Decker Hains, Ph.D., P.E., PMP, F.ASCE, a Master Faculty Specialist jointly appointed to the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University, has been named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Hains has served in key leadership positions throughout his 22-year career as an officer in the U.S. Army, most recently as the professor of military science and chair of the Department of Military Science and Leadership at WMU. He has led small and large organizations throughout the world, including in Alaska, Korea, Iraq and Washington. Hains also served as the Deputy District Commander for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, where he led major initiatives and the leadership development program for the 800-person organization.
As an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, he served on the ASCE Body of Knowledge II Committee and was a principal contributor to the leadership, teamwork, contemporary issues, and professional and ethical responsibility outcomes for the second edition of “Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century: Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future.” He then was editor of the third edition, “Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century: Preparing the Future Civil Engineer,” published in May 2019.
Hains teaches a variety of civil engineering courses as well as a course in leadership, business and management at both the undergraduate and graduate level. He also leads the Civil and Construction Engineering Senior Capstone Design Experience, which teaches effective leadership, teamwork, ethics, communications and project management.
He earned a bachelor of science degree with a civil engineering major in 1994 from West Point; a master of science degree in arctic engineering from the University of Alaska–Anchorage in 1998; a master of science degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Missouri–Rolla in 1999; and a doctor of philosophy in civil engineering from Lehigh University in 2004. He is a registered professional engineer and certified project management professional.
