Even though the construction management program at Marian University had its first six graduates in spring, Program Director Matthew Durand says it is in its infancy.
“I’m excited to be able to be a part of a program that is still very much a startup program as we continue to create and innovate,” Durand says.
The construction management program at the Fond du Lac university began in the fall of 2023 under former director Daniel Enz. Durand came in at the start of the 2026 calendar year with an opportunity to shape the first graduating class.
He planned a capstone course for the seniors that involved renovating a former art room that housed the construction management program.
Durand says he wants students to have hands-on, real-world experience and learn in a team teaching environment that serves the college when possible. Remodeling the classroom “checked all the boxes.”
Seed funds provided by construction industry partners allowed him to create a small line-item budget. The students were given three days to create a presentation and then had to get approval from Marian’s facility director, followed by the finance director and finally the university president.
Durand says the students were excited because they were doing cross sections and elevations and managing peers in other courses who were part of the project. Reality set in as “subcontractors” missed deadlines, items ran over budget and they found asbestos that needed abatement.
“Construction management is all about teamwork. So, I always match them up in teams. They have to work through things. If people aren’t showing up, if somebody’s not doing the group project, that’s the real world,” Durand says.
A celebration of the finished project took place at the end of September and it’s a model Durand says can be built upon. He is putting together a list of “shovel ready” projects and “shelf ready” projects students can pursue.
In addition to the internal support, the university worked with community partners. Some not only provided funds and materials, but also staff resources to demonstrate the processes and techniques industry professionals use every day at work.
Those are the kinds of collaborations that Durand says point to opportunities. He hopes to offer a coffee and contractor series that will have students meeting with contractors once a month to talk to them about their careers.
He also wants to certify people so they can become adjunct faculty educating students in their field.
“One of the innovative things that we’re trying to do here is convince businesses, if their workers who have a passion to teach have flexibility in their schedule, to do a work release program. So, if they had somebody who was a great surveyor and great at onboarding employees in their own company, maybe they have the flexibility to come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays for an hour and teach our surveying class,” Durand says.
He says Marian will work toward offering opportunities for the industry potentially by pursuing a Fast Forward Worker Training Grant.
Durand wants to build entryways into the program for people at all levels.
Some of the current students came in with experience in construction, including Ethan Sadoff, who attends school in the morning and works at Smith Builders in the afternoon. He likes the real-world experience Durand brings to the program as well as the opportunity to network in the construction field.
Durand says they are pursuing credit for prior learning that will help people already working in the trades earn credits based on their professional experience. They want to work with local high schools to offer concurrent learning, allowing students to earn college credits as they earn credits in high school.
All of this is helping to expand Marian University’s reach, according to university President Aaron Sadoff.
“Our mission and who we are really translates to any career,” he says. “[Construction management] is a little bit different from where we were, but it’s really become part of the family of majors here and it’s drawn a lot of people who maybe wouldn’t have seen Marian as an option.”
