Bowling Green, Ky. - Greg Mills will be smiling like a proud parent at Western Kentucky University’s 158th Commencement on Dec. 17.

Mills, a professor in the Department of Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences, is excited to see the first graduates of WKU’s construction management program receive their degrees.

“These students will be really successful. All five are going to do a great job,” Mills said of Phillip Kemp of Auburn, Michael Fay of Brentwood, Tenn., Mark Aicken of Bowling Green, Josh Starrett of Scottsville and Jared Cron of Gallatin, Tenn.

The students have been on the ground floor as WKU built the construction management program on a foundation of academic and real-world experience.

“I think the program is as good as or better than anywhere,” Kemp said. “I feel that it has prepared me to be able to handle any situation that comes along.”

Aicken agreed. “The program courses will give me an advantage in pursuing my career goals and, in terms of coursework, are very similar to the same type programs in some top-ranked construction schools across the country,” he said.

The major includes classes in construction management, architectural and manufacturing sciences, civil engineering, accounting and management. “They’re getting a well-rounded education with this program,” Mills said.

“The construction management program has a large emphasis on problem solving, which for construction managers is a beneficial tool,” Cron said.

Starrett said the program “gives a good base for students to enter the field of construction. They have done a good job of teaching problem solving skills as well as an understanding of many of the tasks involved with construction management.”

The program has evolved from an option offered in WKU’s former civil engineering technology program.

Mills said when civil engineering technology began its transition into a baccalaureate engineering degree program in 2001, WKU wanted to maintain the construction management aspects. Mills, a longtime faculty member in civil engineering technology, volunteered to develop the program.

With support from the Department of Architectural and Manufacturing Sciences along with input from local industries and the American Council for Construction Education, WKU developed the curriculum and launched the program.

The program has grown to 60 students. And, as the first students graduate, WKU can seek accreditation from the American Council for Construction Education.

“I feel like this program is stronger than what we had in civil engineering technology,” Mills said.

“We’ve built a solid program,” he said. “This is evolving and is being modified but right now I think it’s fantastic.”

The students, who’ll be moving on to full-time employment soon, share that assessment.

“I think that construction management is a great major,” Fay said. “It has prepared me for any construction-related job that I could have.”

Aicken expects the program to keep growing to meet the needs of students and employers. “Although this is a first for many areas in the program, I feel that overall the program is effective,” he said. “With a little time, I think the program will become an incentive for new students to come to Western.”

Or, in the case of students like Starrett, keep them here. “I initially picked WKU because it was close to home,” Starrett said. “I decided to stay when the construction management program was created.”

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Greg Mills at (270) 745-5850.