ULM’s School of Construction Management has accepted a check for $97,000 from the Louisiana Licensing Board for Construction Management.

This is the third year in a row that the School of Construction Management has received a financial contribution from the Louisiana Licensing Board for Construction Management.

ULM, LSU and Louisiana Tech are the three universities that have been awarded funds in the state.

Doctor Ed Brayton, director of ULM School of Construction Management, expressed his gratitude for the funds.

He assured that the money will be utilized to enhance the program and upgrade the facilities at the School of Construction Management.

“These funds will support the Don Beach Atrium project. The Don Beach will be the new entry hall. We currently have 18 endowed scholarships, and the atrium will show the recipients of each of these scholarships,” Brayton said.

“Also, we want to give our students a great practical learning experience. So, we are going to invest on our construction practices laboratory. Previously, we have used the funds to upgrade computers because we needed some 3D software for students. Plus, we used it on a new media station.”

Even the students pursuing construction management are thrilled with the funds their school is getting.

Kara Bryan, a sophomore Construction Management major, said, “The funds are really good for us. You have lots of old equipment that will not help us in the future, and hopefully the money we got will help us get the equipment that people actually use in construction management.”

“Our school really needs the fun too. It seems like the School of Construction Management is back-burner for ULM. We had some air conditioner problems and stuff like that before the start of the semester, and we had to get some other companies to fix it because ULM would not do it,” Bryan said.

Donovan Stewart, a junior Construction Management major, shared the same opinion.

“We are like kind of left alone. If there is extra money, our school is probably the last one to get it, so we have to get our money from contractors,” he said.

“We have an amazing program. So, these funds might help us with more activities to do hands-on stuff. “I take pride in the construction school. As of last year, our program is ranked sixth best in the country. I have no complaints about the program. Maybe, the funds can be used to get hands-on learning experience off campus. I mean you have amazing lab, but it would be better if we go outside the campus and grab some real job experience,” said Devin Campbell, a junior majoring in computer science.

The construction management program at the University of Louisiana at Monroe became the first accredited construction program in the United States by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) in 1976 and continues to maintain its accreditation.

The program has seen over 2,000 graduates to date.