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Bryant W. Lemon Senior Endowed Fund Supports Annual Lecture

May 11, 2009

The UNM School of Engineering announced that the owners of BRYCON Construction have created an endowed fund to the school in honor of company founder Bryant W. Lemon Senior. The purpose of this fund is to permanently support the Bryant W. Lemon Senior Distinguished Lecture in Construction Engineering and Management within the Civil Engineering Department. The lecture brings speakers who have made outstanding contributions in construction engineering to UNM.

The endowed fund and lecture was a surprise for Bryant W. Lemon Senior from BRYCON Construction owners Peggy Lemon, Bryant W. Lemon, Jr. (Bill), Christine Lemon Schmidt, Catherine Lemon and Karen Lemon Gebhardt. The Lemon family created the fund to foster Bryant’s core belief that higher education is the key to individual personal growth and to the long-term betterment of the construction industry. It was designed to encourage bright young minds to explore the exciting world of construction. It is also a way to give back to the community that has supported the success and growth of the company that Bryant founded.

According to Bryant's son Bill Lemon, "It is a fitting tribute to a man who has steadfastly stood by his principles and in doing so has built a company from the ground up that few can rival."

The endowment announcement was made at the conclusion of a presentation given by Professor Charles Eastman on the Impacts of Building Information Modeling on Design and Construction. Eastman is a professor in the Colleges of Architecture and Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, and one of the pioneers of BIM. He is co-author of the book, "BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors." Professor Eastman was the first lecturer supported by the endowment.

The gift was made to UNM through the United Way of Central New Mexico fund designation program, a major collaborative funding process made available throughout the greater Albuquerque community.

For additional information about establishing endowed funds to support scholarships or programs at the UNM School of Engineering, please contact: Pam Hurd-Knief, frognm@unm.edu or (502) 277-0230 or Sharen Hart, sharhart@unm.edu or (505) 277-5541.