Update on the Virtual Convention and Introducing the ACEC Research Institute

ACEC News / Coronavirus

April 9, 2020

Update on the Virtual Convention and Introducing the ACEC Research Institute

To the ACEC Community:

Update on ACEC’s Virtual Convention:

Our team has been hard at work developing a virtual convention that not only accomplishes the necessary actions our bylaws demand, but also offers useful information to help you navigate the COVID-19 crisis.

On behalf of ACEC’s Chair, Mitch Simpler, I am pleased to announce that ACEC will hold its Board of Directors meeting virtually on Saturday April 25th from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM Eastern.  This meeting will be open to the full ACEC membership. Stay tuned for information on how you will be able to take part in the meeting and for announcements on other convention activities.

The ACEC Research Institute:

The work our member firms do sustains life, connects our communities and overcomes challenges that enable our country to grow and thrive.  Even when faced with monumental challenges like the crisis before us, we adapt to find new ways to express our essential value to society.  ACEC’s role in all this is to be your voice to influencers, policymakers and potential clients.  We’ve carried your message through direct advocacy, political engagement, media and education. Today, ACEC National is pleased to announce that we have added a new weapon to our arsenal – research through the formation of the ACEC Research Institute.

The Institute replaces the Council’s former Research and Management Foundation and will strive to become the leading source of knowledge and thought leadership for creating a more sustainable, safe, secure and technically advanced built environment.

The ACEC Research Institute’s mission is clear and precise.  It will deliver knowledge and business strategies that guide and elevate the engineering industry by:

• Identifying, funding and providing industry wide research, forecasts, and trend analysis.
• Capitalizing on the rapidly changing nature of technology and society to ensure a sustainable engineering industry.
• Promoting the engineering profession’s essential value to society.
• Inspiring future generations to solve the world’s most challenging problems through engineering.

To lead this effort, the Institute will be overseen by a Board of Directors that is reflective of our industry and is designed to strike an important balance between firm size and practice area. Led by its Chairman, John Carrato, President & CEO of Alfred Benesch & Company, and Vice Chair Michael J. Carragher, President & CEO of VHB, the Institute’s Board includes ACEC Chair Mitch Simpler, as well as NAECE President-elect James Smith, CHA’s Chief Growth Officer/EVP Jay Wolverton, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. President & CEO Steven Lefton, Stolfus & Associates President Elizabeth Stolfus and Terracon Consultants, Inc. President & CEO Gayle Packer. They are joined by Deltek’s President & CEO Mike Corkery, and Autodesk’s Global Vice President, AEC Business Strategy and Marketing, Nicolas Mangon.

I firmly believe that the ACEC Research Institute will be a game changer for the Council. The Institute will serve as the primary source for unique research, analysis and thought leadership that we will own under the ACEC brand. This will enable us to tell your stories and advocate for your interests stronger and better than ever before.

The Institute has already begun its mission in the form of the COVID-19 impact surveys we are continuing to field among the membership. I look forward to announcing even more exciting research that the Institute is already working on, but for now, stay tuned.

Linda
Linda Bauer Darr
President & CEO
ACEC
 

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