Since its inception, Central Washington University’s Construction Management Program has been providing undergraduate students who are preparing for careers in the construction industry with “hands on labs,” individual attention, and a unique exposure to all aspects of construction. The program offers two tracks and averages about 150 students with approximately 36 students graduating each year.

During its most successful years, when the Program was competing in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) student competition (2004 to 2019), the program was staffed with four tenure track professors, three non-tenure track adjunct professors, and one administrative assistant.

Life was good for both our program and The University at large.

THE TURNING POINT
Then, in Spring 2019, two of the four key tenure track professors retired, and the following school year, we were hit with the COVID-19 pandemic and all its disruptions to higher education and the classroom experience. In the years following, remaining professors left for other universities; and in 2022, I recall sitting in one of our Advisory Board meetings, just looking out the window.

Another one of our professors had just given their notice.

I had two thoughts looking out that window: What burden does this news place on the two remaining professors left in the program? And, Why aren’t we backfilling these positions?

We were in a bad spot. If it weren’t for Professor Warren Plugge and Professor Daryl Furman, the program might have cratered altogether.

“We called old professors out of retirement. We even called upon alumni and our industry friends to help cover classes and do guest lectures.”

ROLLING UP THE SLEEVES
As an Advisory Board, we were thrust into survival mode and needed to get these guys help quickly. We hit pause on normal business—like Students, Curriculum, and Accreditation—and turned our attention to immediate staff and faculty support. We called old professors out of retirement. We even called upon alumni and our industry friends to help cover classes and do guest lectures. Once we were able to stabilize the classroom situation, we turned our focus to The University.

We lobbied and forged relationships with the President and the Provost. We told them all about our small-but-mighty-program and how important it was to our industry and the entire built environment. We quickly earned our reputation on campus as the most active advisory board in school history. We became the squeaky wheel and wasted no time in asking for an immediate tenure track position to start building back our program.

After some conversations on program size and need, The University awarded our program a full-time tenure track position. We called upon the legendary, long-time professor Dave Carns out of retirement to run the national talent search and hiring committee. In 2024, we hired Dr. Stella Xu, a wonderful asset to our program. With Dr. Xu, we were then at two full-time tenure track positions but wanted to get back to the Program’s strength of four professors.

That, however, would prove to be difficult as we learned about the looming student enrollment effects of the 2008 financial crisis and the immediate enrollment effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it hurts small State schools like Central Washington University the most. To illustrate my point, in 2019, CWU enrollment was at an all-time high at approximately 12,000 students. Then in 2020 after the pandemic, enrollment dropped to a staggering 8,600 students and still hovers around this number today. That represents a 30% reduction in tuition and fees, a brutal blow to The University’s budget.

THE ENDOWMENT IS BORN
The University introduced the Advisory Board to The CWU Foundation, who explained the concept of an Endowed Professorship. We learned that privately funded endowments are commonplace at other universities, but something like this would be the first of its kind at Central Washington University. Shortly after learning about this option, our Industry Advisory Board established an endowment fundraising committee in November 2023 and set out to raise funds and awareness for our cause. We devised a three-phase plan that kicked off Thanksgiving weekend in 2023. The Phase I goal was to reach our first $40,000. This was an important milestone for two reasons. First, it is the minimum amount required by the CWU Foundation to open an account and formally establish an endowment. Second, it would prove to ourselves and our industry that we were serious about restoring our beloved Construction Management program to excellence.

We are happy to report that we knocked Phase I out of the park! During the busy holiday season in the month of December 2023, we raised $42,000 on just 23 individual gifts from Advisory Board members, program alumni, and close industry friends. The seed had been planted and we officially launched Phase II in 2024.

Today, we are at $350,000 with fundraising efforts focused around spreading the word and reaching out to industry leaders for personal and corporate pledges through one-on-one meetings and small intimate gatherings. Now that we have reached a critical mass in funds raised, we are calling on our larger AEC community and network to amplify our ask and reach the masses to achieve our Phase II goal of $1 Million and beyond.

The CMP Committee has been engaging the local AEC community, hosting presentations to raise awareness and funds for the program.

The outstanding support and excitement generated by our industry for this campaign has captivated the University’s leadership at the highest ranks. We have their attention and have demonstrated our ability to support the cause. So much so that when we went back to the Provost last July 2024 and asked for that third tenure track position, it was granted.

In addition to recently adding Kyle Richardson—a part-time, non-tenure track professor and industry liaison to help shoulder the faculty workload—at our March 26^th fundraising event, Dave Carns made the official announcement that an offer had been accepted and that we will be up to three full time tenure track positions next academic year. With your help and generosity, we will be well on our way to privately funding the fourth and final position needed for our program.

By thoughtfully and intentionally linking industry to academia, we believe this program will build upon its rich history to reach new heights and further develop the next generation of industry professionals.

For further information on the CWU Construction Management Program, contact Nate Johnson, Director of Development, University Advancement at nate.johnson@cwu.edu. To make a donation, visit https://give.cwu.edu/construction-management.

“The Construction Management Program at CWU absolutely set me up for my industry success and I am honored to be able to support and give back to the university that has given me so much. As an industry, let’s continue to sustain the momentum we have generated over the past year to ensure the continued success and growth of the CMGT Program at CWU for the students and our industry. Our collective efforts are making a difference!”
-Martin O’Leary, JTM Construction CEO & CMGT 1989 Graduate

The CWU Construction Management Program Advisory Committee

David Kennedy (Chair) | Facebook
Chris Lang (Vice Chair) | Fisher Construction Group, Inc.
Rich Wells (Past Chair) | GenCap Construction
Kyle Smith (Past Chair) | Granite Construction
Edward Barry | WSDOT (Retired)
Mitch Droz | Puget Sound Energy
Jake Smith | Shinn Mechanical
Nick Lupo | Granite Construction
Mike Yellam | Wright Runstad
Mark Glass | Retired
Stace Grund | Tatley Grund
Justin Pritchett | Auburn Mechanical
Jayme Newbigging | Ballard Marine
Ryan Engel | Granite Construction
Salvador Arellanes | Sellen Construction
Erin Gallagher | JTM Construction