On January 26, the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association hosted their 26th Annual CAPA “Best in Colorado” awards dinner and program at the Crowne Plaza DIA in Denver. This year, the Department of Construction Management was honored with the Partnership Award.
Jeff Keller of CAPA presented by saying, “Each year our association recognizes an organization that we have partnered with to make significant progress. On behalf of the Board of Directors and as a proud alumnus, it’s my honor to recognize the Colorado State University Construction Management department with our annual Partnership Award. This honor is in recognition of our long standing partnership on the Heavy Highway Program and the Endowed Professor position; the Asphalt Lab and asphalt faculty support; the annual Rocky Mountain Asphalt Conference and Equipment show; collaboration on curriculum, course instruction, support of the student competitions, scholarships, internship programs, and the Professional Development Advisory Board.”
CAPA and CM History
CAPA and the Department of Construction Management at Colorado State University have been formal partners since the fall semester of 2002. That was the beginning of a collaboration that included adding a tenure-track faculty member to the Department of Construction Management, with the aim of developing not only asphalt research funding horsepower but also a future, and broader, heavy civil curriculum.
Upon initiating the Heavy CM Program in 2003, the department hired Scott Shuler, Ph.D., to develop the curriculum and a research laboratory. Shuler developed courses that provide students with a solid education in roadway planning and development. The partnership between CAPA and CSU included the addition of a new technical elective course, CON 370, “Asphalt Materials and Construction.” Research collaboration followed with sponsors such as the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine.
Classroom and research space was established in the Industrial Sciences Laboratory Building, on the main CSU campus. Equipment housed in the space was provided by CAPA and member partners. However, long-term support for the new asphalt program was initially established through the Rocky Mountain Asphalt Conference and Equipment Show.
Asphalt Education as a part of CM
This annual event, which has been managed by members of both CAPA and the CM department for nearly 30 years, agreed that asphalt education in Colorado should be championed by the CM department. As a result, one of the missions of the conference would be to help with annual funding of such a program. This sustaining funding has helped grow the program and resulted in a sponsored research program that has generated multiple masters’ degrees, and numerous undergraduates during the past eighteen years.
The following CSU representatives were present to receive the award: Lise Youngblade, dean, College of Health and Human Sciences; Mehmet Ozbek, interim department head, Department of Construction Management; Scott Shuler, associate professor, Department of Construction Management; Jeff Wilkes, heavy civil endowed professor, Department of Construction Management; Kimberly Winger, executive director of development, College of Health and Human Sciences; and Bryan Nelson, CM student recipient of the CAPA scholarship.
Youngblade accepted the award on behalf of the Department of Construction Management. “Thank you so much for the honor you have given our CM program as CAPA’s 2020 Partner Organization of the Year. We are so grateful for our partnership, and we look forward to our future collaborations.”
The Department of Construction Management is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
