BSCI School Head Elevated to National Academy of Construction

The National Academy of Construction (NAC) was founded in 1999 and is comprised of industry leaders across construction, engineering, architecture, consulting and academics. Election to the NAC recognizes individuals for their contributions in technology, work process improvement, safety, industry relationships, management tools, education and more.

“This is a tremendous honor, not only for me personally, but also for the McWhorter School of Building Science, Auburn University and my alma mater Texas A&M University,” Burt said. “I would have never thought when I entered the construction industry as a trainee structural engineer at the age of 16 in 1976 that I would aspire to such an accolade.”

Burt has been a faculty member and school head at Auburn since 2008 and was recently inducted into the Associated Schools of Construction Academy of Fellows. He has also served as the secretary and on the Board of Trustees for the American Council for Construction Education and on the Education & Research Foundation of the Associated General Contractors.

Alongside other faculty, Burt has been instrumental in initiating and advancing the use of technology in the restoration of historically significant structures including the D-Day Landing Site in Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, France, and the site of the civil rights movement at the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala.

During his tenure, Burt has elevated the student experience with one of the country’s first study abroad programs for construction students and the only program with a required service learning component as part of the curriculum to provide students with opportunities for international travel and hands-on experience.

Robert Cox, the director of the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida who nominated Burt for NAC, called him “a relentless driver of higher education for construction industry leaders and the elevation of the profession through innovative educational study abroad and service learning opportunities.”

Alongside the other 36 electees, Burt will be formally inducted into NAC at the organization’s Annual Meeting in October in Colorado Springs, Co.