4 minute read
Set in Concrete
New $40.1 million integrated learning facility builds on program’s success
by Randy Weiler
It’s an innovative building for an important industry, but also a “living lab” and a legacy to those who laid the ground floor of MTSU’s unique Concrete Industry Management (CIM) degree program.
Students began using MTSU’s new $40.1 million School of Concrete and Construction Management (CCM) Building on the west side of campus in October, as they prepare for professional careers in a high-demand sector throughout the booming Nashville area and beyond.
Construction is a $1 trillion-plus industry that impacts every aspect of life—where we live, work, learn, shop, dine, and more. Students graduating from the program average $60,000-plus in starting salary and have an almost 100% placement rate.
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said he was “amazed at the many ways concrete was utilized in the design and construction. Students will see firsthand how the many forms of concrete can add value and creativity to a structure. The building is a true living laboratory, with examples of various construction techniques and operating systems operating in full view of students.”
The 54,000-square-foot building is a major change for the 135 current CIM majors and 200 Construction Management students from their previous 9,000-square-foot Voorhies Engineering Technology space.
Along with a neighboring Applied Engineering Building, set for groundbreaking this year, the new facility marks an expansion of MTSU’s Science Corridor of Innovation.
Among the many features of the integrated and experiential learning laboratory:
• four basic materials and building labs
• a dedicated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing classroom
• a 200-seat lecture hall and a covered amphitheater
• a virtual design and construction lab capable of advanced building models and construction simulations
• an augmented virtual reality lab
School of Concrete and Construction Management Director Kelly Strong called the 1,800 combined alumni—1,100 from the CIM program—“leaders in our industry” whose continuing commitment is “the cornerstone of our success.”
Referencing program graduates at the dedication, he asked if they “could have imagined that this new building would be your legacy? Our celebration today is a tribute to your success and the imprint you have had on the concrete and construction industries.”
MTSU officials also saluted industy partners who raised $5 million in matching funding to go with the state’s majority investment.
Alumni on hand for the grand opening included Southern Concrete Machinery owner Chris Davenport (’00), the first CIM graduate, and Road Worx business development director Jessie Boone (’08), who said she made a lifechanging decision to return to school and join CIM.
". . . It’s absolutely the student success, the alumni success. . . . Universities can create special microcosms of relationships.”
And the new building will continue to help the programs develop relationships, build careers, and shape lives and communities.
