The Clarkson University Construction Engineering Management (CEM) Program is growing in numerous ways, creating many opportunities for its students. Among those are the chance to win scholarships to help pay for their higher education. Critical to this has been Clarkson CEM’s partnership with the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America, especially AGC New York State (AGC NYS). Says AGC NYS’ Vice President of Transportation Services, Sarah Hill (CivE ’11), “Clarkson’s CEM Program is heading in the right direction. It’s really exciting to see where it is going and helping the construction industry.”
Robert Schneider ‘22 poses on-site at his internship this summer with Flatiron Construction
Every year the CEM faculty advertise, encourage and support student applications across the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department to both the National AGC Foundation and the AGC NYS competitions. This year, Clarkson’s CEM students took home numerous scholarships at both levels. Nicholas Budesheim (CivE ‘23), Jonas Butz (EnvE ‘22), Thomas Calabrese (CivE ‘23), Nathan Climenhaga (CivE ‘22), Derek Cuyler (CivE ‘22), Rachel Rackliff (CivE ‘22), and Robert Schneider (CivE ‘22) all are recipients this year of the AGC NYS Scholarship (valued at between $2,500 to $5,000 each). What is especially significant is that Clarkson students were awarded seven of the 22 scholarships given out by AGC NYS this year, roughly a third, from all the Civil Engineering, Construction Technology, and /or Construction Management student applicants across New York State.
On top of a state-wide award, Robert Schneider also was awarded the National AGC Education and Research Foundation, Mary Jane and James D. McClary Scholarship. This is a significant award, handed out to only one student across the country annually. Robert also was selected to be a part of the American Society of Civil Engineers – Construction Institute (ASCE-CI) “Student Days” competition this summer, held virtually as a result of COVID. “It’s a true honor to be recognized and awarded by AGC at the state and national levels,” said Robert. “Clarkson has really given me the best opportunities to succeed in my goals for my future career.”
Brendan Manning, Vice President of Education and Environment for AGC NYS shared that “Clarkson CEM is one of the many great programs helping to develop the next generation of Construction leaders for not only NYS, but the nation. We are glad to see their continued growth and glad to see their students apply and win AGC NYS scholarships annually.”
The Howard E. Lechler, Clarkson CEM Director Erik Backus, (CivE ’97) noted that, “I couldn’t be prouder of the accomplishments of our students. The Clarkson CEM program focuses its attention on living up to our tagline, ‘We Build Your Future’. This is just another example of how our students are able to build toward that future, and keep the cost of higher education at bay. Well done to all the winners!”
Clarkson’s Top 3 Nationally Ranked Construction Engineering Management (CEM) program is one of several exciting programs within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and across the entire University. The sub-discipline of CEM focuses on the execution and management of engineering and architectural design projects. Clarkson’s CEM program offers, in addition to various professional development opportunities, a professional concentration within the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, supporting a track in Clarkson’s inter-disciplinary BS in Engineering & Management, a Minor in Architectural & Facilities Engineering, a graduate-level CEM Advanced Certificate, and both a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering Management with a concentration in CEM. The program’s graduates have been, and continue to be, leaders on projects as complex as the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in the 1980s, to the tallest residential building in NYC in 2016, to the largest highway projects in the State of Texas today. Supported by an advisory board of corporate, foundation and individual supporters, the program seeks to be the premiere construction engineering management program on the rise nationally that is known regionally as among the best in construction education. It has done this, for instance, by being the first in NYS to offer a dedicated BIM/IPD course at the undergraduate level, providing co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences through community projects as part of the Clarkson CEM Consulting Group, and boasting a 100% year over year placement rate of its graduates in the construction industry.
