CIM Program Names New Executive Director

The National Steering Committee (NSC) for the Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program is proud to announce that Nicole Maher, the former chief operating officer at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), was appointed executive director on Jan. 22, 2025, succeeding Dr. Rex Cottle, who had led the NSC since July 2022.
Maher brings extensive experience and a proven record of leadership in the concrete industry. Since 2013, she has also served as secretary/treasurer for the NSC, demonstrating her long
standing commitment to the CIM program. Her forward-thinking vision aligns seamlessly with CIM’s mission to strengthen the concrete industry through education, empowering the next
generation of leaders to tackle 21st-century challenges with innovation and resilience.

Image Courtesy of: CIM

“The Board of the CIM National Steering Committee is thrilled to have someone with Nicole’s leadership, organizational skills and deep industry relationships to steward the NSC for years to
come,” said Karl Watson, Jr., chairman of the NSC. “Although this is a new position for Nicole, she has played a key role in both the foundation and growth of CIM for more than 20 years.
We’re grateful to have her in this role.”

“Being part of the CIM program for the past several decades has truly been a passion project,” commented Maher. “Watching it grow and evolve to meet the needs of a dynamic concrete industry has been incredibly rewarding. I’m honored to fulfill this role and help drive the program forward, building on the strong foundation laid by those who came before me.”

The CIM Program
Recognizing the need for people with enhanced technical, communication and management skills, the CIM program launched in 1996. The individuals graduating from this program will
have the skill set necessary to meet the growing demands of the progressively changing concrete industry of the 21st century. It is a business-intensive program, providing solid management skills that can be used in any industry, but has been developed specifically for the concrete industry. The program gives students many advantages including entering the concrete workforce with exposure to the industry early in their careers, unlike others coming in with generic business degrees.

The goal of the program is to produce broadly educated, articulate graduates grounded in basic business management, who are knowledgeable of concrete technology and techniques and are
able to manage people and systems as well as promote products or services related to the concrete industry. It entails a broad range of courses, from English and history to science and mathematics. A series of required business courses such as finance, marketing, management and business law are also taken throughout the length of the program. The concrete-specific courses teach the fundamentals of concrete, properties and testing, concrete construction and more. All these courses utilize practical case studies and an internship to make sure the student obtains real-world experience essential to starting a successful career. Additional opportunities for growth include on-campus socials and other organized events providing industry networking and professional development.

About CIM
With strong support from the concrete industry, the CIM program is the first four-year, STEM focused business degree in the U.S. designed to develop technically skilled leaders for the
modern concrete industry, offering a unique career path with broad opportunities. The need for such a program was recognized in 1994 and was put into action by the concrete industry. The
result was a partnership between the concrete industry and Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) to develop the CIM program, implementing it with its first two students in 1996.
Available at MTSU, California State University, Chico, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, South Dakota State University and Texas State University, the program has been successful for
both the industry and the graduates. To learn more about the program, visit www.concretedegree.com.

Feature Image Courtesy of: CIM