Construction Management Faculty Awarded Whiting-Turner Chair

by Evan Seed

Construction Management Associate Professor Stacy Kolegraff has been appointed the Whiting-Turner Chair in Construction Safety. The Whiting-Turner professorship endowment recognizes the outstanding work of dedicated, innovative faculty in Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design, which has the potential to shape the future of built environment education.  

As faculty chair, Kolegraff will receive annual funding, renewable for up to five years, to provide resources for initiatives that engage students, faculty and the construction industry in high-impact scholarship advancing construction management integration and diversity, equity and inclusion. 

Kolegraff has been a member of the Cal Poly community for as long as she can remember.  

“I literally grew up on campus,” she recalls. “My mom worked in HR for 41 years, and I was born and went to the children's center and lived on campus practically until I graduated.”  

After graduating from the Construction Management program in 2002, Kolegraff received her master’s in management from the University of Redlands before returning to Cal Poly as an educator.

“I'm privileged to work with a lot of amazing students,” says Kolegraff. “One of my biggest excitements is just working with students on a daily basis and seeing their excitement and watching them learn and grow.”  

As a woman in a male-dominated industry, Kolegraff has become a champion for women in construction. At Cal Poly, Kolegraff has worked on several projects, including the annual Verifying Everyone’s Safety Together (V.E.S.T.) Hackathon and the Girls Build Summer Academy to prioritize job site safety and equal opportunity for women in construction. 

“She truly is an advocate for every single person in the industry of construction,” says Jacqueline Badal, who worked closely with Kolegraff as a student and member of the Women in Construction club.  

Kolegraff also advised Badal’s senior project.  

“She was an incredible leader,” Badal describes. “Being a woman in this industry and in this major, we are surrounded by a lot of men. And so having... one of the only female professors was just really amazing.” 

For Kolegraff, it’s about reducing gender-based hazards to ensure all women are safe on projects.  

“And if we're increasing women's safety, we are increasing safety for everybody else as well,” Kolegraff assured. 

According to Steve Likins, senior vice president of Whiting-Turner and construction management alumnus of 1987, Kolegraff’s leadership, advocacy and innovation are key examples of what Whiting-Turner values as a company.  

“[Cal Poly alumni] are an instrumental part of the makeup of all seven of our California offices, even nationwide... It's instrumental in our success: getting Cal Poly graduates, training them, retaining them and having them advance through our leadership,” Likins added. 

This Whiting-Turner professorship endowment opens the door to new opportunities for Kolegraff to expand the scope of her educational mission.  

“I'm excited about the opportunities that this endowed professorship with my internship will bring,” Kolegraff confirms. “I'm excited to offer more of these hackathons so that we can reduce hazards on the job site, specifically for women... and looking forward to doing more with the women in construction course.” 

Ultimately, it’s about creating “a culture where we are all looking out for each other and where we can have a safe space mentally and physically in the classroom and on the job site,” she said.