Tuskegee University News February 14, 2018 Tuskegee Design+Construction Management Expo to strengthen academic, professional networks Tuskegee University's Design+Construction Management Exposition (D+CM E), scheduled for Feb. 26 to Mar. 2, seeks to "Bring the World to Tuskegee" by strengthening the relationships between academic instruction, students' career opportunities and the workforce needs of employers throughout the state and nation. Hosted by the Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science, this year's expo combines the design and construction disciplines by uniting the academic and professional sectors. The expo will feature award-winning speakers, as well as introduce students to career opportunities through professional networking and a career fair. "We constantly look for ways to expose our architecture and construction science students to the rigors of the professional world," said Emile Dixon, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, an assistant professor in the school's architecture program. "By providing a forum like this year's expo, where our students can engage with professional architects, contractors and industry partners, we hope to strengthen networking opportunities for our students and school alike." The expo is open to professionals representing architectural firms, construction and construction-related companies, design and building-related businesses, graduate schools, and architecture/construction professional organizations. One of the expo's primary goals is to spotlight the talent among the school's student body and how potential employers and graduate programs can benefit from that emerging talent. "We want to showcase our students' architectural, design and construction management capabilities," said Rogers Hunt III, M.Eng., department head and assistant professor in the school's construction science and management program. "Their success in the professional world or in their continuing studies at the graduate level are limited only by their ability to connect with these opportunities outside campus. That's why we are so excited to bring these elements of our students' future to Tuskegee." Career fairs on Feb. 27 and Mar. 1 will allow students seeking internships and post-graduate jobs to engage corporate and university recruiters. Confirmed participants to date include HOK, Haskell, Target Corporation, Rockford Construction, ZGF, Holder, Perkins + Will, DPR, Gilbane Building Company, and the Estimating Institute. In addition to building valuable networks with potential job candidates and school faculty, industry professionals will benefit from the availability of continuing education units - including OSHA 10-hour safety training - through their participation in the expo's sessions, lectures and presentations. Other programming will focus on topics like the historic preservation of African-American sites and the use of technology in the workplace, including drones, 3-D printing and virtual reality. The expo will feature three recipients of the 2018 American Institute of Architects' Young Architects Award. Each will host public sessions during the expo - all in 130 Wilcox C: Nmadili Okwumabua, urban planner, African architecture historian, and founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Sahara USA, will speak on Monday, Feb. 26 from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. She will discuss the work of her organizations, the exhibit on the "Art of African Architecture," and the relevance of traditional design elements in developing a "modern architectural language for Africa." [download flyer for more information<https://www.tuskegee.edu/Content/Uploads/Tuskegee/files/TSACS/2018.02-TSACS-Expo-NmadiliOkwumabua-flyer.pdf>] Mike Ford, Assoc. AIA, of the Madison, Wisconsin-based Brandnu Design Group, will speak on Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Through his touring lecture on "Hip Hop Architecture," Ford will discuss the role of prominent historical figures in architecture and planning in shaping the built environment, which gave birth to hip hop culture. [download flyer for more information<https://www.tuskegee.edu/Content/Uploads/Tuskegee/files/TSACS/2018.02-TSACS-Expo-MikeFord-flyer.pdf>] Pascale Sablan, AIA, LEED AP, NOMA, a senior associate with New York-based S9 Architecture, will speak on Friday, Mar. 2 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. She will discuss the role of technology in the collaborative architecture design process, as well as share thoughts on her advocacy work in the profession, including the National Organization of Minority Architects. [download flyer for more information<https://www.tuskegee.edu/Content/Uploads/Tuskegee/files/TSACS/2018.02-TSACS-Expo-PascaleSablan-Flyer.pdf>] Representatives from companies, firms, agencies and graduate schools planning to attend the expo can register online [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/design-construction-management-exposition-dcm-e-tuskegee-university-tickets-41066109840] through Monday, Feb. 26. Representatives should register by Feb. 21 to be listed in the expo program, and by Feb. 23 to secure a tradeshow table for the event. The online registration link also provides real-time expo session schedules, updates and on-site logistics. Along with faculty from the Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science, the expo is made possible through collaborations with the school's various student organizations and student chapters of national organizations, which include the American Institute of Architecture Students (AlAS), Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Associated General Contractors (AGC), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS), Tuskegee University Women in Construction (TU-WIC), Sigma Lambda Chi International Construction Honor Society, and Tau Sigma Delta Architecture Honor Society. The Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science dates back to the origins of Tuskegee University. Robert Robinson Taylor, the nation's first accredited African-American architect and the first African-American to receive an architecture degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined the Tuskegee faculty 1893 and eventually became the first director of its Mechanical Industries program. In addition to developing the school's architecture program, he often was placed in charge of the university's day-to-day operations in the absence of then-President Booker T. Washington. Most campus buildings built prior to 1932 were designed by Taylor, including the original Chapel, Dorothy Hall (now Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center), Tompkins Hall, The Oaks (Washington's family home) and White Hall. Established in 1933, the school's Construction Science and Management program is home to the country's oldest baccalaureate in construction management. Undergraduate degree programs in both architecture and construction science currently are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board and the American Council for Construction Education, respectively. For more information about the school, visit www.tuskegee.edu/tsacs<http://www.tuskegee.edu/tsacs>. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 3014 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/