Creating the Concrete Industry Leaders of the Future

Left to right: Austin Cheney, Director of the MTSU Concrete Industry Management program; Robert Garbini, President of NRMCA; Michael Shydlowski, RMC Research Foundation Trustee; Eugene Martineau, RMC Research Foundation Trustee; David Vickers, RMC Research Foundation Trustee; Rick Leeper, a member of NRMCA.

I cant find qualified help is the standard mantra in the construction industry. The concrete industry is doing something about it.

The RMC Research Foundation Board of Trustees unanimously approved a decision to award its first grant to Middle Tennessee State Universitys Concrete Industry Management program (CIM).

Over the next three years the Foundation has committed $150,000 to the Concrete Industry Management program. In May of 2001, the first $50,000 grant payment was made to Austin Cheney, Director of the MTSU Concrete Industry Management program.

Management guru Peter Drucker notes that where we are today in our firms is the direct result of what actions we took 2-5 years ago- and sometimes longer. Forward thinking organizations decide where and how they need to be effective and implement actions to make those things happen. Most organizations, however, are so caught up in the issues of today that they never quite get around to implementing programs for making dramatic improvements.

According to Cheney, here is how the Middle Tennessee State Universitys Concrete Industry Management program is contributing to the concrete industry:

• Produce 100 graduates per year with technical knowledge of concrete, general business knowledge, business knowledge applicable specifically to the concrete industry, and already with exposure and interaction with industry professionals (Year 2000 produced the first graduating class of 10, Year 2001 will have 16 graduates, over 100 students are now enrolled in the program). As Julie Luther from NRMCA notes, They begin their career when they start in the program.
• Graduates are to understand the material science of concrete, understand how to proportion concrete mixtures, finishing practices and construction practices, managing concrete ordering and delivery systems, concrete troubleshooting, and dispute resolution.

Cheney notes that a full range of students sign up for the program- but since the program is very specific (they know they are going to be in the concrete industry when they graduate) many students have a connection to the concrete industry or the general construction industry and have a strong desire to be in the industry.

Recent graduates have entered the field in jobs as varied as Concrete Association Promotion Director, regional management for a ready mix firm, ready mix plant management, safety and environmental areas of ready mix, lab technician manager, admixture sales, concrete contracting, and general contracting.

The CIM program will use its grant from to provide scholarships to students in the program, and to further develop the CIM program curriculum of undergraduate and graduate-level classes available to students interested in entering the concrete industry. The CIM program grant was made possible through the Building a Strong Foundation for the Future campaign, the Foundations first-ever capital campaign. The monies raised from this initiative will be used for research, education and product knowledge. To date the Foundation has raised $11.1 million from the concrete community.

Austin Cheney can be reached at 615-904-8470

The RMC Research Foundation is a separate 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. For more information on the RMC Research Foundation and the Building a Strong Foundation for the Future campaign please contact Kathleen Carr-Smith at NRMCA 301-587-1400 ext. 131.

Editors Note: Companies interested in meeting students can arrange with Cheney to host an event at the campus. It seems to me this would be a great way for concrete industry firms that are growing to meet with future management talent.