Author: Alaska Professional Design Council

Join the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Alaska Chapter on April 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th for a series of free presentations on the after-math of the November 30th Earthquake.

Advancing into 2019 and 2020,  I’m looking forward to maintaining the positive changes we’ve experienced in APDC over the last year and expanding on them. We all worked together to conceive the improvements, but special recognition is due to Mike Rabe for taking the lead on implementation. As a result of our hard work and Mike’s leadership, I am truly excited about APDC and its potential to help our member organizations thrive in Alaska.

As the year progresses, I believe the governor’s budget will be a topic of major interest to all of us.  Via newsletters from legislators we visited during the fly-in, the controversial cuts proposed by the Dunleavy administration have been largely rejected while reasonable cuts are being allowed to move forward. The House Finance Committee is now considering the budget overall where they have opportunities for additional amendments before it reaches the house floor.  There is optimism that the final budget will maintain many services and revenue sources that Alaskans rely on.

Other issues that APDC will continue to follow are the State Fire Marshal’s review time of projects, licensure for interior design in Alaska, and our ongoing outreach supporting quality based selection of professional services in the State.   As to how we can expand on our successful improvements to APDC, I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas during our upcoming board meetings.

Linzzi Doerr has been promoted to Controller and Courtney Maillet to Project Accountant in R&M CONSULTANT, INC.’s (R&M) Accounting group. Click here to read the full press release.

CRW Engineering Group continues to grow but we still maintain our core values and beliefs among employees – we call these “Willyisms” in honor of our founder, Willem Van Hemert. In order to honor Willy and his ongoing contributions, CRW has created two $2,500 scholarships to be awarded annually in May / June for the purpose of encouraging and supporting a new generation of Alaskan engineers and surveyors.

Applications are due March 31st, 2019. Click here for more information, and to submit an application.

The attached Op Ed article by Dr. Robert A. Perkins, PE, was inspired by an article recently published by the National Bureau of Economic Research entitled, “Why is Math Cheaper than English? Understanding Cost Differences in Higher Education.” Dr. Perkins examines findings of that study in context of data from the Brookings Institution on career earnings by college major, and draws conclusions that endorse APDC’s goal to further education, especially in STEM fields. His article includes links to the NBER study, the Brookings Institution data, and his own calculations. Click here to read the full piece.