Professor and Chairman of the Department of Construction Management & Civil & Construction Engineering at UA Little Rock
Hank Bray, who grew up in Hampton (Calhoun County), graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering, and from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston with a doctorate in engineering. He worked for the Iowa Department of Transportation from 1984-88 and then taught construction management at the University of Louisiana at Monroe from 1988-2014. Bray has taught construction management and civil engineering at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock since 2014.
Bray was named chairman of the Department of Construction Management & Civil & Construction Engineering last year.
What led you to become an educator?
When I was in high school, I did one of those career surveys. The results indicated I should either be a civil engineer or a college professor. So I did both. But seriously, I was attracted to education by the opportunity to go deep into a problem and really solve it, to stop making the same mistakes over and over.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
That’s an easy one. There is nothing like the satisfaction of helping people get into a profession where they can get a good job with insurance and a retirement plan, and some even make enough money to support a family on one income. That is getting more and more difficult to do. I enjoy hearing from successful students and meeting their children. I have taught both a parent and their child four times in my career.
What are some of the hottest topics in construction education?
Lean construction, delivering value and eliminating waste, and Building Information Modeling, a 3D tool to assist constructors, owners and designers in planning, design, construction and management of the built environment.
What’s the best advice you ever received?
Don’t try to teach people. Try to help people learn. It is less irritating to the student and more fun for the teacher. The overwhelming number of learning problems in the classroom are solved by maturity. Each individual student has to mature at their own pace. It is very satisfying to me when a student turns the corner and becomes successful.
Mistakes are said to deliver some of the most meaningful lessons. What is your most important mistake that helped shape your career?
Take some risks, break some rules, don’t always play it safe.
I was a walk-on football player for Lou Holtz at Arkansas. I was too small and too slow. In a spring practice scrimmage, all the scout team cornerbacks were hurt. The ball was about to be snapped, and we only had 10 players on the field. So I put myself in the game for one play. My position coach went ballistic and chewed me out in front of the whole squad. But after practice, I went to the hospital for X-rays, and it was discovered I had a broken leg for most of the practice. I was still just as small and slow, but I earned the respect of my coaches and teammates.
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Who are your mentors, people who made a difference in your life?
Herb McCaskill was my first boss at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, formerly Northeast Louisiana University. Herb encouraged me to pursue a doctorate, which gave me the credentials. Without his encouragement I would never have been able to reach this point in my career as a leader.
Mike Tramel hired me at UA Little Rock. He prepared me to manage the Department of Construction Management & Civil & Construction Engineering. He believed in me and gave me a chance to prove myself.
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