2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Leveraging Faculty Externship to Develop New Concentrations and Specializations in Construction Management Curricula

Presented at Faculty Development Division (FDD) Technical Session 8

This "Work in Progress" paper provides insight into a viable strategy for enhancing Construction Management (CM) curricula through the integration of concentration(s) and/or specialization(s) within program degree paths via formalized engagement of a faculty member industry residency. Ultimately, a faculty member's industry residency aims to gain familiarity with and hands-on experience utilizing cutting-edge industry trends and best practices. This requires embedding a full-time faculty member within an industry environment during the time span of a typical summer academic semester, which ultimately reduces available faculty resources for the related degree program. As a result, this faculty development initiative is often more difficult for academic units to support due to real and perceived budgetary and schedule sustainment constraints. Despite challenges, the case study will highlight that considerations other than upfront cost should be more heavily weighted. A more visible return on investment is realized through the purposeful development of educational objectives for the faculty development experience (in this research case, an industry residency) and alignment and documentation of those objectives against the greater vision of enhanced curriculum development plans. Systematic documentation of the industry residency experience and alignment with curricular program requirements, student learning outcomes (SLOs), and accreditation requirements create an opportunity for sequential course development in both undergraduate and graduate curricula. Simultaneously, this makes the foundation for a concentration or an area of specialization (respectively) within the degree path(s). The paper aims to propose a framework that offers the ability to create an agile curriculum that can respond to industry needs and generate student recruitment and retention. In addition, the paper analyzes the perspectives of industry participants on promoting opportunities for educators to upgrade their skill set and knowledge base with advancements in the construction industry.

Authors

Dr. John Cribbs http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8416-3020 Wentworth Institute of Technology [biography]

Dr. John Cribbs is currently the Associate Dean of the School of Management and an Assistant Professor of Construction Management. Dr. Cribbs earned his MArch degree from the Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts and his Ph.D. in Construction Management from the Del E. Webb School of Construction, both located within Arizona State University’s flagship campus located in Tempe, AZ. His research focuses on modular design and construction techniques, sustainability of the built environment and more specifically, Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows for enhanced quality control and labor time utilization for coordinated MEP and specialty trade equipment, from design-to-install, in retrofit environments. Before joining Wentworth, Dr. Cribbs served as a Principal at Green Ideas Building Science Consultants, based in Phoenix where he regularly engaged in BIM workflows for design/constructability/operations analysis, reporting and review with the full spectrum of project stakeholders. He has also taught both undergraduate and graduate level courses in design, construction management and Building Information Modeling at Arizona State University and the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture (Taliesin West). Outside of the classroom, he is engaged with the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), Massachusetts Chapter’s, Virtual Design and Construction Group. Dr. Cribbs has presented on both the national and international stages discussing topics related to modular and offsite construction techniques, BIM and other data-centric design/construction workflows, pedagogical models for training the future of the construction industry and research specific findings that are scalable to the industry at large. He is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional (AP) in the Building Design and Construction (BD+C), Interior Design and Construction (ID+C) and Operations and Maintenance (O+M) specialties. Additionally, he holds an accreditation with the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), as a Construction Documents Technologist (CDT).
Dr. Hariharan Naganathan http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-0435-8347 Wentworth Institute of Technology [biography]

Dr. Hariharan Naganathan, an Assistant Professor of Construction Management at Wentworth Institute of Technology, has made significant contributions to sustainable construction practices through research on energy analytics of buildings and the integration of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in construction education. As a passionate educator, Dr. Naganathan develops a curriculum that combines theoretical knowledge with hands-on AR/VR experiences, preparing students to design and analyze construction projects. Currently, Dr. Naganathan is working on research projects aimed at improving energy efficiency in existing buildings and exploring the potential of AR/VR in construction education. His dedication to fostering innovation in sustainable construction inspires the next generation of construction managers to create a more energy-efficient built environment.
Christopher O'Neil
Mr. Michael J. D'Agostino Wentworth Institute of Technology [biography]

Michael J. D’Agostino (MSCM, Wentworth Institute of Technology) is an Instructor and the Construction Management Program Administrator in the School of Management at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts. In this role, he over sees the Programs Industry Advisory Board collaboration and facilitates professional interaction and networking opportunities for Construction Management students. Mr. D'Agostino's administrative work also focuses on faculty professional development and industry collaboration.
Mr. D’Agostino is a member of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) and the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA).

Download paper (699 KB)

Are you a researcher? Would you like to cite this paper? Visit the ASEE document repository at peer.asee.org for more tools and easy citations.

» Download paper

« View session