Senior Director of Development for the Lyles School

The Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering produces some of the world’s best civil and construction engineers and will continue to do so into 2026. Thank you to each and everyone of you who contribute your time, advice, mentorship and financial support to help keep our school as one of the top civil and construction engineering schools on the planet. On behalf of the entire Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering family, I am deeply grateful to all of our donors and alumni for your valuable support. THANK YOU!

A year into the merger of our civil and construction engineering programs and I have nothing to share but good news and there is positive momentum going forward. I have had the pleasure to meet many of our construction engineering alumni and continue to learn about the strong tradition and reputation that our CNE program has carried over the years. Thank you as well to Brandon Fulk, The Walsh Group Director of Experiential Learning, for his valuable guidance and support in this learning process.

Our undergraduate numbers continue to be strong going into the new year with almost 765 undergraduate students, making us one of the largest producers of civil and construction engineering students in the country. Enrollment of women continues to stay steady, making up almost 35% of the total. Thank you for your generosity as over 40% of our undergraduates are receiving some sort of specific civil and construction engineering scholarship aid. With room to grow to almost 900 students in the undergraduate program, we again appreciate and rely on the private scholarship support that so many of you have contributed to already.

We are equally excited about current highlights of the program as well as future initiatives on the horizon. The “Little Hammers” podcast continues to bring in outstanding alumni to share their stories with the world. CE 299, the one-credit high school class that focuses on civil and construction engineering, has grown from 18 high school students five years ago to over 70 this past summer. Thank you as well to our individual and corporate sponsors who have supported this industry workforce development initiative. The S-BRITE Center continues to add bridge specimens from all over the country and there are 23 DOTs that conduct training at this unique and specialized center. We are also looking to add a bridge specialty area to the curriculum and create a new safety center.

We are all excited about the 50th anniversary of the CNE program that will kick off in Fall 2026. Look for updates and information on the CCE breakfast during Homecoming weekend, the donor scholarship dinner, Purdue Day of Giving and our CCE golf outing next summer.

The Lyles School of Civil and Construction Engineering is very lucky to have some of the best facilities, faculty, staff and alumni in the country. I have experienced this first-hand over the last twelve years with our school. I am truly blessed to be working for such a strong school and wonderful people each and every day.

As always, please let me know if there is anything I can ever do and I will work with the grit, determination and fortitude that so many of you have shown me over the years, to make it happen.

Boiler Up and Hammer Down,

Scott Hinkel
Senior Director of Development