Skanska USA
Bill Thordarson, Bain Associates
Bob Vincent, Hoffman Construction
George Ward, Aldrich + Associates
Rob Warnaca, Mortenson
Evanne Webster, Lease Crutcher Lewis
Mark Webster, MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions
Category: News
Winter 2018 CM News
We Are Construction Management
As the construction industry in the Northwest contin- ues to boom, the Construction Management program has ramped up to meet the needs of the industry. From a low of 35 undergraduates in 2014, we expect to graduate 65 undergraduates in 2018. In addition, we have about 20 students a year earning Master’s degrees in construction management. Our students come from a variety of back- grounds and hold diverse interests. Highlighted below are a few of the students studying in the Department this year.
Jess Harris is a freshman direct student who is majoring in CM because construction has been in his family for a long time. Jess’ plans for next summer include a 15-credit course load so that he can begin CM classes in the Fall of 2018 as a sophomore.
Amelia Angell is a junior who hails from Healdsburg, California. She is interested in construction management because it is more people-oriented than engineering. Her plans are to work for a GC and continue to develop her interest in sustainable commercial projects.
Alex Willing is a senior from Olympia who transferred to UW from South Puget Sound Community College. He interned last summer with a company that specializes in health care facilities. He is the captain of the NAHB Resi- dential team that will compete in Orlando in early January,
a member of our Reno sustainability team, and an active student representative for our UW AGC chapter.
Julie Rasanen is in her fth year as a dual Construction Management and Architectural Design major. She is from Minot, North Dakota. Julie enjoys the design process and problem solving in architecture but wanted to understand and be able to manage the construction process from start to nish. Julie plans to work for a commercial general contractor after graduation.
Utkarsh Singh is a Master’s student from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. He came to the U.S. to study CM to enhance and solidify his managerial skills. His research in- terests include Integrated Project Delivery System. He is looking for an entry position in the U.S. for a company that provides commercial construction services.
There are at least 70 other unique stories which explain how our students came to study construction manage- ment. In fact, students nd our department in a variety of ways: for some it’s “in the family,” others discover us while in community college, and still others learn about CM when they get to the UW. We are always looking for more good students, so please keep your eyes open for good prospects and send them our way!
From the Chair
New Year’s greetings from the CM Department! With such a great group of students, faculty, sta , and industry supporters, the department has never been stronger.
Over the past several years, we have made good progress toward achieving our goal of growing the undergraduate program. Our numbers have steadily increased even as we have maintained our standards for acceptance into the program, particularly with regard to our extensive list of prerequisite classes. We have recently improved our curriculum by increasing students’ access to relevant technology and by improving our assessment of student learning. We are using the lean strategy of Plan-Do-Act-Check to continuously improve the program. Our Construction Industry Advisory Council (CIAC) is over 30 members strong and continues to provide us with support and guidance on how to improve our educational program.
We have several other on-going initiatives, including increasing the number of transfer students, increasing the diversity of our student population, providing students with two internships, increasing the number of freshman direct and early admit students, improving the master’s program, and increasing the number and dollar value of department scholarships. Each of these initiatives have their own set of challenges, but I believe that striving toward these goals will make the Department a better place to learn and teach.
How time ies when you are having fun. Now in my fourth year as Department Chair, I feel truly privileged to work with such a great group.
Please contact me at wbender@ uw.edu if you would like to get involved with UW CM Department.
Bill Bender
Giving Back
Student volunteers help repair a home in Tukwila
On a brisk fall morning, members of the greater Seattle construction community gathered at a house in Tukwila on a Saturday morning. Rebuilding Together Seattle chooses the homes of low income families that are in need of repair, and folks gather with their tools to make the repairs happen. Students, sta , and faculty from the Department were among this energetic group. A new fence, a new porch rail, interior painting, and yard work: all were accomplished in the space of six hours. For our students, it was a chance to “get their hands dirty” with some tools of the trade, as well as a chance to give back to the greater Seattle community. The Department welcomes other such opportunities to assist with charitable construction projects.
If you have a suggestion for a group you think we could volunteer with, please email Katherine at ktmcd@uw.edu with the details.
IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN: 2018 HALL OF FAME!
Every two years, friends and supporters of the Department of Construction Management gather to recognize members of the Northwest’s construction community—and to raise money for students in the Department. We last gathered in May 2016 at which time we celebrated the contributions of Kathleen Garrity, Phil Lovell, and Jon Magnusson. We also raised over $200,000 for student scholarships.
Mark your calendars for May 11, 2018 for this year’s Hall of Fame. It will be a chance to catch up with old friends, recognize leaders in our industry, and continue to support future students of the Department. Registration for this event will begin in Febru- ary at https://cm.be.uw.edu/industry/hall-of-fame/.
We look forward to seeing you then.
Construction Industry Advisory Council Members
Je Arviso, Kiewit
Sam Baker, Jr., Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker
Mike Bell, Sound Transit Kurt Boyd, Valley Electric
Tamara Butler, MCA of Western Washington
Gary Chubb, Swinerton
John Claeys, Parker, Smith & Feek
Brice Cobean, Valley Electric
Jamie Creek, ABC/Rafn Company
Shanna Dennis, Sellen Construction
Kevin Eng, GLY Construction
Bruce Eskeberg, Exxel Pacific
Sonja Forster, AGC of Washington
Tara Harrington, Howard S Wright
Rick Hermanson, Hermanson Construction
Mike Holmes, Holmes Electric
Andrew Johnson, Lydig
Brian Jones, Sequoyah Electric
Eric Jones, Foushee
Ian Klein, Turner Construction
Steve Klimek, Redhawk Group
Diane Kocer, AGC Education Foundation
Phil Lovell, Retired
Dan Peyovich, Howard S Wright
Tristan Rynning, MacDonald-Miller
Barry Sherman, NECA Puget Sound Chapter
Tristie Tajima, Skanska USA
Bill Thordarson, Bain Associates
Bob Vincent, Ho man Construction George Ward, Aldrich + Associates Rob Warnaca, Mortenson
Evanne Webster, Lease Crutcher Lewis Mark Webster, MacDonald-Miller