photo by: KU Endowment

A gift of $3.5 million from University of Kansas alumnus Craig Martin and his wife, Diane, will establish a construction safety center at the KU School of Engineering.

After a career spent on construction sites, University of Kansas alumnus Craig Martin knows how quickly an accident can occur.

Martin, the former CEO of Jacobs Engineering Group in Dallas, has never forgotten a co-worker who knew all about safety on the job site, but who died while doing a project at home when his metal ladder touched a power line.

“I grew up in the industry and, unfortunately, serious accidents and fatalities are all too common,” Martin said. “You have to think of safety at home and work.”

That’s why Martin and his wife, Diane, recently gave the KU School of Engineering a $3.5 million gift to establish the Craig and Diane Martin National Center for Construction Safety.

Both natives of Kansas, the Martins now live in Pasadena, Calif. In a phone interview with the Lawrence Journal-World, they explained how their dream of keeping people safe evolved into the center. They said they wanted to create something sustainable that would make a difference, and that they couldn’t find any university programs geared specifically toward construction safety.

The Martins said they had been blessed and wanted to give back.

Craig Martin was born in Dodge City and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from KU in 1972. Ten years later, he went on to earn an MBA at the University of Denver.

Diane Martin, a native of Salina, has a law degree from Washburn University.

Craig Martin became the CEO of Jacobs Engineering Group in 2005, and retired from the engineering, architecture and construction firm in 2015.

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The Martins said the center will be multidisciplinary – incorporating not only engineering, but also other areas of study such as psychology and sociology. Also, they said, it will focus on “reduction to practice” — things that can be practically accomplished in the field or office.

The actual center won’t be launched for about a year, Craig Martin said. In the meantime, he hopes to raise more funds with which to support it.

To begin with, the center will be based in KU’s civil engineering department.

“But the plan is to have its own facility in the near future,” Craig Martin said. “The center will advance safety management, research, and development.”

David Darwin, professor and chair of civil, environmental and architectural engineering at KU, said in a news release from KU Endowment that he was excited about the cross-disciplinary approach of the center and about his department’s role in leading the effort.

“The center provides new opportunities to explore best practices for safety in design and construction, a critical area,” Darwin said.