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The Society’s vision of civil engineers as global leaders was realized yet again following the disastrous flooding and devastation in the Gulf Coast region. The country fell victim to natural catastrophe at home, one long predicted by engineers. ASCE took the lead among professional organizations to proactively address the crisis. ASCE is recognized for expertise in disaster response and analysis, and received high level media coverage. As secretariat of The Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP) we convened a roundtable meeting in early September with other nongovernmental organizations in Washington, D.C. to coordinate a unified response by the engineering, design and construction community. LTG. Carl A. Strock, commander and chief of engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) took part. In addition, ASCE met with RADM Michael K. Loose, P.E., of the United States Naval Facilities Engineering Command.
To support our disaster response efforts, the Society authorized: (1) $10,000 as a contribution to the ASCE Local Hurricane Relief Fund; (2) up to $15,000 as a matching contribution for contributions made by ASCE staff, members and organizational entities to the fund, (3) up to $50,000 from the voluntary fund for disaster response assessment teams and related disaster response activities, and (4) up to $10,000 from the voluntary fund as a matching contribution. We administered the Brace Fund for needy engineers.
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ASCE offered its Leader Education and Development (LEAD) curriculum in Baltimore during the year. The eight-month program teaches leadership skills to engineering managers, emphasizing how to communicate and motivate, how to apply leadership principles and how to inspire leadership in others. ASCE also held a two-day seminar on Leadership Development for the Engineer in six cities and created a new seven-hour online course in Leadership Development [PDF].
ASCE fostered international exchange of information in 2005, taking advantage of our ability to communicate almost instantaneously with individuals around the globe. Because of increased ease in communication, international participation in ASCE has risen dramatically. In 2005, 10 percent of ASCE’s members were based outside of the U.S., 47 percent of the papers published in our technical journals were written by engineers in other nations, and approximately 40 percent of the $13.5 million we received in book and journal direct sales came from international sources. International membership continues to grow and is currently at more than 17,000, including Mexican and Canadian members. ASCE has 12 international sections and 13 international groups.
ASCE’s commitment to its growing international membership is demonstrated in part though greater inclusion of international members in the Society’s structure, an outgrowth of the governance restructuring mandated by ASCE’s 2004 election. International members will have their own director within the new Region 10. This individual will be nominated and elected by the international members, and he or she will reside outside the United States.
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During a global tour, ASCE President Bill Henry emphasized to other engineering societies the importance of signing An Engineer’s Charter: Combating Corruption in Engineering and Construction. He promoted the initiative in Cairo, Warsaw, Rome, Latin America, Asia and Puerto Rico. The charter is based on the idea that individual engineers, members of ASCE, affiliated societies around the world and construction industry organizations can reduce lost resources due to corruption in projects. In 2004, $390 billion was lost to corruption, enough to have helped solve at least part of the world hunger problem for that year. The presidents of the European Council of Civil Engineers, Consiglio Nazionale degli Ingegneri (CNI, National Council of Engineers, Italy), the Spanish Association of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) of the U.K., and a representative of Transparency International all signed the charter in the Vatican, with Monsignor Zagnoni as the guest of honor. Members can access the charter to sign here.
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The ASCE Board of Direction approved a Commitment Statement prepared by the Task Committee on Global Principles for Professional Conduct. The committee also worked on revisions to ASCE’s Code of Ethics to include zero tolerance for corruption in design and construction. ASCE’s Task Committee on Global Principles for Professional Conduct launched this initiative to place ‘whistles in the pockets’ of millions of engineers everywhere. ASCE works cooperatively with such organizations as The World Bank, the World Economic Forum’s Partnership Against Corruption Initiative, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), the International Federation of Consulting Engineers and Transparency International. At the Baltimore annual meeting in October, ASCE presented a panel of experts on the issue. ASCE prepared a proposal to the United Engineering Foundation to deliver a lecture series and tools for educators. ASCE supported the inclusion of a monthly editorial in WFEO publications.
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ASCE continues to champion the Order of the Engineer, a voluntary obligation taken by engineers from all disciplines. Initiates pledge to uphold the standards and dignity of the engineering profession and serve humanity by making the best use of Earth’s precious wealth. ASCE obtained an official Link Charter in July 2003 and since then has initiated over 1,700 new members at more than 70 Ring Ceremonies. The Order has been embraced by Sections and Branches as a new member activity. More than 40 Ring Ceremonies have been conducted. ASCE Past President Patricia Galloway serves as a national director for the Order of the Engineer.
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Civil engineers around the world continue to have a great need for technical information, and ASCE is an established leading source of such knowledge. We have 69 agreements of cooperation with engineering societies in other nations. Such agreements provide opportunities to share ASCE’s continuing education resources and publications with other engineering societies, and enable both parties to develop new sources of revenue. Two new agreements were signed in Brazil, one with the Club of Engineering (CE), the oldest engineering organization in Brazil, and the other with the Brazilian Association of Civil Engineers (ABENC). ASCE approved an agreement with the Polish Chamber of Civil Engineers, which provides licensure to over 100,000 civil engineering professionals.
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| President Henry with His Excellency Mohmoud Abu Zeid |
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ASCE has continued the dialogue with its Iraqi colleagues through the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. ASCE supported the development of a capacity building program and planned to deliver publications to Iraq and explore how to provide training to Iraqi engineers.
