Friday, October 24, 2008
PRINCESS ANNE, MD – Courtney Lorenz, one of the country’s foremost experts on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, discusses the state of the construction industry and the application of green building techniques on Tuesday, November 11, at 11 a.m. in the Student Services Center theater at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Free and open to the public, her talk is part of the Roger Blunt Lecture Series, presentations by international industry leaders in the construction business.
Lorenz is the national environmental manager for Skanska USA Building. Skanska USA Building is one of the world s leading construction groups with expertise in construction, development of commercial and residential projects and public-private partnerships. Lorenz serves as a key sustainability coordinator, improving office and project site efficiency, employee and client environmental awareness and green building programs for a variety of building projects. She has experience in green building on commercial real estate, development, healthcare and commercial interiors projects.
In addition to her duties at Skanska, Lorenz serves as the National LEED Trainer, training some 450 employees and countless external stakeholder and community groups. She serves on national and international committees and has received various awards for her work, including the Green Pioneer award from the Triangle Business Journal, the North Carolina Sustainability award for environmental leadership and Green Office of the Year from the Raleigh News and Observer. She is touted as a significant contributor to Skanska s distinction as number one Green Builder, according to Engineering News-Record magazine.
Lorenz earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and a Bachelor of Science in environmental management from Indiana University. At Duke University, where she has since served as a graduation speaker, she earned a master s degree in environmental management.
Major General (ret.) Roger Blunt, for whom the lecture series is named, is CEO of Essex Construction LLC, a construction company whose professionals are recognized as industry leaders for commercial, institutional and high rise residential construction projects in the mid-Atlantic region. A West Point graduate, he holds two master s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Honorary Doctor of Public Service from UMES. He has long been an advocate and supporter of the UMES Construction Management Technology program, from which his son, Jonathan Blunt, executive vice president of Essex Construction, is a 1993 graduate. In 2002, he established the Roger R. Blunt Construction Management Endowed Fund to support student scholarships, student recruitment and an endowed chair.
Blunt opened the lecture series last fall with a talk titled, “Breaking New Ground in Africa.”
The UMES Construction Management Technology program is the only accredited Bachelor of Science degree program in construction management technology in Maryland. Classroom lectures and laboratory courses are combined with internship experiences in construction technology, architecture and business administration to prepare students to become professionals with the ability to manage and supervise the total construction process. Graduates qualify for employment with residential and commercial general contracting and sub-contracting firms and in government.
There are approximately 90 majors enrolled.
