Jeffrey S. Russell, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, NAC, F.NSPE
Jeffrey S. Russell is the vice provost for Lifelong Learning, dean of the Division of Continuing Studies, and professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–Madison). In his role as vice provost and dean, Dr. Russell is responsible for leading the university’s programs and services for lifelong learners and nontraditional students—fulfilling the promise of the Wisconsin Idea: that the university should extend its reach far beyond the classroom, to the boundaries of the state and beyond. Over the past 35 years, he has earned a reputation as a leader in education, research, and service to the civil engineering profession through his championship of diversity, leadership, ethics, innovation, and enhanced education.
Dr. Russell previously served as chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UW–Madison and was a co-founder of its Construction Engineering and Management program. His engineering research focuses on construction management, innovative project delivery systems, and construction automation and robotics. He has advised over 100 graduate students including 26 PhD students, and served as principal or co-principal investigator for more than $14 million of publicly and privately funded research.
He received a BS degree in civil engineering from the University of Cincinnati, MS and PhD degrees from Purdue University, and is a registered professional engineer in Wisconsin.
Dr. Russell is a respected researcher, author, and editor. He has published more than 200 technical papers in the areas of contractor failure, prequalification, surety bonds, constructability, automation, maintainability, warranties, and quality control/quality assurance. In addition, he has authored and published two books: Constructor Prequalification (1996) and Surety Bonds for Construction Contracts (2000). Dr. Russell served as editor-in-chief of the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering (1995-2000) and as founding editor-in-chief of the ASCE publication Leadership and Management in Engineering (2000-2003), during which time he organized special issues on diversity, public policy, career management, globalization, and information technology. He is the co-author of the books, Raise the Bar: Strengthening the Civil Engineering Profession (2013), and Becoming a Project Leader (2017). In September 2018, he co-authored an eBook (now in its third edition), Technical Project Management in Living and Geometric Order: A Practical Perspective, as an open educational resource: https://wisc.pb.unizin.org/technicalpm/.
He has been honored with a number of national and regional awards and nine best paper awards. His honors include the Wisconsin Distinguished Service Award ASCE WI section (2009); American Society of Engineering Education George Wadlin Service Award (2010); ASCE Peurifoy Research Award (2010); National Academy of Construction (2011); Fellow of the NSPE (2011); and Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Lifetime Achievement Award in Education by ASCE (2014).
Dr. Russell served as chair of the ASCE Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice for ten years. The committee is charged with defining the education requirements necessary to practice civil engineering at the professional level. Throughout his career, Dr. Russell has dedicated considerable effort to making engineering education more meaningful and more relevant. He has been a consistent advocate for elevating engineering education expectations for tomorrow’s graduates—which is necessary to better prepare them for the challenges of a complex, interconnected world, and to compete more effectively in a global economy.
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