Concrete Industry Management MBA program launches at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011

Concrete Industry Management MBA logoDuring a press conference at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2011 in Las Vegas March 22 at 10 a.m. in Room N249-251, the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program – a business intensive program that awards students with a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Concrete Industry Management – will announce the addition of a unique Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Concrete Industry Management.

The program — which will be offered through the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) — is designed to expand the industry-academic partnership by bringing CIM to the business world through an executive-type MBA in CIM and stand alone in its focused curriculum on the concrete and construction industry.

“A continued interest has encouraged CIM and the National Steering Committee (NSC) to develop a master’s program that suits the needs of the concrete industry,” said Eugene Martineau, NSC Executive Director. “Since CIM is still a young degree program, most interest came from industry professionals with business, liberal arts or technical degree backgrounds. All those expressing interest in seeking this degree desired to stay with their current position and complete a concrete industry material-infused MBA delivered primarily through a distance learning format.”

Beginning in August 2012, with an initial recruiting class of 25, the 18-month-long program will be administered in 10-week blocks. The program will be presented by the Jennings A. Jones College of Business on the campus of MTSU in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The format will include distance learning, Webinars and on-campus visits to MTSU.

This program will be a partner structure for networking and sharing experiences, while fostering a collaborative learning environment and allowing national recruitment with limited campus visits that are intensive and focused.

“The executive model for specific industries has been developed at other institutions for banking, healthcare, education and technical fields,” says Dr. Heather Brown, director and associate professor of the CIM program at MTSU. “It is our intention to make this a top-notch program that serves the entire country with a concrete and construction-infused MBA.”

Partner Insights
Information to advance your business from industry suppliers
How High Fuel Prices hurt Your Business
Presented by EquipmentWatch
8 Crucial Elements of a Tire Safety Program
Presented by Michelin North America
Selecting the Correct Construction Tire Solution
Presented by Michelin North America

Dean Jim Burton of the Jones College of Business at MTSU says that the undergraduate programs have been very successful. “We intend to make this MBA an international example of cooperation between academia and industry,” Burton notes.

Industry professionals participating in the proposed CIM MBA program will have a minimum of five years of experience in the industry and hold at least supervisory positions or above in their respective organizations. Academically, all participants will have at least an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution of higher education. While participants must have at least a bachelor’s degree, that degree does not have to be in business.

The cost of the pilot CIM Executive MBA program will be $39,000 per participant with a minimum of 25 participants. This fee represents the total academic cost of the program per participant.

If you are interested in learning more about the CIM MBA, please contact Dr. Troy A. Festervand, Associate Dean, Jones College of Business, P.O. Box 290, MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, [email protected], 615-898-2368 or Dr. Heather J. Brown, P.O. Box 19, MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, [email protected], 615-904-8060.

The CIM Undergraduate Program

Recognizing the need for people with enhanced technical, communication and management skills, the CIM program was developed in 1996. Receiving tremendous support from the concrete industry, the CIM program was the first of its kind in United States — a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in Concrete Industry Management.

The business-intensive program provides solid management skills developed specifically for the concrete industry. The program gives students many advantages including entering the concrete work force with exposure to the industry early in their careers, unlike others coming in with generic business degrees.

The program entails a broad range of courses, from English and history to science and mathematics. A series of required business courses such as finance, marketing, management and business law are also taken throughout the length of the program. The concrete-specific courses teach the fundamentals of concrete, properties and testing, concrete construction and more. All of these courses provide much more than what is simply in the text – they emphasize problem solving, quality assurance and customer satisfaction.

CIM currently has programs in-place at five universities including Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), Arizona State University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, California State University, Chico, and Texas State University. The program has been successful for both the industry and the graduates. To learn more about the program, go to www.concretedegree.com.