School of Engineering Receives $500K Endowed Professorship from SICAP
The Southern Illinois Construction Advancement Program (SICAP) of the Southern Illinois Builders Association (SIBA) has donated $500,000 to the SIUE School of Engineering (SOE), funding the first professorship in the SOE’s history.
The SICAP Endowed Construction Management Professorship will be used to provide annual or multi-year award(s) to one or more faculty members of the SOE Department of Construction to honor excellence in scholarship and to recruit and retain exceptional faculty.
“The Department of Construction and SICAP have a long-standing partnership to improve the talent pool for the construction industry in our region,” said SOE Dean Cem Karacal, PhD. “This generous gift is a tremendous help in strengthening faculty in the department, and we are sincerely thankful for this support.”
An award selection committee will be chosen by the Department of Construction chair, in consultation with Karacal. Endowment interest earnings may be used to support research projects, purchase equipment, fund travel and costs associated with research or education related conferences, hire student workers or research assistants, fund course buyouts, cover faculty summer salary, or increase the size of start-up funds for new hires.
“SICAP/SIBA believes it is imperative that SIUE has the resources to retain the faculty necessary to teach and train future generations,” said SIBA CEO Donna Richter.
SICAP’s gift brings the total endowed funds for the Department of Construction to over $1 million. Previously established funds include the Ralph F. Korte Scholarship Endowment for Construction Management, the Department of Construction Endowment, the Land Surveying Specialization Program Endowment and the Department of Construction Faculty Advancement Endowment.
“We are grateful for SICAP’s partnership in supporting construction management faculty by developing this endowed professorship,” said SOE Associate Dean Chris Gordon, PhD. “This investment in our construction management faculty will in turn enhance the preparation of our graduates to thrive in the rapidly advancing building industry.”
