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Faculty / Staff
CIM Program - Middle Tennessee State University
Austin Cheney, P.E., CmfgE
Director
Concrete Industry Management
On July 1, 1998, Austin Cheney assumed the position as Director of the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). A fledgling program with 16 students at that time, CIM has grown to over 200 students from 20+ states and several countries.
Mr. Cheney’s technical experience includes over two years of mechanical testing of materials and additional work in design and manufacturing. Extensive college teaching experience compliments his strong technical background. He spent five years as Coordinator of the Mechanical Engineering Technology Program at Lima Technical College (LTC), where he oversaw three degree programs. While there, he developed a team-taught capstone course combining the three majors. He was also involved in curriculum development and faculty search activities for the Concrete Technology Program at LTC. Grant writing success is also evident, with software and other awards totaling over $1,000,000. Mr. Cheney has been honored by receiving a Distinguished Teaching Award and being listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.
Involvement with student activities has been a major emphasis for Mr. Cheney as well. During his five years at LTC, he was faculty advisor for the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) student chapter. The chapter was very active, receiving campus awards and national recognition from SME for community service and professional activities. In addition, student chapters of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), and Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) have formed at MTSU and are performing community service projects year-round.
Mr. Cheney’s academic preparation includes a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of Dayton. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio, and holds numerous concrete industry certifications. Mr. Cheney is currently enrolled in the Management of Technology PhD program at Vanderbilt University.
Mr. Cheney resides in Murfreesboro with his wife, Leigh, and four children, Nicholas, Matthew, Jaclyn, and David.
Heather Brown, Ph.D., E.I.T
Assistant Professor
Concrete Industry Management
Dr. Heather J. Brown joined the Concrete Industry Management Program (CIM) as Assistant Professor in August 2001. Dr. Brown’s technical experience includes five years of material testing and research for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. She also consulted on construction materials projects for several associations, companies, and state institutions. She has authored and co-authored approximately a dozen papers and been published in Concrete International, ASTM Journal of Testing and Evaluation, Transportation Research Record, International Center for Aggregate Research Journal, and Tennessee Concrete. She has been a presenter and guest lecturer on topics such as factors affecting concrete strength, pervious pavements, whitetopping pavements, high performance concrete, excavatable flowable fill, skid resistant aggregates, and masonry inspection. Dr. Brown has been awarded a recipient of MTSU Faculty Leadership Series, recipient of the National College Teaching Conference, and MTSU Faculty Who Make a Difference.
Dr. Brown’s background in teaching began at Tennessee Technological University (TTU) with construction materials, surveying, geotechnical engineering, and masonry materials. Her teaching efforts at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) extend to four concrete courses relating to fundamentals of concrete, concrete applications, troubleshooting concrete and senior concrete lab. She also teaches construction surveying for the department. Research in the concrete materials arena is a major interest for Dr. Brown. She has several research projects currently underway utilizing CIM students as research assistants and is actively writing proposals for more opportunities.
She is very active with student organizations as co-faculty advisor for American Concrete Institute (ACI), Prestressed/Precast Concrete Institute (PCI), National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), and African Americans in Concrete (AAC). She also spends a lot of time as coordinator for volunteer concrete projects performed by the students for the community.
Dr. Brown’s academic preparation includes a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Masters of Science in Civil Engineering, and PhD in Civil Engineering all from Tennessee Technological University. She is working towards her Professional Engineering License in 2005.
Heather J. Brown resides in Lascassas with her husband J. Chris Brown who is a Mechanical Engineer for Nissan North America.
Sally Bradford
Marketing & Recruiting Coordinator
Concrete Industry Management
Sally Bradford came to be a part of the Concrete Industry Management program in January of 2000 as the Marketing and Recruiting Coordinator. With such a broad job title comes many duties and responsibilities. Ms. Londré handles the majority of the day-to-day duties for the CIM Program. This could be anything from sending out information and recruiting packets to potential students and concrete industry professionals, to visiting classes for undeclared majors on the MTSU campus. In addition to being the recruiter for the CIM Program, Ms. Londré handles scholarship accounts, maintains program budget, and administers MTSU matters, such as inputting and changing student information. She maintains the CIM web site, CIM CD, and the CIM brochure to make sure the information is current. Along with the office duties, Ms. Londré also schedules and coordinates company socials and visits, and organizes and arranges student trips. She also attends a large amount of trips with the students and some additional tradeshows on her own. Ms. Londré also has a commitment to manage issues for the CIM Patrons.
Ms. Londré is a graduate from Middle Tennessee Sate University with a degree in Education. After graduating, Ms. Londré decided that being a secondary education teacher was not the best occupation for her. After trying different career opportunities, Ms. Londré decided to take a different approach with her education background. The Marketing and Recruiting Coordinator’s position with the CIM Program seemed like the perfect profession. Ms. Londré grew up in the concrete industry and enjoys interacting with students outside of the classroom.
Sally Bradford is a resident of Murfreesboro, Tennessee with husband Jason and son Spencer.