FAYETTEVILLE,
Ark. — Bradley E. Workman, vice president of
building and plant solutions for software firm Bentley
Systems Inc., has been
named the Twenty-First Century Chair in Communications Technology in Construction
at the University of Arkansas. In his new role Workman will assist
school leaders and faculty to determine how the School of Architecture may best
prepare students for integrated practice, a key trend that is revolutionizing
building design and construction.
University leaders, including Chancellor
John A. White, and School of Architecture faculty, staff and students will
gather at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, for a ceremony and reception honoring
Workman. The event will take place in the second-floor gallery of Vol Walker
Hall.
“Integrated practice will bring
architects, engineers, contractors, fabricators and building owners into
collaboration early in a project, saving time, money and eliminating waste,”
said Jeff Shannon, dean of the School of Architecture. “This new chair will
allow us to educate and equip our students in the latest processes and
technologies that are beginning to transform the building industry.”
“Leadership in innovation is what the
Twenty-First Century chairs were created to bring to the University of
Arkansas,” said Chancellor John A. White. “Brad Workman is uniquely qualified
to provide leadership in this area, and we are delighted to have him return to
his alma mater and join our team.”
An architect, software designer and global
business executive, Workman has helped design, develop and pioneer building
information modeling, a new digital design methodology that supports integrated
practice.
Born and raised in Arkansas, Workman
earned his bachelor of architecture degree from the University of Arkansas in
1978. He subsequently practiced architecture in Little Rock while pursuing a
bachelor of science degree in computer science at the University of Arkansas at
Little Rock. In 1983 he began training architects on the use of CAD software at
Intergraph Corp. and has since devoted his career to software design and
product line development. In 1994 Workman was among the first architects to
join Bentley Systems Inc., located in Exton, Pa. There he was instrumental in
developing their software solution for building information modeling.
Workman is confident that college
students can and should learn to use building information modeling software.
“These kids have grown up with
computers,” he said. “They have the ability to adapt these tools quickly and
push them further than my generation.”
Workman estimates that the University of
Arkansas is among the first 10 percent of universities across the nation to
address integrated practice.
“I will work to ensure the University of
Arkansas is a leading institution when it comes to preparing our young
professionals for this change in the industry,” he said.
Workman has taken a national role in
building support for integrated practice, serving on the buildingSMART task
force for the National Institute of Building Sciences, as a special adviser to
the documents committee of the American Institute of Architects, and serving on
the architecture and engineering productivity subcommittee of the Construction
Users Round Table. Recently he has taken on a more strategic role for Bentley,
overseeing integrated solutions for automotive, airport, oil and gas, mining
and other industries. The job takes him all over the world, enabling Workman to
make his home anywhere. He chose to return to Fayetteville.
“With the XNA airport nearby I can be
anywhere I need to be for Bentley. All of my family is located in Arkansas, and
of course there are the Razorbacks.” He
went on to say with a grin, “I just received my football tickets yesterday, so
I’m happy.”
Workman will
divide his time between the University of Arkansas and Bentley Systems Inc.,
which provides software for the lifecycle of the world’s infrastructure. The company’s
comprehensive portfolio for the building, plant, civil and geospatial
industries spans the design, construction and operations project phases. With revenues
now surpassing $400 million annually, and more than 2,400 colleagues globally,
Bentley is the leading provider of architecture-engineering-construction
software to the Engineering News-Record Top Design Firms and major
owner-operators, and was named the world’s No. 2 provider of GIS/geospatial
software solutions in a recent Daratech research study.
The chair was endowed during the
University of Arkansas Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, which recorded
$1.046 billion in gifts and pledges designated toward student and faculty
endowments, academic programs, capital improvements and University Libraries
when it concluded June 30, 2005.