Construction industry rallies to support FIU’s Department of Construction Management


The South Florida construction industry recently raised $250,000 to preserve FIU’s Department of Construction Management, which was slated to merge with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as part of the university’s $19.6 million in budget cuts this year.

The university agreed that if the department raised $250,000 by June 30, 2009, the proposed merger could be averted.

To save the nationally recognized program, the only one of its kind among South Florida universities accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), the Construction Management Industry Advisory Council launched a fund-raising campaign. Nearly 40 construction-related companies in South Florida participated.

“We recognized the vital need to maintain an academic center in Southeast Florida to train future leaders of the construction industry,” said Emilio Alvarez, founder and CEO of E. F. Alvarez and Co., P.A., and the council’s Executive Committee. “There was only a very small window of time to accomplish the goal, but we all pulled together, contacted our clients and colleagues, and got it done.

“We are grateful to the individuals who participated in the campaign during these challenging economic times,” Alvarez added.

Thanks to the successful campaign, the Department of Construction Management has the financial resources to meet its operating budget for 2009-2010, and is planning an annual fund-raising drive to ensure its continued survival. The donors who supported the department were recognized at a special event in August.

The construction industry is one of the largest sectors in the United States, providing 5.5 percent of the total workforce, with $1.17 trillion of construction put in place by April 2007. The residential and commercial construction boom has been key to Florida’s economic growth. In April 2009, the state’s construction industry (residential and nonresidential) employed 436,000 workers.

FIU’s construction management program is meeting the growing need for well-trained interns, project managers, upper level management and CEOs to serve the construction community with more than 570 students seeking a bachelor or master’s degree.  More than 80 percent of FIU’s graduates find jobs within South Florida’s construction marketplace.

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