Civil engineering students win national community service award

CHARLESTON, SC – June 29, 2011 – The Citadel student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has been named the winner of the 2011 ASCE Richard J. Scranton Outstanding Community Service Award in recognition of exceptional service by a student chapter. The Citadel chapter was chosen from 281 ASCE student chapters at colleges and universities across the United States and from 11 countries. This is the second consecutive year The Citadel has received this award.

Civil engineering students logged more than 1,000 hours of volunteer service on community projects such as the Battery2Beach (B2B) Benefit‐Cost Analysis, Patriots Point Parking and Traffic Study, Morris Island Save the Light Foundation, K‐12 student bridge competitions in Greenville and Charleston and the Wagener Terrace Neighborhood Association.

In the Battery2Beach project, students partnered with Charleston Moves, the College of Charleston, and other organizations to conduct a benefit‐cost study on a 30‐mile pedestrian and bicycle route that will link Charleston’s Battery with Sullivan’s Island, Isle of Palms and Folly Beach. Twenty‐five students collected data along the proposed route, analyzed traffic operations, developed proposed improvements and developed preliminary cost estimates. Additionally, students presented their study findings to Charleston Moves Board of Directors and the Coastal Conservation League.

“Battery2Beach (B2B) is a forward‐thinking project that is gaining a great deal of traction with the public and community leaders because of its tremendous potential to make Charleston a healthier, and happier place to live and work. Our collaboration with Citadel students has resulted in a valuable contribution to establish a solid engineering basis upon which the B2B project is being planned, promoted, and developed,” said Thomas Bradford, executive director of Charleston Moves. The ASCE award recognizes student chapter service activities with an engineering component that have
a substantial and lasting impact to the community.

“Our students are doing more than conducting community service. They are engaged in service learning by using what they have studied in the classroom to solve real‐world problems,” said Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering William J. Davis, ASCE faculty advisor. “Students not only gain first‐hand knowledge of engineering practice, but also actively contribute to the community through the service they perform.”