Department Awarded Grant to Train Trainers
in the Gaza Strip

This fall, CM professors from Colorado State will conduct a week-long training workshop for 20-25 local trainers in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The workshop, funded by a $165,000 Education for Employment Foundation grant, will prepare trainers to teach unemployed engineering graduates in the West Bank and/or Gaza practical and application- oriented construction management skills as part of a training program.

The project team from Colorado State will provide the construction management curriculum, instructional support materials, and the Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop. Team members also will assist with assessment and quality assurance for the ToT workshop and the end-user training program for a two-year period.

CM faculty members, including Angela Guggemos, Mostafa Khattab, Brad Johnson, Ron Holt, and workshop coordinator Becky Bell, will provide the trainers with a 120-hour construction management training module, which the trainers will teach to the end users over the course of three months.

While there are a large number of engineers in the Gaza Strip, many are unemployed and don’t have knowledge or experience in construction management. “The engineers who take this curriculum will be guaranteed jobs by companies that are ready and waiting to hire these graduates,” says Khattab. “By helping people become employed, we’re contributing to the area’s economic security and our own national security.”

Career Fair:
The Ultimate Recruiting Experience

Is the CM Career Fair a valuable experience for recruiters and students? Considering that company participation has nearly quadrupled since the first fair was held in 2004, that professors cancel CM classes on the day of the fair, and that more than 500 CM students attended the last fair, held in February, the answer would be a resounding yes!

Representatives from 91 companies – the maximum number of participants the fair can accommodate – showcased their businesses and spoke with students about the wide array of work opportunities available to them in the construction industry.

“A lot of companies use the Career Fair as a way to get out there in front of our students before the recruiting process begins,” says Carol Gentry, career fair organizer. “Half of the companies that attend use the fair for that purpose. The others, mostly out-of-state companies, use the fair also to conduct interviews, either that day or during the days following the fair.”

New students through graduating seniors say the fair offers valuable networking and career opportunities for summer internships and post-graduation full-time employment. “With approximately 250 students completing their required internships and another 200 students graduating each year, the CM Career Fair provides a huge recruiting opportunity for the industry and our students,” says Anna Fontana, interim coordinator of the Phelps Placement Office, which coordinates the fair.

The next fair will take place Sept. 25, and participating companies will interview students in the days following the fair. Senior interviews will be held Oct. 1-26, and internship interviews Oct. 15-19.

Companies interested in registering can ind more information at http://www. cm.cahs.colostate.edu/career_fair.stm, or by contacting Gentry at (970) 491-1060 or cgentry@cahs.colostate.edu.

Maho Bay Alumni
Course at Eco-Resort a Life-Changing Experience

Upon arriving at Maho Bay Camps on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, I felt as if I was back at summer camp. Wood frame tent-cottages which sleep three, free roaming geckos, and a community bathroom 88 steps up from my tent reminded me of past summer days when I would say goodbye to my television and spend a week in a child’s paradise. I had my suitcase in hand, ready to meet new people, learn as much as possible, and in my free time, play.

So begins CM alumna Katherine Pettit’s recollection of her experience at the Maho Bay Sustainable Building course, a unique 10-day program offered through the Institute for the Built Environment.

The course is taught in the heart of the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park, at an eco-resort that has won international acclaim for its sustainable features. Bathhouses are designed to conserve energy, and Maho Bay employees craft blown glass souvenirs from recycled glass bottles. Aware of CSU’s early focus on environmental teaching and research, Stanley Selengut, Maho Bay’s owner and developer, invited the IBE to teach sustainable building courses at his eco-resort. Since the first course was taught there in 1999, more than 180 college students and practitioners have participated on the island each May.

Participants come from a variety of interests – architecture, interior design, construction management, natural resources, and landscape architecture. “They’re united by a genuine desire to bring earth-minded problem solving to building projects,” says Professor Brian Dunbar, who developed and co-teaches the course.

The students meet and learn from a number of nationally recognized green building experts who share their expertise. Robyn Lawrence, editor of Natural Home magazine; Dave Nelson, renowned daylight architect; Maggie Day from Maho Bay- Concordia Eco-Resorts, and National Park Service rangers are among dozens of guest lecturers.

“The students often go through an exciting transformation during the course, from having an interest in green building, to deciding to devote their career to creating high levels of green, sustainable built environments,” says Dunbar.

Hamilton Eugene, Maho Bay Camps tour guide and Caribbean native, explains to participants in the Maho Bay Sustainable Building course, how islanders have traditionally used their native vegetation for food, medicine, and construction.

Here are a few of the many success stories of Maho Bay alumni:

Clare (l’Esperance) Epke attended the inaugural Maho Bay course in 1999 and graduated from CSU’s interior design program in 2000. Maho Bay ignited Epke’s excitement about the potential of sustainable design and construction; she’s been immersed in green building ever since. After working for architecture companies on sustainability projects in Colorado and California, Epke returned to CSU in 2003 as a graduate student in CM’s sustainable building emphasis. Epke now works in the Healthcare group of Denver-based Davis Partnership Architects, and is leading a “Greening Davis” initiative to help the company set high goals for LEED-accredited professionals on the company’s sustainability practices.

Katherine (Pettit) Wagonshutz, one of CM’s irst students in the sustainable building emphasis, served as student/teaching assistant at the 2001 course and as co-instructor in 2002. While inishing her graduate thesis, “Investigating Teamwork in LEED Certified Projects,” she was hired by DPR Construction in Newport Beach, Calif., where she helped train employees on the LEED rating program and became one of the first chapter presidents of the Orange County chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. Now employed by CTG, in Colorado Springs, Wagonshutz consults on LEED projects nationwide and performs LEED Certification Reviews for the U.S. Green Building Council.

As a natural resource recreation tourism student at CSU, Karen.Blust.thought that attending the Maho Bay course would be a good way to experience eco-tourism and learn about sustainability. She became so interested in the subject that, upon returning to campus, she enrolled in the graduate course, Sustainable Technology in the Built Environment and, later, focused her thesis on sustainable facilities and operations for the ski industry. After graduating, Blust became a green building consultant for the California architectural irm CTG Energetics, Inc., one of a few select firms contracted by the USGBC to perform official LEED Certification reviews for buildings seeking certi ication.

In 2005, Christian Williss enrolled in the course, becoming the first entering graduate student to take that path, a practice that is now encouraged. Within a year of completing, Williss was hired by the City of Denver to assist with GreenPrints, Mayor Hickenlooper’s initiative to integrate green building and sustainability measures into Denver’s operations. Working for the City and County of Denver’s Facilities Planning and Management division, Williss provides support for the agency’s sustainability initiatives. His thesis documents which cities have established LEED- and other green-building policies for their municipal buildings.

Phi Filerman, Maho Bay 2005, a graduate of the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business, works for the Perry Rose Co., a leading sustainable developer in Denver and New York.

“Attending the Maho Bay course allowed me to recognize a passion I’ve had my entire life and gave me the direction I needed. I am now certain that I want to devote my time and energy to support a greater good: designing a sustainable lifestyle for the generations of the future.” – Cortney Schiappa, Miami of Ohio, Maho Bay 2007

With an interest in healthy building materials, techniques, and strategies, Shelley Kawamura, Maho Bay 2006, is an intern with the IBE. Her graduate thesis work on developing curriculum in healthy building techniques will likely lead to new IBE offerings for students and professionals.

Ben Stanley, Maho Bay 2006, is a LEED research associate for YRG Consulting, located in Boulder and New York City.

Dana Villeneuve, Maho Bay 2006, has performed research into leading sustainable developers in North America for McWhinney Enterprises, a prominent development company based in Loveland, Colo. Villeneuve, a CM graduate student in the sustainable building emphasis, is focusing her thesis research on sustainable neighborhood development.

Tess Wanick, Maho Bay 2005, a Brazil Consulate from Thailand, has played a key role in establishing the Brazil chapter of the World Green Building Council. Wanick also encouraged Brazilian architect David Douek to attend the IBE Green Building Certi icate Program and study for the LEED exam. Douek completed program last spring and has become the irst Brazilian LEED Accredited Professional.

 

 

 

Professional Education

CM’s on-campus and off-campus certificate and degree programs are designed for professionals seeking continuing education in various construction management fields. Taught by Colorado State faculty, with construction industry professionals serving as guest lecturers, course offerings include:

Fort Collins Campus
Green Building Certificate Program, begins March 2008

Colorado State University Denver

Center Green Building Certificate Program, begins Sept. 11, 2007

Construction Management Certificate Program, begins Sept. 12, 2007

Financial Management for Constructors Certificate Program, begins Spring 2008

Advanced Estimating Certificate Program, begins Fall 2008

For more information, visit http://www.learn.colostate.edu/ certificates/

International Locations

Sustainable Design and Construction

Maho Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands, May 21-31, 2008

NEW IN 2008: Sustainable Design and Construction will be offered in Costa Rica. Dates and course location TBD. Call (970) 491-5041 or visit www.ibe.colostate.edu for more information.

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Costa Rica: The Next Sustainable Building Learning Location

Alejandro Ugarte, professor of architecture from the University of Costa Rica, participated in the 2007 Maho Bay course, sharing his research into eco-tourism, interdisciplinary teamwork, and bamboo construction.

Ugarte is now helping to arrange similar IBE courses and faculty/ student exchanges in Costa Rica. Plans are in the works for a winter 2008 course in Costa Rica that would mirror the course taught at Maho Bay. In addition, Ugarte would like to see the IBE provide green building education for professionals throughout Costa Rica, a country rich in ecology yet undergoing development at an unsustainable rate.

Class Notes

Scott Larson, ’87,
is teaching Residential Homebuilding in the Boise School District to students, ages 16-18 years old. He is seeking a LEED Certified Residential Information. Larson is married to Amy Hutchinson.

Kevin.Brattain,’97,
is area manager at Milender White Construction Co., in Golden, Colo.

Edward R. Davis,’66,
spent 20 years as a US Air Force civil engineer, 14 years as director of Facilities Development at Yale University, and 31⁄2 years as Associate Chancellor for Facilities at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He now volunteers at his church for expansion projects and serves on the homeowners association board.

Samantha Broden,’00,
works at Jacobs Facilities at Denver Health as a Projects Control Specialist. She is married to Chris Dickerson and recently gave birth to their son, Jackson.

Brian Gravitt, ’03,
after graduation, worked for an ENR top 50 design- build general contractor. He was involved in automotive supplier production plants in Alabama and Georgia and has been a subcontractor in Tennessee and Florida. He now works as a Project Manager for Carter and Concrete Structures in Georgia.

We love hearing from you!

Let us know of your career advancements, personal achievements, or any other news you’d like to share. Send your news via e-mail, mail, or phone to:

Sue Wagner-Renner, Department of Construction Management Colorado State University 1584 Campus Delivery Fort Collins, CO 80523-1584 (970) 491-7959 wagner@cahs.colostate.edu