Announcing the 2011 Arthur J. Boase Lecture

March 14, 2011 • Tags:

University of Colorado Arthur J. Boase Lecture

Friday April 15, 2011, 3:00 p.m.
Benson Earth Sciences Building, Auditorium Room 180
2200 Colorado Ave, Boulder, CO 80309

Building, Teaching, Learning, and Rebuilding a Leadership Culture

By
Joseph A. Ahearn
Senior Executive CH2MHill (Retired)
Major General US Air Force (Retired)

Abstract: Today’s engineers confront a world of finite natural resources, opposing stakeholder interests, financial limitations, social disparities, and competing economic and environmental pressures that demand civic leadership skills beyond formal engineering schooling. More and more often, the expertise demanded of engineers today includes a capacity not just for technological problem solving, but also for a holistic understanding of how things work in a much broader context; a context that:

  • Contemplates the greater needs and constraints of modern society
  • Takes into consideration things like resource depletion, financial viability, social equity, risk analysis, total life cycle consequences, supply chain reliability, city operations and maintenance, and economic development
  • Promotes progressive decision making in a world of competing interests, and
  • Delivers a sustainable, improved world to future generations

This presentation addresses the engineer’s leadership imperative and includes models and systems thinking as methods to form the core values and operating principles often seen in progressive public and private sector engineering agencies.

Biography: Joseph A. “Bud” Ahearn is a recently retired senior executive of CH2MHill, where he was an executive leader in the engineering business lines of transportation, environment, water, industrial design, and related infrastructure. Prior to joining CH2MHill, Mr. Ahearn had a distinguished military career spanning three decades, where he achieved the rank of Major General in the U.S. Air Force and was responsible for shaping financial strategy, developing budgets, and executing infrastructure programs totaling more than $7 billion annually. As the Senior Civil Engineer for the U.S. Air Force, he directed the operational readiness and natural disaster response of U.S. Air Force combat engineers and the development and operations of all U.S. air bases around the world. Mr. Ahearn is an active member of the National Academy of Construction (NAC), a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), a member of ASCE’s Industry Leaders Council (ILC), and past national president of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). Mr. Ahearn is dedicated to advancing engineering education and providing sustainable systems and services in both developed and developing countries. In 2010, he was inducted as a member of the National Academy of Engineers (NAE) for “contributions to improving the environment and transportation infrastructure through engineering and construction projects.”

Location: Benson Earth Sciences Building, First Floor Auditorium, Room 180. Metered parking along Colorado Avenue or on the east side of the Engineering Center.

A reception will follow the lecture in Room 380.