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 — is pleased to announce it has been recognized by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) for outstanding contribution and dedication to the concrete industry.

ACI has awarded CIM with the Henry C. Turner Medal for notable achievements in, or service to, the concrete industry.

“We are extremely pleased that ACI has recognized the CIM program with the prestigious Turner award,” said National Steering Committee (NSC) Executive Director Eugene Martineau. “ACI plays such an important role in the advancement of the concrete industry. For ACI to recognize CIM, whose mission is to develop the next generation of leaders of the concrete industry, is a true honor.”

Click here to view a list of all ACI awardees.

The CIM Program

Recognizing the need for people with enhanced technical, communication and management skills, the CIM program was developed in 1996. The individuals graduating from this program will have the skill set necessary to meet the growing demands of the progressively changing concrete industry of the 21st century. It is a business intensive program, providing solid management skills that can be used in any industry, but has been 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. 

“This honor was given to CIM by the ACI Board of Direction for our program’s mission of ’advancing the concrete industry by degrees’ through our program of identifying and supporting future leaders in the concrete industry,” said Brian Gallagher, chairman of the CIM Marketing Committee.

The program produces broadly educated, articulate graduates grounded in basic business 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 these courses utilize practical case studies and an internship to make sure the student obtains real-world experience essential to starting a successful career. Additional opportunities for growth include on-campus socials and other organized events providing industry networking and professional development.

About CIM

Receiving tremendous support from the concrete industry, the CIM program was the first of its kind in United States. The need for such a program was recognized in 1994 and was put into action by the 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. Available at MTSU, California State University, Chico, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Texas State University, the program has been successful for both the industry and the graduates.

Seeing the need for concrete industry-specific executive education, the NSC of the CIM program launched an executive MBA program. In the fall of 2012, the first class of students in the CIM MBA program at MTSU began. The executive MBA degree program is the result of many years of close collaboration between MTSU, the NSC and companies in the concrete industry. The program is designed to expand the industry-academic partnership by bringing CIM to the business world through an executive-type MBA and stand alone in its focused curriculum on the concrete production and concrete construction industries. For more information, visit the website.