Everything Nac

The construction management program at Stephen F. Austin State University is reinforcing its structure and goals with the establishment of an external board.

The board’s three inaugural members – John Glaze, Justin Jeffus and Calli Blankenship – were selected to provide insight on the construction industry, as well as help build the program into one of the nation’s best.

“The purpose of the external board is to guide, give insight on the industry, assist with field experience opportunities, provide guest lectures, assist with fundraising and scholarships, and help students obtain internships and jobs in the field,” said Sally Swearingen, associate professor in the James I. Perkins College of Education’s School of Human Sciences and facilitator of the construction management program.

The interdisciplinary program was established in 2019 and has courses in the Rusche College of Business, College of Sciences and Mathematics, and Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. Board members will help ensure the program is teaching industry-appropriate content to make the degree successful.

The external board meets four times throughout the year, with the next meeting set for April 29. Read about each construction management advisory board member below.

John Glaze ’94

Glaze has kept his nose to the grindstone for a long time.

At six years old, he understood the value of hard work, beginning a paper route for the Houston Chronicle after school and on weekends. Fast forward to today, that hard work paved a path to his current role as president of Fast Track Specialties.

After attaining a criminal justice degree, Glaze’s career took an unexpected route when he joined his family’s specialty construction product business, which he later left to begin his own company. That small change catapulted Glaze into a career he loves.

Glaze is approaching 32 years in the construction industry. Along with being the leader of the Fast Track Specialties, he also serves on a number of boards, including as chairman of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston. He also co-founded a nonprofit called “Building New Foundations” for at-risk youth, children in foster care and kids who have aged out of foster care.

Now in his new role as a board member of SFA’s construction management program, Glaze will put his unrelenting work ethic and expertise to use.

“The best part of being involved on a Construction Management Advisory Board is that the board can give feedback in real time of what the industry needs,” Glaze said. “That can include technology, knowing how to read a contract, scheduling the sequencing of a project, or being able to sketch a detail to give a designer the look they want in a way that is constructible.”

Justin Jeffus ’98

Jeffus is no stranger to building something from the ground up.

Jeffus, who earned a degree in agriculture, has worked in construction management for 21 years and is currently a partner and senior vice-president of MYCON General Contractors. In this role, he’s involved in all aspects of leadership, including contract negotiations, business development, strategic planning, and providing growth strategies and goals for the company’s business sector.

Now, in Jeffus’ new role as board member of SFA’s construction management program, his experience in the industry will provide a blueprint for the program’s future.

“My experience is multifaceted in the aspect of knowing what the industry needs and wants and the demands placed on students as they graduate and advance through their careers,” Jeffus said.

His goals mirror the purpose of the board: to help build a program that produces high-quality, knowledgeable workers for the future. But to Jeffus, being on the board also is an opportunity to help it compete at the highest level.

“Within the next 10 years, SFA’s construction management program will rival the best programs in the country,” Jeffus said.

Calli Blankenship ’18

Blankenship couldn’t have drawn up a more ideal career for herself.

Earning a degree in interior design, Blankenship translated her eye for design into a career in construction. She currently serves as a project designer with the Houston-based construction company, Kingham Dalton Wilson, where she works closely with project managers to produce construction drawings and oversee construction administration.

“I have always like interior design and thought it would be a fun career to go into,” Blankenship said. “My dad also worked in construction the majority of my life, which heavily increased my interest in the architectural and construction side of design.”

Blankenship’s experience brings unique architectural and design expertise to the board. According to Blankenship, having the interior design and construction management programs housed in the School of Human Sciences will allow interdisciplinary opportunities for collaboration as well as real-world practice for students in both programs.

“I see the program in 10 years being hopefully one of the largest offered at SFA,” Blankenship said. “I believe the demand for construction management is growing every year, and I would love to see SFA use the resources it has to teach students how to enter this career path.”

To learn more about SFA’s construction management program, visit sfasu.edu/hms/academics/construction-management.

By Nathan Wicker, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Dr. Scott LaGraff, professor of voice at Stephen F. Austin State University, in collaboration with Dr. Minhae Lee, assistant professor of piano, will present the recital program “Of Love and Death” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The program title emerged as LaGraff and Lee were choosing songs for a recruiting tour, so they continued with the theme for their recital. “It shouldn’t be surprising, given that these are two of life’s most powerful forces,” LaGraff said. “Naturally, they are going to find their way into the work of poets and then composers.”

Among the works to be performed, “Let Us Garlands Bring” by Gerald Finzi is a setting of poems by Shakespeare.

“Both themes emerge in this work, sometimes intertwining within a single song,” LaGraff explained. “Dark, somber pieces are juxtaposed with light, merry ones. I performed this set on my first doctoral recital almost 20 years ago and have been longing to do it again. Dr. Lee loves Finzi, so it was an easy choice.”

LaGraff’s wife, Kimberly, a mezzo soprano, is featured in “The Gift of Love,” arranged by Hal Hopson. The work uses the familiar text from 1 Corinthians 13, often referred to as the “love chapter” of the Bible.

“It’s a simple setting of a popular folk tune that I’ve performed many times with my wife,” LaGraff said. “We had it sung at our wedding, and it has been a favorite of ours for many years.”

The final set includes three of Franz Schubert’s dark masterpieces. “Death and the Maiden” is a conversation between a young woman and Death, who has come to claim her. She protests, but Death insists that he is her friend and she will sleep soundly in his arms. “Der Doppelgänger (The Double)” comes from Schubert’s brooding masterpiece “Winterreise (Winter Journey).” In it, a man visits the home of his former love, but she has long since moved away. He sees his own face reflected in the window, and he is startled by the image looking back at him. LaGraff describes the closing piece, “Erlkönig,” as “a tour-de-force for the pianist that almost sounds easy when Dr. Lee plays it.”

“The poem is based on the Germanic legend of the Erlking, a sinister elf who stalks children in the woods,” he said. “A father and son have a life-and-death encounter with the monster as they ride home. The pounding hoofbeats in the piano set the scene, and the tension builds as the story unfolds, the music changing subtly with the entrance of each character. In the final measures, the father and son make a desperate dash for home, but will they arrive safely?”

The program also includes three pieces by Paolo Tosti, as well as three French pieces, including Camille Saint-Saëns’ chilling “Danse macabre.”

Admission is free. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.