Being a professional constructor requires a strong commitment to ethical dealings. Developing a deep appreciation for ethics enables constructors to uphold their commitments to owners, the general public, and other constructors.
Because of the importance of ethics, we hold an annual student ethics competition designed to help students in Construction Management programs apply their knowledge to real-world situations. The competition reinforces the importance of ethics to future construction managers before they take on critical roles in the industry.
We have created an excellent forum for students to assess an ethical situation, apply the AIC Code of Ethics to the situation, and present arguments about how the situation should be handled in an ethical manner.
This year, the 2023 AIC Collegiate Ethics Competition brought together students from the East Coast to the West Coast and all regions in between to discuss ethical topics. We are eager to announce the winners of this year’s collegiate competition.
Winners of the 2023 AIC Ethics Competition
This year, the students at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, California took home the award for Overall Best Team Response/Presentation. Congratulations to the Mustangs for representing their Construction Management degree program with excellency.
We would like to highlight additional winners from this year’s competition.
Written Response Winners
– First place: University of North Florida (UNF). The North Florida team advanced from second place to first place this year. Congratulations on the achievement!
– Second place: (Cal Poly). One of the reasons why Cal Poly took home the top award was because of their excellent written responses to this year’s ethical prompt.
– Third place: University of Houston (UH). The team from Houston maintained its position in the Top 3 for the second consecutive year, reinforcing the strength of their Construction Management degree program.
Oral Response Winners
– First place: (Cal Poly). In addition to placing second in the Written Response category, the team from Cal Poly took home top honors in the Oral Response competition. The group displayed an excellent all-around performance addressing construction ethics in this year’s competition. Well done!
– Second place: University of North Florida (UNF). The North Florida team took home a Top 2 finish for the second consecutive year. Amazing work from the Ospreys again this year representing their Construction Management degree program.
– Third place: University of Houston (UH). The team from Houston took home a Top 3 finish in this category for the second consecutive year. The Cougars continue to perform at a high level year after year in the competition.
Individual Award
This year, we would like to recognize Emily Rossello from the University of North Florida as the Best Presenter during the competition. Emily was a key member of the UNF team that performed tremendously throughout the event.
Thank You to Our Judges
We would like to thank the following AIC Board members for providing leadership during the 2023 AIC Collegiate Ethics Competition.
Oral Presentation Judges
- Murray Papendorf, CPC (Treasurer of AIC)
- Travis Richardson, CAC (Board Member – President of Veritas Construction)
- Terri Hoffman (Board Member – CEO & Founder of Marketing Refresh)
- Hugh Cronin, CPC (Board Member – Owner of Cronin PM Group)
- Mark Hall, CPC (Board Member – President of Hall Construction Co., Inc.)
Written Response Judges
- Gregg Bradshaw, CPC (Vice President of AIC; Construction Manager – Joe D. Hall General Contractors, LLC)
- Mark Hall, CPC (Board Member – President of Hall Construction Co., Inc.)
- Stephen Mitchell, CPC (Board Member – Vice President of Lambert Construction)
- Brian Holley, CPC (Board Member and Past President – Project Executive, Swinerton)
- Travis Richardson, CAC (Board Member – President of Veritas Construction)
Now, let’s review the ethical prompt that each college or university was asked to discuss during the competition.
Ethics in Action: The Importance of Proper Installation
This year’s ethical topic focused on a tragic event from 2011. An architect was accused of improperly installing a fireplace at his home in California, leading to a firefighter’s death responding to a fire.
According to reports, the architect installed a fireplace after initially telling a city building inspector that he did not plan to build a fireplace in the new home. He did not install the fireplace correctly – using materials meant for outdoor use into the interior of his home. The combustible materials caught fire, leading to a fire breaking out.
Firefighters responded to the blaze, including one firefighter who perished after being trapped under a collapsed ceiling. The architect was sued for gross negligence.
– During the AIC collegiate ethics competition, the participants were asked to address the ethical issues involved in the case. Each school submitted oral and written responses covering these technical areas:
- Issue Identification/Explanation
- Application of AIC Code of Ethics to each issue, and explanation of such
- Creativity and substance
- AIC Code of Ethics used in analysis
- Understand difference between law/statutes and ethics
- Recommendations provided to rectify the situation
We appreciate each team’s preparation and thoughtful discussion of the ethical issues involved in this situation. The exercise served as a reminder of the importance of not cutting corners, adhering to codes, and practicing ethical dealings professionally and personally.
Get Involved in Next Year’s AIC Ethics Competition
We appreciate everyone who participated in the 2023 AIC ethics competition. We hope that each student and the participating construction professionals walked away from the competition with a greater appreciation for ethics in construction.
– We invite you to learn more about how to get involved in the AIC Collegiate Ethics Competition. Simply complete the form on this website page to let us know that you would like to participate in next year’s competition. We appreciate your support!
