John Sebastian named inaugural McKamish Director of Pitt Engineering’s Construction Management program

PITTSBURGH (June 29, 2015) … The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering announced that John T. Sebastian has been named the inaugural McKamish Construction Management Director. Mr. Sebastian, president of Sebastian Consulting Solutions , is a faculty member in the Department.

The Directorship was made possible through a gift from the McKamish Family and David McKamish, President and CEO of the Pittsburgh contracting firm McKamish .

"The Construction Management concentration is a key component of both undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and I especially want to thank the McKamish Family for establishing this important directorship," said Radisav Vidic, PhD, P.E. , the Swanson School's William Kepler Whiteford Professor and Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering. "The program prepares students to manage the rebuilding of our public infrastructure and the modernization of our private buildings and plants, which is a critical 21st century challenge. John's decades-long career in the construction industry will make him a valuable member of our faculty, and his expertise will help to shape the program's course development, student engagement, and research."

"I am honored to receive the inaugural appointment as the McKamish Director of the Construction Management Program," Mr. Sebastian said. "I look forward to working with the faculty in the Civil and Environmental Department of the Swanson School of Engineering to develop the Construction Management Program into one of national prominence."

Pitt's Construction Management Program Concentration encompasses public and private sector perspectives, building and engineering construction, and the roles played by all the participants on the construction team (owners, contractors, design professionals, and other supporting professionals). The program emphasizes managerial decision-making in an engineering context and teaches students decision-making skills that are important to the successful completion of construction projects as measured by time, cost, and quality objectives. In addition, the program develops in the students those professional qualities that will make them effective managers - communication skills, computer applications, ethical standards, and leadership attributes.

Mr. Sebastian's management consulting firm, Sebastian Consulting Solutions, LLC, was founded based on his more than 35 years of experience in the construction industry. Mr. Sebastian was Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors of Dick Corporation, a national general contractor and dck worldwide, an international contractor and successor company to Dick Corporation. Both companies had annual revenue in excess of $1 billion and were consistently ranked in the top 50 General Contractors in the United States by Engineering News Record. 

Mr. Sebastian played a key role in the development and construction of numerous landmark construction projects including: the Historic Renovation of Union Station in Washington, DC (for which he won the Build America Award as the on-site project manager), PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, The Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas, The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and many monumental government, military and commercial projects among others.

Mr. Sebastian is a LEED accredited professional and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, holding a BS in Civil Engineering as well as an MBA. He is a Construction Excellence Peer for both General Services Administration and the Veterans Administration. He is a board member, executive committee member, finance chair and treasurer of the Sarah Heinz House of Pittsburgh, and is a member of numerous industry groups.

About Pitt's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Founded in 1867, the Civil and Environmental Engineering program at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering is one of the oldest engineering programs in the U.S. Civil engineering students at Pitt have the opportunity to engage in undergraduate and graduate programs in a broad range of topics, including environmental engineering and water resources, geotechnical and pavements, structural engineering and mechanics, and sustainability and green design.

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Author: Paul Kovach