Construction Management Faculty

Dana Hobson, PhD, P.E.
Department Head and Professor

Dr. Hobson has been a member of the CMT faculty since 1996 when he arrived at OSU. In 1969, he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas and immediately obtained a Master's degree in Physics from Kansas State University in 1971. In 1994, Dr. Hobson obtained a second Master's in Architectural Engineering from the University of Kansas, and continued to complete his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering in 1996.

Dr. Hobson's construction career began in 1971 with construction and maintenance supervisory positions with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in several Kansas locations. In 1974, Dr. Hobson joined Wilson Constructors, Salina, Kansas as a Project Manager in their commercial division, and advanced to Bulk Material Division Vice President when he resigned in 1979.

In 1979, he co-founded Coronado Engineering, Inc., a national design-build industrial contractor in Salina, KS. He served as president until 1990 and then continued as Technical Director until 1994. While at Coronado Engineering, Dr. Hobson was responsible for the design and construction of over 600 projects in 38 states.

Dr. Hobson's areas of academic interest include: estimating and bidding, scheduling, concrete design, project management, and construction profitability. While at OSU, Dr. Hobson has taught numerous seminars for OSU Engineering Extension, the Associated General Contractors, and for various construction companies in Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. His professional affiliations include the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Council for Construction Education, and he is a past board member and regional director of the Associated Schools of Construction. Dr. Hobson is a licensed professional engineer in Oklahoma, and holds a general contractor's license in Louisiana, California, and Florida.

Dr. Hobson has served as co-advisor of the student professional organization, Construction Management Society, and as advisor to the construction honor society, Sigma Lambda Chi. He has also coached the Student Competition Construction Management Team for five years, and the Student Competition Heavy/Civil Team for four years.

Dr. Hobson's hobbies include restoring Allis-Chalmers tractors and farm equipment, small construction and remodel projects, and maintaining his small farm.

Dr. Hobson is proud of his involvement in CMT at OSU.  He enjoys being part of a nationally recognized program and also enjoys working with an enthusiastic student body.

Click here for a look at one of Dr. Hobson's latest projects.

Mark Pruitt, M.S.
Associate Professor

Professor Pruitt began his academic career at OSU in 1992 as an Assistant Professor. He obtained his Bachelor's of Architecture from the University of Washington in 1977. Later, Professor Pruitt attended Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia and received his Master's in Architecture and continued to earn a second Master's in Construction Management in 1991.

Professor Pruitt's areas of special interest include: contract documents, CAD, computer estimating, construction law, and timber & form design. His professional affiliations include NAHB and AIBD. Professor Pruitt serves and the Student Competition Design Build Team Coach and as co-advisor to the Construction Management Society.

Before coming to OSU, Professor Pruitt worked for several design, construction, and design-build companies, including Rossiter Glen, Inc., Vancouver, WA; PDP Inc. (where he served as a vice-president), Vancouver, WA; Wohlgemuth and Associates (Architect), Vancouver, WA; Architectural Alternatives, Blacksburg, VA; and Mark Pruitt Design Build, Blacksburg, VA.

Heather Yates, AC
Assistant Professor

Professor Yates joined the OSU CMT Faculty in 2006 as an Assistant Professor.  She received her Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology from the OSU Construction Management Department in 1998.  She graduated with a Masters of Engineering Technology from Pittsburg State University in 2002.  She also earned a Specialist in Education Degree from Pittsburg State University in 2006.  She plans to pursue a Doctorate in Higher Education from OSU in 2008. 

Professor Yates began her teaching career in 2002 at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS, where she taught Light Frame and Finishes, Theory of Structures, Construction Contracts, Material Testing and Inspection, and team taught Construction Industry and Senior Projects.

Before joining the academic world, Professor Yates worked for a national award winning heavy highway concrete paving company, and later worked for TranSystems Inc., a national Transportation Design and Inspection firm where she ran the testing and inspection laboratory and served as an inspector on various highway and bridge projects in Southeast Kansas.

Professor Yates’ areas of special interest include Concrete Testing and Inspection, using technology to effectively communicate in construction, and active learning. 

She is a member of the American Institute of Constructors, Phi Kappa Phi, and ASEE. She is currently serving as the CMS advisor and the Construction Management Commercial Building Team Coach.

Outside of school, Professor Yates enjoys playing with her twin girls Elle and Emma, who were born in May, 2006, and attending sporting events with her husband, Scott.

Miles Hunter P.E.
Assistant Professor

Professor Hunter has been a member of the Construction Management Technology faculty since 2007 when he came to Oklahoma State University (OSU) after 25 years of experience in the geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing industry. Professor Hunter holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Mining Engineering from Colorado School of Mines in Golden Colorado and in Math and Physic from Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina Kansas.  In 1997 Mr. Hunter completed his Master of Science degree in Project and Construction Management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California.

Mr. Hunter began his carrier in the construction industry in California in 1982 as a mining engineer working for Earl Torgorson Associates. In 1984 he went to work for Berlogar Geotechnical Consultants (BCG). Excluding a two year stint at Kleinfelder, Inc, Mr. Hunter spent 19 years with BGC working his way in to an ownership position during his years with the company. In 2005 he elected to return to his native Oklahoma to become the office manager for Standard Testing and Engineering’s Tulsa Office.

Mr. Hunter holds registration as Professional Engineer in Oklahoma and is registered as a Civil Engineer in California and a Mining Engineer in Nevada.

Along with his teaching activities in equipment, soils and structures classes at OSU, Mr. Hunter coaches the heavy highway competition team along with schools men’s rugby football club team.

Charles Rich, P.I., AIC
Associate Professor, Emeritus
 

Professor Rich obtained a BA from Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College) in 1964. In 1965, he was granted a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida. Just one year later, he earned his MS in Civil Engineering from the same university.

Professor Rich's teaching career began in 1969 at Northeast Louisiana State College (now ULM) in Monroe, Louisiana, where he was an Assistant Professor from 1969 - 1972, and 1976 - 1988. He also taught part-time at Louisiana Business College in 1987. Professor Rich came to OSU in 1988 as an Associate Professor and served as Department Head from 1991 to 2002.

Professor Rich has always kept in close contact with the construction industry. He began his career in 1962 serving as a Draftsman and Assistant to the Maintenance Supervisor at Vulcan Materials Company in Aberdeen, Maryland. In 1965, he was a design engineer for Rummel, Klepper & Kahl in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1966, Professor Rich joined the US Army Corps of Engineers, with tours at Ft. Sill, OK, and the Republic of Vietnam (92nd EN BN, 20th EN BRIG.) Returning to the states, he served in the Office of the District Engineer in Albuquerque, NM, before moving to Monroe, LA, in 1969. In 1972, he became a partner in Smith & Rich, Consulting Engineers in Monroe. Professor Rich has also served as consultant to the RFM Group of Atlanta, GA, and to N&J Constructors in Lufkin, TX. In the summer of 1989, he worked as a Project Engineer for Mercury Marine in Stillwater, OK.

Another aspect of his profession that Professor Rich takes very seriously is his affiliation with professional organizations. He is a member of the following groups: American Society of Civil Engineers, American Institute of Constructors, Registered Professional Civil Engineer in Louisiana, Registered Land Surveyor in Louisiana, American Council for Construction Education

In 1980, Professor Rich published an audio-visual text with John E. Ball, entitled Heavy Construction Techniques, Bobbs-Merrill Educational Publishing Company, Indianapolis, IN.