Week of October 29

The faculty of the CM Department spent this morning giving tours of the facilities to the ACCE accreditation team.  Students may not appreciate them, but we actually have some great facilities at Sac State.  Our CM 9, 40 and 135 labs are among the best in the CM universe.  Mike asked all the faculty to show up to walk the team through the labs in which we operate.  We didn't need to be there, but it looked really good that we all showed up.  But the best part of the morning was when Henry Meier showed up.  Most of you know Henry, but if you don't, he's the President of SCMEF and is serving as the Member of the CM Department Industrial Advisory Board's representative to meet with the accreditation team.  He also basically serves as the "athletic director" of all our Reno teams and is a CM alumni.  So stating the obvious, he gives a lot to the Department.  Henry certainly didn't need to be there today, but he was.  And he stayed all day and is having dinner with the accreditation team as well.  I should also say that Henry is a PX for Swinerton and has a family.  In other words, he's a busy guy.  But he didn't hesitate to volunteer a full Sunday to serve as the the Department's industry bridge to the accreditation team.  We all owe Henry a huge "thanks", so when you see him (and at some point, you will all meet him), tell him you appreciate his efforts.

Quotes of the Week

Based on Henry's service...

"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth." -- Muhammad Ali

"Your life and mine should be valued not by what we take, but by what we give."  -- Edgar Allen, founder of Easter Seals

General News

I found two articles on-line that I thought were pretty interesting.

First, there is this article (click here) regarding billing rates for architects.  Billing rates are considered a forecast for the construction industry because the more architects are billing, the more buildings will ultimately be constructed.

Second, I just read this article on the historical mission and funding sources for the University of California and California State University systems (click here).  It's from a left-leaning publication, so it's definitely trying to make a point.  But that aside, it does a pretty good job of telling how the public university system in California has gone from a taxpayer subsidized institutions to tuition driven institutions (and hence why your tuition has gone up dramatically) and how Governor Reagan and Proposition 13 were at the genesis of this change.  It's a worthy read if you have 10 minutes and care about higher education in California.

CM News and Events

The Q&A session with the accreditation team is tomorrow afternoon in 4003 Riverside.  If you have time, stop by and participate.

Job Leads

None this week

What's Going On In Classes

CM 10:  This week's guest lecture will be your classmate Nick Hansen's dad, Bill.  Bill is a superintendent with R.M. Harris.  This could be the best Show-and-Tell session ever because it's rare for superintendents to come to Sac State.  Be sure to pay attention and ask a lot of questions.  Some of you may ultimately choose to pursue the superintendent route.

CM 121:  My goal is to grade the exam tonight and tomorrow so we can have a recap on Tuesday.  Thursday's lecture will continue on rough carpentry/wood framing, focusing on partitions.  Lab this week will be the rough framing on the roof and possibly some roofing.  I'm going to try to get some Goodyear labs graded this week so you get some feedback.

CM 126:  It's a big week for Joe Perez-Windmiller.  He will be giving his toolbox presentation on Monday (fire emergency) and he and Chip will giving their team presentation on Wednesday (pick plan and crane coordination).  Wednesday will also have two toolbox presentations (DougyFresh Shirk on shoring systems and Marky Mark Campbell on unconscious person first aid), so it will be a busy day.  I hope to get a homework assignment or two graded this week as well.