With the 40^th Anniversary of Construction Engineering and Management coming to a close, there has been no better way to celebrate than to begin a new tradition of selecting one distinguished alum each year to honor with an Outstanding Alumni Award. We are proud to announce that Anne Bigane Wilson (BSCEM 1979) has received Purdue University's first Construction Engineering and Management Outstanding Alumni Award. 

The CEM Outstanding Alumni Award was established to recognize the professional contributions and outstanding achievements of graduates from the Division of Construction Engineering and Management and to thank them for the recognition that their success brings to Purdue and the Division.

A faculty committee chose Ms. Wilson as an individual with a distinguished career and demonstrated excellence in industry endeavors that reflect the value of a construction engineering degree. "Anne has demonstrated leadership as both an engineer and business person advancing the construction engineering profession, and she is a model of the kind of person we want all our graduates to be," said Dr. Ted Weidner, awards committee chair.

Ms. Wilson graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in construction engineering in 1979, followed by a Master of Science in civil engineering in 1981. She is a registered professional engineer in two states and serves as President of Bigane Paving Co., a fourth generation family business, in addition to CEO and President of Ogden Avenue Materials, and CEO of Reliable Ogden LLC. Ms. Wilson is past president of both the American Subcontractors Association and the Federation of Women Contractors.

“I am incredibly flattered and honored to be the first recipient of this award,” Wilson said. “I’m proud of the work that I have done in the industry and I am always grateful to be recognized for that body of work. The CEM program has been a great preparation for the many turns of my career. It was first an education in both the classroom and the field. Because of my CEM degree, I had the skills needed to take over my family business when my dad passed away suddenly.” She describes one of her greatest achievements as the relationship she has built with Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), so that her business has been able to work with CDOT on a variety of pilot projects using new Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) designs.

In addition to many successes in her career, she has shown a high level of involvement with Purdue University as an alumna serving on CEM's Industrial Advisory Board for the last decade. “It is important that subcontractors and/or specialty contractors are represented [on the Industrial Advisory Board] since so much of the construction industry’s work is completed by this sector,” she said, explaining her commitment to serving on the Board.

Ms. Wilson’s engagement and accolades reach far and wide. She is a member of the National Academy of Construction and has received several awards, including the Illinois Governor's Small Business Person of the Year, the Walter Nashert, Sr. Award form the American Institute of Constructors, the Purdue University Civil Engineering Alumni Award, the American Subcontractors Association National Construction Best Practice Award, and the American Society of Civil Engineers 2017 Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Award.

Ms. Wilson was honored with CEM's Outstanding Alumni Award at Beta Tau Honor Fraternity's annual Spring Internship Banquet on April 4, 2017. The award was introduced this year as a special honor during Construction Engineering and Management's 40th anniversary, and the Division will continue this tradition moving forward, honoring one outstanding alum each year.