The West Campus residential housing 'hood is about to evolve again, with the opening of Mercer Court this coming summer and Lander Hall later at the end of the year. Mercer Court and Lander Hall add to the recently changed character of the area coined “West of 15th Ave” which includes the four new resident halls that opened as part of Phase 1. I just typed ‘character’ when describing a building, which is new nomenclature for me. I tend to stick to the engineering basics and struggle when hearing phrases like “honoring the grid”, “landscape fabric”, and “urban heart." Soon these phrases will be just a memory and we can move on to discuss which hall has better coffee or tastier cookies. At the same time, I am going come clean and admit that Mercer Court and Lander Hall are looking pretty cool, even if I never get the connection between buildings, fabric, and hearts.
Engineers are problem solvers and scientists but without any kind of rules, society would not allow these practical thinkers to prosper and continue to advance in today’s world. This is why the American Society of Civil Engineers has written and distributed a Code of Ethics that is to be followed by all civil engineers. Many ethical dilemmas arise in the civil engineering field ranging from working on projects that are not within the engineer’s competence to even sexual harassment in order improve a certain individual or company standing. Not only is the civil engineering community strict on adhering to the ethical code, but other professions are as well. Construction management is a field that is very similar to civil engineering; however it focusses more on construction procedures instead of design. This article will discuss and compare the Code of Ethics between civil engineering and construction management.
I wrote the Outlook article below in January 2007 when we were in the middle of our Restore the Core project which resulted in the new and improved Jones Playhouse Theatre on the Ave. I want to share it with you again and update you on the social history of this building. The University Bookstore Press has just published a soft cover book titled 
Missed a CPO-U? Maybe just misplaced the handout? Not to worry, we have reference copies available on our (R:) drive. Including the recent Builder's Risk presentation!