HISTORY
ACEC-RI’s Transformative Journey
After 25 years of existence, the Rhode Island Consulting Engineers (RICE) organization has transitioned into the American Council of Civil Engineering Companies – Rhode Island (ACEC-RI). The switch to ACEC, which had been discussed for several years by the RICE board and membership, finally came to fruition in October 2016! As ACEC-RI, our organization now has the backing of a major national organization, the most powerful in our industry, which will now further allow us to better serve our member organizations in addressing matters that pertain to our businesses.
What does the backing of ACEC mean to its member companies and employees?
Advocacy - ACEC spearheaded many important initiatives that affect all of its members businesses and there are many more initiatives and regulatory battles that they will continue to pursue. Business Education and Best Practices- ACEC provides a wide range of education opportunities and business resources that benefit our employees and our companies.
Communications - ACEC uses a wide range of communications including an award winning magazine and newsletter, social media, business surveys and awards and recognition programs to educate and recognize its members and member firms.
$1M PAC - ACEC has a $1M PAC that is in the top 3% of national PACs established. The ACEC/PAC is a non-profit, non-partisan organization formed in 1975 to benefit ACEC members through support of our legislative program. ACEC/PAC accepts voluntary contributions from eligible ACEC members and, in the interests of ACEC and all ACEC members, uses these funds to support candidates for elective offices. The PAC supports those candidates whose positions and decisions have the greatest impact on ACEC members.
Minuteman Fund - This $2 million war chest has been compiled to win state legal, legislative challenges of national importance. This fund has been used to support many recent infrastructure funding victories throughout the country and is also being used to continue to deal with many other issues that affect our industry.
Who was RICE?
RICE was originally founded in 1991 by four leaders in the Rhode Island engineering community: Mr. Gordon Archibald, Mr. Ralph Cataldo, Mr. Larry Riggs, and Mr. Robert (Bob) Rowan. The organization was formed to represent independent consulting engineering firms who were engaged in providing professional engineering services to the Federal, State and municipal agencies and the general public. The purpose for forming this organization included:
To promote the art and science of engineering;
To advance the interests of Consulting Engineers;
To improve the business conditions of Consulting Engineers;
To enhance the responsiveness of governmental agencies and officials with whom such Consulting Engineers deal;
To educate those engaged in business as Consulting Engineers on matters affecting the operation of their businesses;
To act as a medium for the expression of the views of its members on matters affecting those engaged in business as Consulting Engineers;
To accomplish fair and intelligent legislation relating to the profession of engineering and the business of Consulting Engineering; and
To distribute to the public and to the members of the Association accurate and reliable information on matters affecting Consulting Engineers.
As part of their objectives, RICE annually awarded merit scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate degrees in engineering for over 17 years. The awarding of these scholarships was one part of RICE’s program to promote and support engineering through efforts to encourage the best young people to enter the profession. Consistent with this facet of its mission, RICE also conducted several other outreach efforts during the year including participation by member firms in the Engineering Career Day held at the University of Rhode Island (URI) each spring, as well as involvement in URI’s Summer Engineering Academy and the URI Capstone (Senior) Projects. RICE worked in conjunction with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the URI Transportation Center, and the URI College of Engineering to provide resources and support for these career education initiatives.
In addition to the student outreach programs, RICE also worked with URI in a teacher externship program, through which several local school teachers of foundation subjects (science, mathematics, and technology) were paired with professional firms to gain real-world experience. During the externship, teachers shadowed engineers and technicians at RICE member firms who had volunteered to host an educator for a day. This experience enabled participants to enhance their classroom programs through a better understanding of how current industry practices related to fundamental concepts taught to students.
Why did RICE become ACEC?
As much as RICE had accomplished for its members in its 25 years of existence, there had been interest for several years by the member firms to become a member organization in the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). ACEC's roots date back to 1909 when a small group of engineers in private practice established the American Institute of Consulting Engineers (AICE), the forerunner of ACEC. Today ACEC is a large federation of 52 state and regional councils representing the great breadth of America's engineering industry. ACEC member firms employ hundreds of thousands of engineers, architects, land surveyors, scientists, and other specialists, responsible for more than $200 billion of private and public works annually. Member firms range in size from a single registered professional engineer to corporations employing thousands of professionals.
The reasons for becoming ACEC were plentiful. ACEC had been the voice of America's engineering industry for its members - numbering more than 5,000 firms and representing more than 600,000 employees throughout the country. In addition, ACEC was engaged in a wide range of engineering works that propel the nation's economy and enhance and safeguard America's quality of life. These works allow Americans to drink clean water, enjoy a healthy life, take advantage of new technologies, and travel safely and efficiently. The Council's mission is to contribute to America's prosperity and welfare by advancing the business interests of member firms. This was a core value of RICE, and with the national backing of such a powerful organization as ACEC, it was felt that our goals and objectives would be more attainable with that support.
ACEC-RI Accomplishments
Since joining ACEC, the RI chapter has taken a more aggressive approach to meet the goals that were established by RICE and continue to be important for our businesses and employees. Our organization has been restructured to allow for more involvement by our member firms through their employees, to better redefine the committees, to better develop committee responsibilities and to develop a schedule of activities to better cover the hot topics of the industry.
Although much has been accomplished, there is much more work to be performed to ensure the continued success of ACEC-RI, our businesses and our employees.