“Can Construction Management Education Programs at HBCUs Increase the Number of African-American Construction Managers in the United States?

Simonne Renee Whitmore

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Conference: 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Portland, Oregon
Publication Date: June 23, 2024
Start Date: June 23, 2024
End Date: July 12, 2024
Conference Session: Advancing Equity in Engineering Education
Tagged Division: Minorities in Engineering Division(MIND)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/46400

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Simonne Renee Whitmore Southern University and A&M College

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Ms. Simonne Renee Whitmore is a licensed professional civil engineer who serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She also serves as an Adjunct Instructor for the Construction Management program at Baton Rouge Community College. Her research interests include the development of strategies and methods to increase the participation and success of marginalized communities and non-traditional students in engineering and construction management.

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Abstract

The U.S. Construction Industry continues to grow even as other industries slow down or decline. This growth fuels a need for more people to enter the field of construction not only as tradesmen or laborers, but also as construction managers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022, 89.8% of construction managers in the U.S. were white. [1] Although debate continues about the value and necessity of affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, with the abundance of opportunities and vacancies in construction management, increasing interest and participation by members of historically marginalized racial/ethnic minority communities may be an effective way to partially address the growing demands of the industry.

It has been suggested that the phrase “historically marginalized communities” better conveys the fact that underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities usually doesn’t reflect a lack of interest or effort, but instead a lack of opportunity. [2] In the field of construction management, African-Americans compromise only 4.8% of the construction managers in the U.S. in 2023 [1] while constituting 12.6% of the U.S. workforce and 13.6% of the U.S. population. [3,4]

While tradesmen and laborers are often not required to have prerequisite skills as entry level employees and may receive on the job training, construction managers are expected to have some level of formal education and/or certification. [5] For this reason, it is reasonable to conclude that four-year Construction Education Programs (CEPs) contribute to the supply of entry level construction managers.

A cursory review of the demographics of the graduates of CEPs accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) reveals that most graduates of these programs are white males. While there is some research regarding the relative lack of African-American (AA) STEM students and graduates, little research has been conducted that specifically explores (1) AA enrollment and retention in CEPs, (2) AA graduation from CEPs, (3) the role that HBCUs might play in increasing AA interest and success in CEPs. The overwhelming majority of the 77 four-year CEPs accredited by the ACCE are offered by PWIs (Predominately White Institutions) with only four of the four-year accredited CEPs being offered by HBCUs.

This study seeks to (1) explore how AA participation and success in HBCU CEPs compares to AA participation and success in PWI CEPs, and (2) identify factors that may contribute to AA selecting successfully completing CEPs by examining select characteristics of CEPs and enrollment, retention and graduation data for two public, land grant institutions located approximately fifty miles apart, one of which is HBCU (Historically Black College and University). The characteristics examined include the size of the institution, demographics of the student population, size of the CEP, and curriculum requirements.

Citation
Format

Whitmore, S. R. (2024, June), “Can Construction Management Education Programs at HBCUs Increase the Number of African-American Construction Managers in the United States? Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://strategy.asee.org/46400

TY - CPAPER
AB - The U.S. Construction Industry continues to grow even as other industries slow down or decline. This growth fuels a need for more people to enter the field of construction not only as tradesmen or laborers, but also as construction managers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022, 89.8% of construction managers in the U.S. were white. [1] Although debate continues about the value and necessity of affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, with the abundance of opportunities and vacancies in construction management, increasing interest and participation by members of historically marginalized racial/ethnic minority communities may be an effective way to partially address the growing demands of the industry.

It has been suggested that the phrase “historically marginalized communities” better conveys the fact that underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities usually doesn’t reflect a lack of interest or effort, but instead a lack of opportunity. [2] In the field of construction management, African-Americans compromise only 4.8% of the construction managers in the U.S. in 2023 [1] while constituting 12.6% of the U.S. workforce and 13.6% of the U.S. population. [3,4]

While tradesmen and laborers are often not required to have prerequisite skills as entry level employees and may receive on the job training, construction managers are expected to have some level of formal education and/or certification. [5] For this reason, it is reasonable to conclude that four-year Construction Education Programs (CEPs) contribute to the supply of entry level construction managers.

A cursory review of the demographics of the graduates of CEPs accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) reveals that most graduates of these programs are white males. While there is some research regarding the relative lack of African-American (AA) STEM students and graduates, little research has been conducted that specifically explores (1) AA enrollment and retention in CEPs, (2) AA graduation from CEPs, (3) the role that HBCUs might play in increasing AA interest and success in CEPs. The overwhelming majority of the 77 four-year CEPs accredited by the ACCE are offered by PWIs (Predominately White Institutions) with only four of the four-year accredited CEPs being offered by HBCUs.

This study seeks to (1) explore how AA participation and success in HBCU CEPs compares to AA participation and success in PWI CEPs, and (2) identify factors that may contribute to AA selecting successfully completing CEPs by examining select characteristics of CEPs and enrollment, retention and graduation data for two public, land grant institutions located approximately fifty miles apart, one of which is HBCU (Historically Black College and University). The characteristics examined include the size of the institution, demographics of the student population, size of the CEP, and curriculum requirements.
AU - Simonne Renee Whitmore
CY - Portland, Oregon
DA - 2024/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - “Can Construction Management Education Programs at HBCUs Increase the Number of African-American Construction Managers in the United States?
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/46400
ER -