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 Growing Older, Feeling Revived |
CEE Celebrates 100 Years
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) stands on a solid foundation of growth and achievement. And, this year, in April 2008, the department celebrated a significant milestone – its 100th anniversary. It was a long road of celebratory activities leading to the final Centennial Gala that was shared by the department’s alumni, corporate partners, faculty, staff, and students alike.
CEE was supported in this mega-venture by its illustrious alumnus, Mr. A. James Clark, and by corporate partners like Whiting-Turner, Clark Construction, Whitney, Bailey, Cox and Magnani, Forrester Construction, Greenhorne & O’Mara, Vika, and Sigma Engineering. Our distinguished alumni Mr. A. James Clark, Mr. Charles Irish, Sr., Mr. Richard Reed, and Mr. Dave Mongan attended the Centennial Gala.
The preparations for this celebration had begun almost a year ago. We recognized then that this event will be a time of celebration and remembrance for our faculty, staff, students, and most importantly our alumni. CEE had planned to honor this date in a variety of ways, which included the publication of a commemorative book, a symposium, and gala scheduled for April 5, 2008.
Book: In honor of the anniversary, CEE published a centennial book Reflecting on Our Past, which highlights the department’s first 100 years with photos and personal alumni anecdotes spanning the years. “It’s sort of our 100-year yearbook,” says CEE’s Dr. Richard McCuen, the book’s editor. “When you graduate you receive a yearbook. Well, this yearbook will enable individuals to look over time to the period when they were at the university.”
And, there was much to be remembered and acknowledged. According to McCuen, CEE’s illustrious alumni include Harry Clifton "Curly" Byrd, former president of the university, and A. James Clark, for which the Clark School is named. There have been 131 faculty members and instructors teaching within the department over the last 100 years. “Three of them were deans,” says McCuen, “and two of them taught for 38 years.”
The picture-laden book also provides readers with a glimpse of the people and events that have made CEE’s 100 years so remarkable and memorable. It went on sale a few days before the Centennial Gala, and has been well-received by all who have sampled it. Everyone is encouraged to procure their copies by ordering through the CEE website, or by calling the CEE office (301 405 7768).
Symposium: CEE also hosted a symposium titled “The Future of Civil Engineering” on April 5, 2008. This was a day of discussion about the future of civil engineering education and professional practice. At the time of planning this event, centennial committee chair Dr. Richard McCuen remarked, “We’re looking forward to having many alumnae attend and participate in the discussions.”
Special guest speakers for the event included Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies, who spoke on “Building in the Future: Living with the Environment;” Richard Lawrie of Lawrie and Associates, who spoke on “21st Century Design Challenges;” Dr. Lewis Link, director of the Katrina Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force and a CE faculty member, who spoke on “Learning Lessons from Hurricane Katrina;” David Mongan, PE, CE ’72, president of ASCE, who spoke on “Civil Engineering 2025;” Priscilla Nelson, provost of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, who spoke on “Educating the Civil Engineer of the Future;” and John D. Porcari, secretary of the Maryland Department of Transportation, who spoke on “Maryland Transportation Challenges.”
The symposium’s Construction Panel included CEE faculty member Dr. Miroslaw Skibniewski as moderator, William Calhoun, executive vice president of Clark Construction; David Forrester, president and CEO of Forrester Construction; Robert L. Mitchell, chairman and CEO of Mitchell & Best Homebuilders; and Richard L. Vogel, senior vice president of Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
Centennial Gala: The activities began with a formal reception that led to the Centennial Gala held at The UMUC Marriott Inn & Conference Center. Strains of classical music played by a quartet welcomed the 200 plus group of invitees that included CEE alumni, students, faculty, staff and corporate friends. The welcome remarks by department chair, Dr. Ali Haghani, began an enjoyable evening that only got better with time. Dr. Gregory Baecher, member of the centennial committee, introduced the distinguished guests and alumni attending the event. After dinner commenced, centennial committee member Dr. Gerald Galloway introduced the guest speaker, General Robert Van Antwerp (commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). The General spoke on “Maintaining America’s Infrastructure.” With his comfortable style and amiable discourse, General Van Antwerp turned out to be quite a crowd favorite. The department honored 14 members of the CEE family with the specially designed and commemorative Centennial Medal. These were C. Rebecca Chavarria, A. James Clark, James Colville, Ben Dyer (posthumously), Daniel Garber, Charles Irish, Sr., Margaret Keimig, Raymond J. Krizek, David Mongan, Robert Ragan, Richard Reed, Pedro Wasmer, and Mariko Wright. The Centennial Medal was also awarded to State Highway Administration (SHA), represented by Neil Pederson.
The Gala was honored by the presence of two of CEE’s oldest graduates, Mr. Stan Lore (Class of 1934) and Mr. Phillip Cooper (Class of 1931). Mr. Lore drove all the way from Pennsylvania to attend the symposium and the Gala. They both were very gracious to join their alma mater in its Centennial Celebration.
The closing remarks by Dr. Haghani brought the evening to a resounding culmination. There were a lot of positive feedbacks received through various attendees of the CEE Centennial Celebration. Many people were greatly impressed by the organization and the effort of the department to organize the events. Others were thrilled with the centennial book, especially those who are featured in it. Our alumnus and benefactor, Mr. A. James Clark thanked the department for his section in the “wonderful” centennial book and remarked that the Gala was “great” as well. Fellow Centennial Medal recipient, Ms. Rebecca (Becky) Chavarria commented that she was “really impressed with the entire event…” Mr. David Forrester, CEO of Forrester Construction (one of the CEE Centennial Celebration’s corporate partners) was happy to be a part of the celebration and sent best wishes for the next 100 years! And finally, CEE alumnus and benefactor Mr. Richard Reed thought that the department should “take great pride in the Centennial Celebration…and that the gala, symposium, and especially the presentation by CEE faculty member Dr. Lewis (Ed) Link was very successful.”
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering extends it’s heartiest thanks to all those who made this celebration a monumental success.
