/news-archive/tag/michael-tramel/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Thu, 22 Mar 2018 15:41:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2018/03/22/tramel-champion-of-construction-award/ Thu, 22 Mar 2018 15:41:41 +0000 /news/?p=69822 ... 聽Tramel to receive Champion of Construction Award聽]]> Michael Tramel, chair of the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has been named the 2018 recipient of the Champion of Construction Award.聽 Associated General Contractors of Arkansas, the American Council of Engineering Companies in Arkansas, the American Institute of Architects, and the American Society of Plumbing Engineers announced the award as part of the 2018 Arkansas Construction Hall of Fame on April 19 at Chenal Country Club. This award is given to an individual, public official, member of any allied profession, company or not-for-profit group who exhibits vision, passion, and interest in advancing opportunities for Arkansans through the development of infrastructure. This individual or entity is not affiliated with an architecture, construction or engineering firm but is worthy of recognition due to their commitment to and investment in improving the lives of their fellow citizens. Tramel is happy to be honored along with Bill Hannah, a long-time volunteer and past president of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Industrial Management Advisory Board, and Lance Wright, an alumnus of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock who is one of Tramel鈥檚 former students. Wright of Nabholz Construction Services will receive the Emerging Professional Award while Hannah, also of Nabholz Construction Services, is one of four individuals being inducted into the Construction Hall of Fame. 鈥淚 was really surprised to receive this award,鈥� Tramel said. 鈥淚 am deeply honored to be included with people of that caliber for the state of Arkansas. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 program has always received a lot of contributions from the industry. We are supporting the construction industry in Arkansas.鈥� Tramel, who began picking up trash at construction sites at the age of 8, fondly remembers the travel, high pay, friendships, and his 鈥渃onstruction family.鈥� 鈥淭hose days are over, and today you must have a degree in construction management or construction engineering to be employed in the industry,鈥� he said. Tramel recognized the need for a college degree program in construction management in the early 1990s, but knew he would be facing an uphill battle since new workers traditionally learned the construction industry from family members and on the job, not in the classroom. Arkansas contractors headed by George Rozzell Jr., Bob Nabholz, Gus Vratsinas, Jim May, Bob Shell, and Jack Kinnaman urged the university to begin a new program in construction management in the early 1990s. Former Chancellor Jim Young initiated an in-depth study on the issue. The program began in fall 1997, the same year Tramel arrived at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. At the time, the program had about 40 students and just two other faculty members. The Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering was formed in 2003. Today, the department has grown to about 250 students with 10 full-time and four part-time faculty members. In 2017, the Community for Accredited Online Schools recognized 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock on its list of 50 four-year U.S. colleges and universities that offer the for the 2016-17 school year. At 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, students can pursue 聽associate, bachelor鈥檚, and master鈥檚 degrees in construction management as well as an 18-credit-hour minor available to all students. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is home to the only undergraduate construction management program at a public university in Arkansas and the only graduate-level construction management program in Arkansas. The department also recently introduced a new bachelor鈥檚 degree in professional studies, which is designed to help members of the military and those working full time in the construction industry to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree. In addition to completing a rigorous 125-hour curriculum, students in the civil and construction engineering program must also obtain at least 800 hours of engineering or construction-related work experience and pass two national exams. Tramel鈥檚 commitment to teaching has certainly inspired the next generation of construction leaders in Arkansas. A former student, Michael Hansberry, now a project manager at Baldwin and Shell Construction Co., was one of the people who nominated Tramel for the award. 鈥�Mr. Tramel has made a tremendous impact to our local industry in particular,鈥� Hansberry said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a large population in the workforce in central Arkansas and other places that have gone through and graduated from the construction management program at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. He鈥檚 played a key role in many by teaching and advising us. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the person that introduced me to Arkansas General Contractors through the student chapter when I attended the construction management program. I am still involved with AGC today. I鈥檓 currently a board member on the Executive Committee and past chair of the Future Leaders Division. This started with Mr. Tramel鈥檚 encouragement to join the student chapter.鈥� Tramel will receive the award during the 2018 Arkansas Construction Hall of Fame awards ceremony on April 19 at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock. Tickets for the event are $125 per person or $950 for a table of eight and can be purchased by contacting AGC Arkansas at dhall@agcar.net or 501-375-4436.]]> /news-archive/2017/12/08/heather-hightower-graduation/ Fri, 08 Dec 2017 14:51:58 +0000 /news/?p=68774 ... Graduating student finds passion for construction management at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock]]> After spending 14 years working in retail, Heather Hightower saw her move to Arkansas to be closer to her wife鈥檚 family as an opportunity to go back to school and start a new career.聽 鈥淚 wanted to get out of retail, and my dad had gone back to school late in life. He said, 鈥業f you want to do it, I know you can,鈥欌�� Hightower said. 鈥淗e was a disabled veteran and had to start with remedial math at a community college at age 36. He was a civil engineer and pushed me toward engineering, but I was more fascinated by construction.鈥� Hightower, a native of Florida, considered herself an 鈥淓ast coast girl鈥� and wasn鈥檛 sure she would fit in in Arkansas. Now, she will graduate Dec. 16 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Master of Science in Construction Management, already employed as a full-time associate estimator at Platinum Drywall, Inc. in Little Rock. 鈥淭he first day that I came to get books, I remember getting the 鈥楬ow to Read Drawing鈥� and 鈥楬ow to Read Welding Symbols’ books,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 questioned myself. The books were very thick and looked formidable. I was also older than everyone else in the class, but (Department Chair) Mike Tramel was very supportive and took me under his wing. The whole construction management department was very helpful.鈥� Hightower found herself blossoming as a major in the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering. While earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Management at the University of South Florida, Hightower worked 50 hours a week. This time around, she 鈥済ot to enjoy being a college student.鈥� She became a teaching assistant and student ambassador for the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology and president of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Hightower recently won third place in the national Daniel W. Mead Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers for her ethics paper exploring whether engineering faculty should teach if they have not obtained a professional license. In April, Hightower won first place for the best professional paper and oral presentation at the American Society of Civil Engineers Deep South Student Conference. Professor Tramel in the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering described Hightower as an excellent writer and one of the most intelligent and dependable students in the department. 鈥淗eather is a natural leader and earns the respect of her peers with her work ethic, integrity, maturity, and courtesy,鈥� Tramel said. 鈥淪he has demonstrated excellent organization skills and has been instrumental in the success of several student activities.鈥� Hightower found her job at Platinum Drywall, thanks to a helpful professor and some practical classroom experience. 聽 鈥淚 got that position through Professor Chris Rey,鈥� she said. 鈥淐hris recommended me because I had won Estimating Bid Day. In lieu of a final exam, we have a bid day where you act as the general contractor and determine the overall best bid.鈥� For her master鈥檚 thesis, Hightower explored the relationship between lack of skilled labor in the construction industry and vocational education. She found that the drop in vocational education programs is linked to the lack of skilled labor in the construction industry. 鈥淎s of 2020, there will be 5.5 million workers aging out of the construction industry, and there are not enough skilled workers to fill their spots,鈥� Hightower said. 鈥淢y recommendation is that even if the government doesn鈥檛 invest in vocational education that colleges need to get together with the industry leaders and companies and make a program to invest in these students that will become the leaders of the construction industry.鈥� After she graduates, Hightower will focus on finishing the Master of Science in Operations Management and graduate certificate in project management that she is completing through an online program at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She is also discussing the possibility of becoming an adjunct instructor for the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering and eventually plans to earn her doctorate. 鈥淥ne thing I learned in retail and by coming here is that it鈥檚 better to go with the flow instead of sticking to a set plan,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be successful wherever I go.鈥� ]]>