2007 Inaugural Address
November 3, 2007

Thank you, Dan, for the introduction.

It seems like a surreal journey from the time I was a boy growing up in a small town in western Maryland to this stage. As Dan said, I grew up wanting to be an attorney. If it hadn’t been for one individual, I wouldn’t be here today; after I left Washington and Lee University and worked for a semester, a close high school friend, Edgar Sutton,said to me, “David, why don’t you come down to the University of Maryland with me and major in civil engineering?” Since I did not have anything better to do, I took him up on that suggestion, and as they say, the rest is history. A lot of water has gone over the dam since that fall of 1969 when I enrolled in the University of Maryland. But I can point back and identify that one individual who made a difference in my life and started me on the path that brought me here today. Yes, there have been many mentors in my life that have helped, but it was the power of one person’s suggestion, that started me on this remarkable civil engineering journey.

And throughout this journey, there has been one person, my wife Janet, who has continually supported me.

There are many examples of individuals, using their ‘power of one’ to make a difference. Gandhi and Mother Teresa are just a few who come to mind.  I remember very vividly in January of 1961, sitting before a TV and watching John F. Kennedy implore each individual to use his or her power of one. It had snowed very heavily and we had the day off from school. As a 14-year-old teenager, I was inspired and fascinated as Kennedy said what have now become immortal words: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”  Brian Pallasch, our director of government relations, uses that tag line, substituting ASCE for country, at the end of his e-mails. You can do something for your society and profession and it only takes the power of one to accomplish it.

Song lyrics say, “One is the loneliest number,” but I think one is the most powerful number. One person’s idea, commitment and determination can make a difference. Looking back in civil engineering history we have many examples of individuals, like John, Washington and Emily Roebling.

In more recent times, we have the examples of Mario Salvadori and Charles Thornton. Their dreams created programs that have touched the lives of literally tens of thousands of students. Little known people such as Bangalore Lakshman, who 25 years ago created a foundation to provide food and medical assistance to needy individuals in northern Delaware. Bryan Juncosa, who immediately after 9/11 started developing composite maps of the site to help firefighters and others in the rescue and recovery effort. This morning we honor Bernard Amadei with the Hoover Medal. His idea of Engineers Without Borders started at one school and has now exploded to more than 200 schools and 100 professional chapters. There are countless stories like this of individuals each exercising their power of one. 

You say, “What can I do?” It is very simple. There are a number of initiatives that ASCE has that will allow you the opportunity to exercise your power of one. Let me first share with you the issues that are at the top of my priority list for the coming year:

• Workforce and diversity
• Engineers Without Borders
• Infrastructure renewal
• Achieving the Vision of the Civil Engineer of 2025

We must do more to encourage young people to enter our profession. The total number of women entering civil engineering remains relatively flat. Similarly, the number of individuals from underrepresented groups remains flat. Did you know that more than 50% of the degrees granted in chemistry this past year went to women? What fascination does chemistry have for women that civil engineering doesn’t? We must address that question and you can be a part of the solution. You can participate in the next step of our extraordinary women’s project, a major initiative called “engineer your life” that will be launched during Engineers Week 2008. It will provide you with an opportunity to go into middle and high schools to encourage women and underrepresented groups to consider civil engineering as a career. We have a number of other programs focused on K through 6 and the middle school. I personally believe that if we are going to increase the numbers of engineering students in the pipeline, we must focus on K through 6.

We must keep finding ways to increase young people’s curiosities and fascination with technology and building things. You as an individual can exercise your power of one and make a difference.

The Board of Direction just approved an agreement that allows us to forge a closer relationship with Engineers Without Borders. They need help from each and every one of you. You can be a mentor to a group of students at a local EWB student chapter. You can provide technical assistance in reviewing their designs and plans. You can participate in site visits and construction. We believe that Engineers Without Borders can be part of our solution to our diversity and work force problems.

The demand for civil engineering talent is being driven in part by infrastructure and infrastructure redevelopment. But I am convinced that if we redid our Report Card today, the grades would still be the same. So much work needs to be done not just in funding, but also in finding innovative solutions to our infrastructure problem. The demand for civil engineering will continue for the foreseeable future. We must convince the public and our political leaders to step forward and fund infrastructure renewal at the levels that this nation deserves.  You can exercise your power of one by getting involved in this discussion. On the ASCE Web site, that is asce.org, you can write your representative or senators in just six clicks and encourage them to vote to increase infrastructure financing. You can also view the latest information on public policy issues before Congress to keep yourself involved. Likewise, in your state and local community, you can speak out, write a letter to the editor or visit your elected officials to encourage them to adequately fund local and state infrastructure needs. Some of you are wondering, how can I do this? You can start by becoming an ASCE contact member and you will receive weekly updates on both national and state issues. You can get involved in an election campaign. This way you have the most influence and best opportunity to make your voice heard. Clearly, you must vote in next year’s election.  

Finally, I look forward to leading ASCE to continue to focus on achieving our vision of the civil engineer in 2025. We must regain the public’s trust in civil engineering. We can’t let the disasters of Katrina, the I-35 bridge and the central artery continue to erode public confidence. We must step forward and be willing to take a stand when these situations confront us. We can’t slough off the decision to someone else. Each and every one of us must exercise our power of one to safeguard the public’s health, safety and welfare. Each of us can continue to promote and help achieve our vision of being a master integrator, planner, builder, constructor, operator, manager of risk and uncertainty, innovator and integrator of technology, a designer of a sustainable environment and a voice in the public debate and decision making on infrastructure financing and environmental consideration. Each and every one of us can focus on this in our everyday lives. You can be a part of a community association, your PTA, and your scouts. Your own demonstration of what an engineer is, through your commitment to improve your community, will speak volumes about the value and importance or our profession.

We can increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in civil engineering. We can reach out and improve the lives of people in developing countries. We can make sure that infrastructure funding and renewal prevent another Katrina or I-35 bridge collapse. We can look forward to realizing our vision of the civil engineer of 2025.

One is indeed a very powerful number. When we have thousands and thousands of ones acting together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.