KNOXVILLE — The Construction Industry Research and Policy Center (CIRPC) in the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, announces two key leadership changes.
Terry Higgins has become the center’s research director of operations while Edward Taylor has joined CIRPC as research director for administration.
The Construction Industry Research and Policy Center is home to a system of econometric models and databases that provide detailed information, both historical and current, on construction activity for each county in the nation.
Higgins has been on the CIRPC statistical analysis and special studies staff since August 2004. Before coming to UT Knoxville, Higgins was with the Chase Environmental Group in Knoxville where he led various projects across the United States involving the shipping and packaging of radioactive materials.
Higgins has been a member of the two CIRPC teams that collected up-to-date information about the wage rates of workers in American Samoa. He also authored the summary report used by the Department of Labor at the American Samoa Wage Rate Hearings held in June 2005.
Higgins has developed strategic initiatives for planned and special inspections in the construction industry, working with personnel from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and the Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Since May 2009, he has led the planning of construction inspections for stimulus projects associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Higgins received a master’s degree in statistics from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Virginia, and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia.
Taylor joined CIRPC after spending seven years in structural design and 10 years in the bridge construction industry.
He is a registered engineer in three states and formerly served on the Tennessee Road Builders board of directors as chair of the Bridge and Concrete Committee.
Taylor is primarily responsible for CIRPC’s Davis-Bacon wage survey activity.
These surveys are conducted throughout the United States and its territories to ensure workers on federally funded construction projects receive the appropriate prevailing wage. He also works with personnel from the OSHA and the OFCCP as part of CIRPC’s role in analyzing construction safety and compliance issues.
Taylor received a master’s degree in economics and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Tennessee; he received an MBA from the University of Georgia.
For more information about the CIRPC, visit http://bus.utk.edu/cirpc/.
For more information about the College of Business Administration, visit http://bus.utk.edu.
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C O N T A C T :
Cindy Raines (865-974-4359, craines1@utk.edu)