INCEPTION AND HISTORY
Discover the rich history and evolution of ASC from its inception to its role as a leader in construction education today.
inception
The ASC is the international association representing the interests of both academic and industry professionals interested in institutional construction education. The membership of the ASC, like the field of construction, is richly interdisciplinary, drawing membership from such disciplines as architecture, engineering, management, technology, to name only a few.
The Association offers a variety of programs and services designed to help its members serve their customers more effectively and succeed in an increasingly challenging environment of information management and digital technology. The Association is organized into seven regions in the United States (Northeast, Southeast, Great Lakes, North Central, South Central, Rocky Mountain, and Far West) and an international region for international institutions, in Region 8. The ASC is dedicated to the professional growth and success of its membership, and is committed to fostering excellence in construction communication, scholarship, research, education, and practice.
In the early 1960s, it was noted that of the many existent professional and educational societies concerned with the built environment, none provided a place, a welcome, or any benefit whatsoever for curriculum with the teaching of construction as a major objective. This, although curricula in construction had at that time been in existence for more than twenty years. People engaged in teaching architecture, civil engineering and allied disciplines often thought that construction curricula should be relegated to the status of a non-professional job.
In 1965, an invitation from the University of Florida was sent to all institutions with a construction program. Fourteen interested representatives from nine universities met at the University of Florida, on March 19 and 20 of that year to consider the formation of an organization which would meet the needs of collegiate schools and departments with curricula in construction.
This meeting proved to be positive. Key agreements made included:
- Building construction is a legitimate and unique area of study of sufficient professional stature and academic level to justify four-year-degree programs at universities.
- One of the greatest needs of such programs is that of clear identity and recognition by other allied disciplines (such as engineering and architecture), the building construction industry, and student candidates.
- An association of universities is desirable and necessary to coordinate the aims and goals of building construction education in universities.
Subsequent to the above, the group officially formed an association to be called the “Associated Schools of Construction” with the following membership requirements:
- Educational institution members only
- Accredited colleges or universities offering baccalaureate or higher degree programs having major emphasis on building construction. Only one unit (college, department, etc.) to officially represent each university.
- “Building construction” to be defined and identified as other than presently recognized allied fields of engineering, architecture, urban planning and other professional disciplines, per se. This does not mean, of course, that specific curricula within such areas are not eligible.
- All institutions represented at the meeting agreed to become active members.
Fully established as an organization, the association voted to hold the first general meeting at Michigan State University, in September 1965. The officers elected were B.M.Radcliffe as President, W.L.Favrao as Vice President, and E.Shaifer, Jr. as the Secretary / Treasurer.
The development of the ASC from 1965 to the present day has led to the creation of seven regions in the US and one international region. The international region was first discussed at the 42nd conference in 2007, but it was not until the 48th Conference in Auburn before discussions for setting up an 8th Region began.
In addition to the Association’s growth in the number of members, it has expanded the benefits offered to construction programs, faculty, and students. One such benefit is the annual conference that was established by attendees of the initial meeting at the University of Florida. Even through the pandemic the conference was continued in a virtual synchronous format. Another popular benefit is one that reaches both industry professionals and construction students through the annual student competitions. Every year each region hosts a range of student competitions covering many areas of the construction spectrum with thousands of students participating.
A RICH HISTORY OF LEADERSHIP - ASC PAST PRESIDENTS
CONTEMPORARY HISTORY
As the Association continues to grow, one of the main activities is the student competitions. Each region encourages students to compete in a range of competitions reflecting the programs being studied in the institutions. Industry sponsorship is key to their success through sponsorship of requests for proposals, careers fairs and enabling competitors to showcase their knowledge and skills to the industry.
For several years, the competitions were regional. Region 5 became the first region to diversify their competition and invited all regions to participate in their Design-Build International category. Region 8 soon followed and opened their two tracks to all other regions of the ASC. As word spreads of the success of opening their competitions, participation across regions continues to increase.
Another key activity of the ASC is publishing research in construction education in a refereed Journal. The International Journal of Construction Education and Research was launched in 2004. This replaced the Journal of Construction Education which was founded in 1996. The journal has an international reputation for its publication of original works addressing cutting edge, global issues in construction education. The journal recognizes scholarly work and preserves and disseminates both quantitative and qualitative research. The journal continues to publish on contemporary issues of the day.
The ASC bootcamps are annual events that bring together likeminded construction educators to provide hands-on experience and course materials for educators in areas such areas as Estimating, Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) / Building Information Modelling (BIM), and Mechanical and Electrical Air Conditioning (MEAC) services. Participants gain experience with industry software and projects as shared educational resources during the event. The bootcamps are held each summer and are supported by industry and software providers to help build networks of people who are dedicated to improving construction education and scholarship.
The ASC also provides its members a vehicle for recruitment. There are opportunities for member institutions to advertise faculty positions to the wider international construction education network. Typically, there are in excess of 50 faculty positions advertised annually.
Building on this success, the ASC now provides a recruitment service for industry members to advertise to recruit graduates and / or faculty members to fill intern, graduate and full-time construction industry positions.
- Student competitions (number of competitions)
- First international competition
- Types of other memberships
- Greater industry involvement through competition
- Bootcamps
- Journal
- Faculty job announcements
DEVELOPING AND ADVANCING CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION
ASC is where ideas and knowledge inspires, guides and promotes excellence in curricula, teaching, research and service.