The Masonry Society (TMS), with support of the NCMA Foundation, is preparing for a Masonry Education Summit to be held this Spring (tentatively on April 28-29 in Atlanta, Georgia). The Summit will help determine needs for University/College education and for education of young architects, engineers-in-training, construction managers and other practitioners on masonry.
Patrick Rand, FAIA, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, School of Architecture at North Carolina State University and Matthew Reiter, P.E., S.E., Professor of Practice and Faculty Director of the Structural Engineering MEng program in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University are leading this effort, with support from Phillip J. Samblanet, Executive Director of The Masonry Society and Nick Lang, VP Engineering & Advocacy, Masonry at ICPI-NCMA.
To assess the current status of masonry education and gain insight on educational needs, TMS will soon be sending out two surveys.
- To faculty at colleges and universities
- To young practitioners regarding their masonry educational background and needs.
Results of these surveys will be compiled and compared to previous surveys conducted by The Masonry Society.
Key findings will be engaged at the Summit to help TMS determine educational needs and to make recommendations to the Society and to industry as a whole regarding current educational needs and future educational offerings. Such offerings will likely include recommendations on a wide range of possible support to educators, graduate assistants, and students at colleges and universities, as well as possible post-graduation educational offerings aimed at new and young practitioners needed for their career development/. The aim is to enhance the quality of masonry education, so that the next generation of professionals are well prepared to use masonry in their projects.
Those receiving the surveys are encouraged to respond promptly as the results will be used to develop recommendations and programs that could directly benefit them, their schools, their courses, and their firms. Gift card drawings will also be provided to help encourage response. Results of the surveys and the summit are expected by late this summer. Assistance is needed to obtain knowledgeable and prompt response to the surveys and would be appreciated. The results of the summit could directly impact educational efforts for many years.
TMS is a 501(c)(3) professional society whose mission is to advance the knowledge of masonry. TMS was founded in 1977 and currently has nearly 500 members. TMS offers a wide range of educational offerings though seminars, webinars, workshops and conferences. The Society also develops a number of standards, guides and educational resources including its TMS 402/602, Building Code Requirements and Specification for Masonry Structures, which is adopted by the International Building Code, ASCE/SEI 7, and many other codes and standards for the design and construction of masonry structures, veneer, and partitions. Information on TMS is available at masonrysociety.org.
