UA Little Rock Dedicates New Bernhard Student Club Headquarters

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock celebrated the dedication of the newly renovated Bernhard Student Club Headquarters for students in the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering.

Thanks to the generosity of Bernhard, one of the largest privately-owned engineering, mechanical and electrical contractors in the U.S., this space has been redesigned to create a 24-hour gathering space for student leaders and club members to meet, plan events, work on projects, practice for competitions, and network with industry leaders.

“Bernhard’s reputation of providing unrivaled energy solutions is wholly dependent on highly-skilled STEM students and graduates,” said Tim Staley, president of Bernhard’s Engineering Division. “We are proud to continue supporting UA Little Rock’s core mission of providing excellence in higher education in Central Arkansas.”

Bernhard has made a $20,000 donation to renovate and support the upkeep and maintenance of the Bernhard Student Club Headquarters.

Dr. Hank Bray, chair of the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering at UA Little Rock, said that a team of construction management students were the driving force behind the vision for the student club headquarters.

“We will have students running through this space who will one day be running companies,” Bray said. “This is one of the projects that I am most proud of, because this shows a direct tie from our students to the industry. On any day, any one of our 200 majors could one day be running a company. Where does that leadership and experience start? Right here where they have the opportunities to be student and club leaders. Our mission is to be good mentors to our student leaders.”

Magen Schlesier, a 2022 graduate of UA Little Rock, is one of the students who helped plan the project and present the idea to Bernard. During the Fall 2020 semester, Schlesier worked with fellow students Megan Rollins and Diana Vasquez to create a new purpose for the room as part of a community service course in the Construction Management program. Over the next two years, Schlesier brought the concept to life by fully designing the space, estimating the project, and presenting the idea to Bernhard.

“Having a Student Club Headquarters is incredibly important. I can hardly express with words how much this space would have meant to me as a student chapter leader,” Schlesier said. “Having a dedicated space just for student chapters really emphasizes the feeling of support that the student chapter members have from the construction community, departmental faculty, and the university. It allows for student chapters to hold meetings, mixers, events, and practice for competitions without interruption and with the guarantee of 24-hour access and campus security. They have a home now. It’s as simple and as meaningful as that.”