The Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program – a business intensive program that awards students with a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Concrete Industry Management – announced that the School of Concrete and Construction Management at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) received the largest company donation to their Building Campaign from Irving Materials, Inc. With this contribution the school has reached 50% of its $5 million goal.
“As an employer of 14 CIM graduates between Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana and nearly 50 summer interns, Irving Materials has always been a major supporter of our program,” said Dr. Heather Brown, Chair and Professor of MTSU School of Concrete and Construction Management. “This generous gift will allow us to achieve 25% of the brick and mortar funding we need - positioning our building as a leader in the state for industry-matched infrastructure.”
A joint initiative between MTSU and leaders from the concrete industry, the CIM program provides students opportunities to enter a broad field that has a need for skilled professionals. MTSU is the first university to integrate a technical education in concrete with business and communication skills needed to advance in the industry.
“Irving Materials greatly benefits from the efforts of CIM by employing graduates whose pride in their work make our company better every day,” said Irving Materials South President Kevin Swaidner. “This is in no small part due to the foundation they received at MTSU.”
“The School of Concrete and Construction’s new building is the first priority for the next statewide capital outlay funding cycle in July 2018,” said MTSU President Dr. Sidney McPhee.
The CIM Program
The CIM program was developed in 1996. Individuals graduating from this program will have the skillset to meet the growing demands of the progressively changing concrete industry. The program gives students many advantages including entering the concrete work force with exposure to the industry early in their careers, unlike others coming in with generic business degrees.
Graduates are knowledgeable of concrete technology/techniques and are able to manage and promote products and services related to the concrete industry.
The program offers a series of required business courses such as finance, marketing, management and business law. The concrete-specific courses teach the fundamentals of concrete, properties and testing as well as concrete construction. They utilize practical case studies and an internship to make sure the student obtains real-world experience. Additional opportunities for growth include on-campus events that provide industry networking and professional development.
The National Steering Committee (NSC) of the CIM program launched an Executive MBA program in the fall of 2012. The program is designed to expand the industry-academic partnership by bringing CIM to the business world and is stand alone in its focused curriculum on the concrete production and concrete construction industries.
