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The Contractors Educational Trust Fund has generously donated $200,000 to Louisiana Tech University to establish a professional-in-residence position in Louisiana Tech’s construction engineering technology (CET) program.

Steve Terrill, area manager with the Contractors Educational Trust Fund, presented Louisiana Tech President Les Guice with the gift during a ceremony last Friday.  The new position, which will reside in the College of Engineering and Science, will provide a strong liaison between the university and industry, will help teach CET classes at Louisiana Tech and will organize student trips to visit industry partners.

“The CETF has been tremendously supportive of our construction program for many years,” said Guice.  “This gift will have significant impacts on our ability to continue to produce great graduates for the industry and in supporting Louisiana’s growing workforce needs.  I am most thankful for the construction industry’s contributions that made this gift possible.”

Louisiana Tech will match the Fund’s commitment by providing 25 percent of the salary for the position.  Officials within Louisiana’s construction industry believe the CET program at Louisiana Tech will help provide them with much needed new employees.

Dr. Hisham Hegab, dean of Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science, said he believes the CET program has a huge capacity for growth.

“This gift from the Contractor’s Education Trust Fund will benefit our construction engineering students by helping to provide the very best educational experiences so that they will be well-prepared to enter the construction industry,” Hegab said.  “With growing demands in the construction industry within our state, this support from the Contractor’s Education Trust Fund comes at a very opportune time and we are extremely grateful for their continued support of Louisiana Tech’s construction engineering technology program.”

Louisiana Tech’s construction engineering technology program prepares graduates for the responsibility of managing and supervising activities related to converting the plans and specifications prepared by engineers and architects into finished facilities. With increasing demand for economical service and continuous quality improvement, the construction industry continues to improve its technology as well as its management efficiency.

The program also provides technical and managerial education in that field of construction most closely aligned with engineering, with a particular emphasis on highway, heavy and underground construction. Written by Catherine Fraser – cfraser@latech.edu