Making Connections with the Associated Schools of Construction

Vice President of Technical Services & Professional Development Marti Harrell and Director of Workforce Development Alex Morales, M. Ed., traveled to Denver, Colo., to attend the 55^th Annual ASC International Conference on April 9-13.

The Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) is a professional association comprised of construction educators and industry professionals who aim to develop and advance construction education.

Harrell and Morales previously attended the ASC Region 3 conference in October of 2018 and the ASC Regions 6 & 7 conference in February.

During the 2019 ASC International Conference, academia presented construction management research and curricula-related information as part of a conference symposium. Morales noted the general nature of construction management research presented during the symposium was less technical than traditional engineering symposia and was, therefore, more relatable to industry professionals in attendance.

Morales and Harrell also attended several of ASC’s professor-driven committee meetings held during the conference. The pair took special interest in projects currently underway in the industry relations, education and research committees.

The ASC education committee has developed a ‘Construction Expertise Exchange’ web portal for construction management professors to share their syllabi, course text recommendations, exams and answer keys with each other.

Industry professionals and groups are invited to populate the web portal with information as well. NPCA plans to participate in this opportunity by uploading precast-related educational content as supplemental resources.

Morales is investigating future opportunities for NPCA to get involved more with ASC as part of the association’s outreach and workforce development program efforts. Potential opportunities include sponsoring a problem statement during an ASC regional student competition or sponsoring the ‘Industry Connection Reception’ at a future ASC International Conference.

NPCA recently launched a landing page that provides technical resources and career guidance for academia. Check out the Student and Professor landing page here.