Michael McAlpine[/img]Early in the morning on January 17, 1994, a massive earthquake struck the Los Angeles area, causing $400 million in damage to the CSUN campus. In the aftermath of what came to be called the Northridge quake, Michael McAlpine was assigned by his then-employer, AECOM, to provide construction management services to help rebuild or retrofit several major CSUN buildings. As he grew increasingly familiar with the campus, he also became involved in the effort to launch a construction management program in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Today, McAlpine, now a vice president and project executive for the Construction Management Division –Western Territory of STV, Inc., is a longtime friend of the college, wearing two hats: one as a member of the CECS Industry Advisory Board and the other as chair of the advisory board for construction management.
“I think what I bring to the board is my relationships with clients and other firms in the industry, to help students find jobs and internships and give them an industry perspective,” he says. “I also work with faculty—whether it’s providing guest speakers in classes or getting them to conferences, where they meet people who can share the latest practices or technologies that they can then take back to their students.”
McAlpine has been in the construction management industry for over 28 years, but his career trajectory has veered off from what he had in mind when he started out. A native of Visalia, California, he always wanted to be an architect and earned an architecture degree from Cal Poly Pomona. But when the 1991-93 recession hit, architectural firms were closing or laying off staff, so at a friend’s suggestion, he went to work for a general contractor to gain experience in the field. After 5½ years, he joined AECOM as a program and construction manager, and in the 12 years he was there, he worked his way up to associate vice president. He joined STV in 2009 as a vice president.
“I wasn’t a bad designer, but I think my real talent is managing,” he says. “I found my niche in construction management.”
Among the high-profile projects he has overseen are the Pasadena Convention Center and the new Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC), which was designed for LEED Platinum certification and has been receiving international recognition and winning numerous awards. He is also in charge of a $200 million renovation of the Anaheim Convention Center.
“I’m kind of like the conductor of a band or orchestra,” he says. “My job is to take an idea and manage it through the design, procurement and construction process and then hand over the keys to the client.”
McAlpine’s commitment to CECS is both professional and personal. He notes that the construction industry is reaching the point where in the next ten years there won’t be enough workers to build what the country needs. He anticipates a shortage of engineers, construction workers, etc., and qualified personnel will have to be imported because of the rate the industry is growing. That’s why he’s so committed to the construction management program at CSUN. He also enjoys sharing his perspective with students, with the hope that his experience will help them grasp the many opportunities available to them. He notes that most don’t have a big-picture idea of what they’re majoring in—they get bits and pieces about project management, cost management and schedule management but don’t know how to pull all that together and understand how their education is applicable in the industry.
“What we try to do on the construction management advisory board is to support and educate students so they make good career decisions and help them get jobs that add value to the industry,” he says.
The board also organizes field trips to project sites and regular guest speakers and helps students land internships. In addition, it provides financial support to the college for student scholarships, to send faculty to conferences and to ensure the latest software and hardware is available. Each year, the board organizes a golf tournament in support of the construction management program that raises between $70,000 and $80,000, though McAlpine would like to see the level of support boosted to $100,000.
On the college’s IAB, he offers both a management and construction management perspective, noting that management skills can be applied to many other industries because the same principles apply.
That is especially true of his approach to communication. The key ingredient for a successful career like his, he believes, is trust, and he tries to instill that idea in the construction management board, with the hope that it will trickle down to the students.
“If you’re able to establish trust among the players you interact with every day, you will be successful,” he says. “If you manage from the level of trust, everyone who brings expertise to the table will focus on solving problems and working together as a team. I tell students that if they’re able to cooperate, have a good attitude, establish trust and be ethical, they will go far.”