NEWS & EVENTS

Most Women Ever Graduated Friday from Construction Science Program

Going boldly where relatively few have gone before, 14 women - the most ever -graduated last Friday from Texas A&M University with bachelors degrees in construction science, entering an industry traditionally dominated by men.

'The young women who choose this major do very, very well,' says Charles Graham, Mitchell Endowed Professor and interim department head of construction science (COSC), 'but, unfortunately, despite our vigorous recruiting efforts, the numbers of women in the department have crept up extremely slowly over the years. From about three percent of students during the program's early days, today about 12 percent of our majors are women.

'In part, these percentages are the result of our industry's image - when people hear the word construction, they think of jobs operating heavy equipment, tying steel or connecting I-beams at the job site. But in reality, almost all of our graduates, both male and female, enter the work force as managers, directing other employees and performing complex calculations and contract negotiations.'

'In fact, our curriculum provides an excellent preparation to enter management in any number of fields.'

The COSC department, housed in the College of Architecture, is home to 29 faculty members and nearly 700 students, making it one of the largest such programs in the country. Students take courses to prepare them for construction industry apprenticeships that groom them for management positions. The curriculum offers an interdisciplinary approach that conveys a broad knowledge of materials and methods of construction, construction procedures, construction law, estimating, scheduling and construction operations. Students are required to complete general courses in the humanities, mathematics and the physical and social sciences to provide a well-rounded background. They also pursue courses at Mays Business School and the College of Engineering to obtain appropriate expertise in related fields.

Read full story: http://communications.tamu.edu/ newsarchives/06/051106news-15.html