Construction Industry Institute director to deliver 2005 Vecellio Lecture Oct. 7
Hans VanWinkle, director of the Construction Industry Institute (CII), will address “The Role of Research in Achieving Project Success” on Friday, Oct. 7, at 4 p.m. in 2150 Torgersen Hall at Virginia Tech. The event, which is open and free to the public, is part of the Vecellio Distinguished Lecture Series.
As director of CII, an international consortium with headquarters in Austin, Texas, VanWinkle leads more than 700 organization volunteers in a collaborative effort to improve the engineering and construction industry worldwide. Since becoming CII director in 2003, he has led new initiatives in leadership, education, and research.
Before joining CII, VanWinkle (Maj. Gen., U.S. Army, retired) was Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, D.C. He oversaw the Corps’ military construction and real estate services for the Army and Air Force, the Army’s national water resources program, and the design, construction management, and real estate services for other Defense and Federal agencies.
Among the awards VanWinkle received during his military career are the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, and campaign awards from Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in Iraq and Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California-Berkeley.
The Vecellio Distinguished Lecture Series is sponsored by a $1 million endowment provided for the Construction Engineering and Management Program in Virginia Tech’s Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering by the Vecellio Family Foundation and individual family members: the late Mrs. Leo (Evelyn) Vecellio, Sr.; Leo and Kathryn Vecellio, Jr. and their sons, Christopher and Michael; and Patricia Vecellio.
The late Leo Vecellio, Sr. was a 1938 civil engineering graduate of Virginia Tech who became president and CEO of Vecellio & Grogan, one of the largest highway construction and mining companies in the eastern U.S. Leo Vecellio, Jr., a 1968 Virginia Tech civil engineering graduate, is now head of Vecellio & Grogan, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
The Vecellio endowment at Virginia Tech also supports scholarships, fellowships and a professorship.
