John Thomas,
Mechanical Systems

John Thomas, vice president of Trautman & Shreve Mechanical Contractors & Engineers, recalls that one of his most memorable teachers came from the construction industry: "When we walked into the classroom, he put us into a different world because he taught from real-
world experience."

Thomas now provides Colorado State CM students with a similar learning experience, thanks to funding provided by the Mechanical Contractors Association of Colorado and Thomas" 23 years as a mechanical contractor.
Realizing the need to bring capable people into the mechanical contracting industry, MCA of Colorado has, for
several years, provided the department with a salary for an industry professional to teach an upper-division class in mechanical contracting.

This year, Thomas will teach "Mechanical Systems"at CSU for the fourth time. " We try to educate students on what the mechanical contracting industry is about and all its various facets," he says.

Last year, Thomas divided the class into teams, each of which acted as a corporation bidding on a project. Students brought in other construction management knowledge to develop an estimate, schedule, and development documents and then make a presentation to industry members. Mac Terry, executive director of MCA of Colorado, says chapter members want to support Colorado State" CM students and MCA student chapter to help develop young people "who have the background and education to step into mechanical contracting companies as project managers, estimators, or in other non-tradesmen capacities."

MCA of Colorado donates approximately $20,000 to the CM department annually to help strengthen the department" curriculum and its MCA student chapter.

"As employers, we have to reach out to these students and capture their interest and enthusiasm, then hone it to meet the industry needs," says Thomas.

Dean Barber,
Construction and Development

Why would a busy and successful company like Northern Colorado’s McWhinney Enterprises encourage one of its executives to spend a semester teaching on company time? One reason, says Dean Barber, McWhinney’s vice president of construction, is that the educated workforce Colorado State provides to the construction industry is integral to the company’s success as well as the
region’s economic health. Barber also believes that industry professionals can add value in the academic world.

This fall, Barber will teach “Development: A Comprehensive Study” to seniors and graduate students. He will use a case study to help students better understand many of the components that are essential to successful development, including feasibility studies, marketing, design management, construction procurement, turnover, and property management.

Guest lecturers will be invited to discuss such topics as inancing, city approval processes, metro districts, and infrastructure and horizontal development.

Barber believes that for students to be effective in today’s workforce, they must understand the roles and perspectives of developers and owners as well as architects, constructors, realtors,
financiers, communities, and others involved in the development process. The class is being offered to both CM and real estate students. Students in these two fields often lack an
understanding of what the other does, Barber explains. “This class is developed to bridge that gap.”

Now working on his master’s thesis in construction management at Colorado State, Barber says he enjoys teaching. “I feel this is one way I can give back to a university that has provided me with a critical set of tools that signifcantly helped my professional career.”