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SIUE Celebrates 10th Anniversary of CLI Program

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Frederic J. McCall, vice president of BSI Constructors.

Frederic J. McCall, vice president of BSI Constructors.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the Construction Leadership Institute (CLI) will celebrate CLI’s 10th Anniversary tonight at a reception in the atrium of the SIUE School of Engineering. CLI alumni will be joined by well-wishers that include top St. Louis area building industry executives and SIUE administrators.

A brief ceremony will trace the history of the program and recognize SIUE alum Ralph Korte for his leadership. Ten years ago, Korte approached SIUE to create a program to accelerate the leadership development of high potential building industry employees. Thus, CLI was born.

The ceremony will include the first annual CLI Alumni Leadership Award to Class of 2004 graduate Frederic J. McCall, vice president of BSI Constructors. The CLI Alumni Leadership Award recognizes an outstanding graduate of the CLI program honoring exceptional contributions to the building community through leadership, character and hard work.

“Fred McCall epitomizes the Construction Leadership Institute Leadership Award criteria,” said Dr. Chris Gordon, CLI co-director and chair of the Department of Construction in SIUE’s School of Engineering. “In addition to his success and contributions in his professional and personal life, he is improving the industry by serving as a mentor to BSI’s emerging leaders.”

Also to be spotlighted during the event is the Building Futures program, which the CLI Advisory Board has designated as the CLI Alumni Fall Service Project. Through an innovative extracurricular program, the Building Futures program is teaching St. Louis area middle school students the joy of hands-on design and building. Annually in the fall, CLI alumni donate a Saturday morning instructing students to safely use power tools and to develop design and building skills.

“SIUE is fortunate to have an exceptionally dedicated group of CLI graduates who are committed to improving the building community,” said Sandra Hindelang, CLI co-director and director of Executive Education in the School of Business. “One of the greatest challenges facing the building industry is the retirement of approximately 25 percent of the workforce. Coupled with a generation or two who have never learned to work with their hands, a crisis in work force development is here. The Building Futures program is the perfect vehicle for CLI Alumni to inspire children with their passion for building.”

The Construction Leadership Institute is a collaborative effort between the SIUE Schools of Business and Engineering to offer an annual program of nine weekly, day-long sessions from mid-January through mid-March. The program is designed and continuously refined to develop and hone leadership, communication and critical professional skills for emerging leaders in the building industry.

A plaque honoring the contributions to the St. Louis community by late CLI graduate Tyrone Thompson also will be presented. Tyrone’s mother, former Missouri State Rep. Betty Thompson, will accept the honor.

Tyrone Thompson was a member of the Kwame Building Group and graduated from the inaugural CLI program in 2004. In his private life, he was a fierce education advocate who mentored hundreds of at-risk youth. Thompson was tragically shot by two teenagers in an attempted robbery in 2010. At the time, he was developing a mentorship program through University City High School.

The Kwame Building Group continued Tyrone’s work by creating the Tyrone Thompson Institute for Nonviolence (TTIN), which offers an innovative approach to school suspensions. Through the foundation, college students are trained to provide one-on-one mentoring in a student’s own school setting, and support skills workshops are available to parents. As a result, college students perform community service by tutoring and mentoring; parents build parenting skills; schools retain state funding; and juvenile delinquency and dropout rates are reduced.

SIUE School of Business and the accountancy programs are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International, representing the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. The Princeton Review consistently lists SIUE as one of the top 296 business schools in the U.S. for the seventh consecutive year. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered in accounting, computer management and information systems, economics, finance, management and marketing. More than 20,000 alumni have earned degrees from the SIUE School of Business. For more information about the School of Business, visit www.siue.edu/business.

SIUE School of Engineering offers one of the most comprehensive and affordable engineering programs in the St. Louis region with eight undergraduate degrees, five master’s degrees and a cooperative doctoral program, all housed in a state-of-the-art facility. Students learn from expert faculty, perform cutting-edge research, and participate in intercollegiate design competitions. Companies in the metropolitan St. Louis area provide students challenging internships and co-op opportunities which often turn into permanent employment. All undergraduate programs are accredited by their respective accreditation agencies.

 


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