Concrete Industry Management

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 need for such a program was recognized through the RMC 2000 movement in 1994 and was put into action by the Tennessee concrete industry. The end-result was a partnership between the concrete industry and Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) to develop the CIM program, implementing it with its first two students in 1996, and producing its first graduates in 2000. Since its humble beginning, the CIM program has expanded and now in addition to MTSU, it is offered at Arizona State University, California State University, Chico, Texas State University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Today there are over 600 students pursuing degrees in Concrete Industry Management, and hundreds of CIM graduates working in the concrete industry.

The goal of the program is to produce broadly educated, articulate graduates grounded in basic construction management, who are knowledgeable of concrete technology and techniques and are able to manage people and systems as well as promote products or services related to the concrete industry. It 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. They utilize practical case studies and an internship to make sure the student obtains real-world experience essential to starting a successful career. Additional opportunities include on-campus socials and other events providing industry networking and professional development.

The CIM program has, and continues to provide future leaders for the concrete industry. To learn more about the program, visit www.concretedegree.com.