As of December 2022, 649 alumni have graduated from the Construction Management program. The Construction and Facilities Management Alumni Network has continued to embrace its new structure and grow its engagement despite the limits of COVID-19. In 2019, in an effort to more cohesively bring alumni together, program staff and the former CMGT Alumni Board agreed to move forward with future engagement and planning under the supervision and management of CCAPS staff and the Advisory Board as an Alumni Subcommittee in 2019. In January 2018, Courtney Barrette was hired as the Director of Engagement and External Relations for the College, helping to bring all alumni engagement and fundraising efforts across the college into alignment with the University’s policies, procedures, and best practices.

In the winter of 2022, CM alumnus Chris Schieffer approached the Construction Management program about helping to support a golf tournament to benefit the CCAPS Pura Vida Study Abroad Program. The golf event was scheduled for October 2, 2022, at Como Golf Course in Saint Paul and was expected to bring together past Pura Vida Study Abroad program participants, alumni of various degree programs at CCAPS and the U, and sponsors in the construction industry. The goal was to raise money to reduce the overall cost per participant for the January 2023 Pura Vida Study Abroad Program.

CCAPS Mentor Program

In the academic year 2020–21, four students and four alumni/friends of the CM program participated in the CCAPS Mentor Program. This was the third year of the program and with the lifting of COVID restrictions, there was a greater opportunity to engage our mentorship pairs in face-to-face meetings. Of those CCAPS students that participated and replied, 80% would recommend or highly recommend the CCAPS Mentor Program to their fellow students, and 93% of mentors would recommend or highly recommend it to their fellow alumni/professional network.

The CCAPS Mentor Program allows students to:

  • Explore current industry issues and potential career paths
  • Learn how to build a professional network
  • Enhance professional and communication skills
  • Connect knowledge learned in the classroom with future career goals
  • Explore new areas of interest
  • Gain insight on transitioning to the workplace

Student Focus Group

The Student Focus group meetings are typically held every two years in the odd-numbered years. A request was put out to meet to discuss the program; however, we did not receive any RSVPs for the event and it was canceled. We do accept program commentary from any student at any time of the year.

The following unsolicited testimonials have been received from recent graduates:

Fall 2020

I want to express my sincere appreciation for your guidance through the past 2 years. Prior to coming to the University of Minnesota I had always dreamed of being a professional with a great job, but at that point in time it was just a dream. With my poor history coming into the U I had family members and co workers laugh when I told them my plans to apply. This is when I met you. Peter, you gave me a chance and for that I am forever grateful. The program you created and the guidance you gave through capstone, one on one meetings, Pura Vida trip and just talking before class has turned me into a young professional ready to take every moon shot I see.

All of that said, I really enjoyed Spec & Tech and Capstone. Working while taking Spec & Tech allowed me to apply all the skills we learned in class daily. That class taught me many things, but the most important lesson I learned was sharing your human experiences with other people truly forms real and lasting connections. You challenged me to be my best and settled for nothing less.

Summer 2020

This email is long overdue, but I just wanted to say Thank You. After graduating and looking back there is so much that I have taken away from you and the program that I could not have gotten from anywhere else. I can’t remember how many times that I thought some of the assignments or discussions we were having in class were pointless. Well now that I am here, I see that everything you taught was for a reason and realize I took it for granted. From learning how to salsa dance, to heated debates in capstone, all of it had its purpose and helped me become the professional that I am today and I am grateful for it. So again, Thanks Peter and I hope we can stay in touch.