John Hildreth earned his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech in 2003 and is now the Kimmel Distinguished Professor of Construction Management at Western Carolina University. Prior to that, he was a Project Engineer at Heeter Construction, Inc. and Hildreth Consulting Engineers, Inc. “I was naturally drawn toward civil engineering because my father is a practicing civil engineer and I grew up around it and working with him,” Hildreth said. “I always enjoyed designing and building things and once I went to graduate school, I began to consider a career in academics.” He has served as chair of the Transportation Research Board Committee on Maintenance Fleet and Equipment since 2016, as well as previously serving as chair of the Construction Engineering Division of ASEE and being an Editorial Board Member of the International Journal of Construction Education and Research.