Stanford Construction Institute
The Stanford Construction Institute was launched in 1960 as one of Stanford's first Industrial Affiliate Programs to support enrichment of our Construction MS educational program by allowing us to engage practicing professionals from industry as consulting professors.
About the Construction Institute
A key strength of our MS Construction Program is offering a unique blend of cutting-edge insights from the ongoing research of our full-time academic faculty and strong coverage of current and evolving industry best practices presented by a superb group of dedicated lecturers and consulting professors from industry.
Examples of the cutting-edge research that has enriched our program ahead of most of our competitors include Professor John Fondahl's research on the critical path method, Professor Clark Oglesby's research on construction safety, Professor Henry Parker's research on methods improvement in the 1970s, research by the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) during the past two decades on Building Information Modeling and Virtual Design & Construction, research by Global Projects Center (GPC) over the last decade on innovative approaches for financing and governance of infrastructure projects, and ongoing research on new ways to measure and promote sustainability in buildings and infrastructure and on sensor and control networks to optimize the operation of interconnected intelligent buildings and infrastructure in a new “smart built environment.”
The Construction Program’s budget from the School of Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering Department covers only the costs of our full-time, academic faculty and program administrator. We value the practitioner input into our MS programs very highly, so we have always fund-raised from the industry to support the ongoing inclusion of the consulting faculty from industry who help to provide the broad-based range of topics that enable us to attract the very best students in the nation and globally, maintain the relevance to industry of our academic programs and provide our students with knowledge that they can put to use immediately upon graduating.
Our industry faculty round out our degree program by teaching classes ranging from construction law and accounting to infrastructure project development and delivery, real estate development, building energy systems and labor relations. This unique blend of cutting-edge concepts, methods and tools, together with industry-grounded best practices, is delivered through the Sustainable Design and Construction program, which attracts strong applications from large numbers of the top students in the nation and globally.
Stanford's construction program continues to thrive thanks to the continued support from alumni, members, and friends. Your donation to the Construction Institute, at whatever amount, is very important to continuing our innovative educational programs, funds top-notch consulting professors or lecturers, as well as, provides a curriculum/co-curricular activities that develop the range of skills that are important for our graduates.
To give and support the ongoing work, study, and research in Stanford’s SDC program:
- Visit Stanford's Giving site
- In the first dropdown menu, select “School of Engineering”
- In the second dropdown menu, select “Other Stanford Designation” (box will appear below)
- In the “Other” box, you MUST type “Stanford Construction Institute”
- Complete the rest of the form and submit.
Member Affiliation and Benefits
Affiliating your firm with the Construction Institute
The construction industry faces great challenges, including a lack of professional resources and a need for better management tools. Upgrading our failing national infrastructure, and the requisite project funding that will entail, are perhaps the greatest challenge. We are committed to working together with you to address those challenges. Student interest in Construction is stronger than ever, and we are committed to helping develop the critical professional resources and tools required to meet the needs of the industry. We welcome and appreciate donations of any size; however, we would like to invite you to join in the group of companies that are supporting our MS Construction Program as Members of the Stanford Construction Institute:
Membership benefits
We invite interested firms to affiliate with the Stanford Construction Institute to support the continued strength of our MS academic program and to guide and support ongoing and future initiatives to keep the Stanford Construction Program in the forefront of such programs worldwide. For more information about Stanford University Policy Affecting Industrial Affiliates Program Memberships, please visit here.
Member firms can appoint a representative to participate in our Program Advisory Committee to provide ongoing input to the design of our MS degree programs. In addition, members receive the following benefits:
- Facilitated recruitment of graduate and undergraduate students as employees or interns; this can include participation in CEE258, The Donald R. Watson Seminar in Construction Management & Engineering, which occurs in the Autumn Quarter
- Student mentoring and career development activities
- Participation in courses and seminars as guest lecturers
- Evaluation of student projects and research
- Opportunity to network with faculty and students at the annual May Construction Institute Meeting (e.g., May CI Executive Briefing & Student Seminar)
- Recognition as a strong supporter of Stanford's Construction Program
Annual membership contribution based on firm size
- Firms with 2,000 employees or more: $25,000
- Firms with fewer than 2,000 employees: $12,500
Due to the current pandemic, we are only accepting affiliate payments via wire transfers. Please follow directions outlined in the document below.
For questions, feel reach out to:
Brian Sedar, Construction Institute Director, bsedar@stanford.edu
Geoffrey Tuttle, Administrator, gwtuttle@stanford.edu
Construction Institute Member Firms
The Stanford Construction Institute member companies are represented by selected leaders in our Program Advisory Committee. Their support is critical to the ongoing success of Stanford's Sustainable Design and Construction Program.
Schatzie Allen-Jefferson President The Allen Group, LLC | Lamis el-Didi Principal, Construction Consulting Exponent | ||
Jenny Buckley Americas Transport Leader Arup | Dev Krishnan President & CEO KKCS | ||
Catherine Hunt Ryan President, Mfg & Technology Bechtel | Yayu Lin President, Commercial Development Sares Regis of Northern California | ||
Kathryn Cahill Thompson Chief Executive Officer Cahill Contractors, LLC | Major General Kim Colloton Deputy Commanding General of Military and International Operations US Army Corps of Engineers | ||
Don Clark Co-CEO Clark Pacific | Rear Admiral Lore Aguayo Commander, NAVFAC Atlantic US Naval Facilities Eng Sys Command | ||
George Pla Founder & CEO Cordoba Corporation | Rod Humble Chief Operating Officer Vance Brown Builders | ||
Eric Lamb EVP, Mgmt Cmte Member DPR Construction | Michael Walton Executive Secretary Construction Employers’ Association |