A. Ross Myers and John R. Lawson II: Biographies and company profiles
The following profiles provide additional information on A. Ross Myers and John R. Lawson II, the two Virginia Tech alumni whose generosity led to the establishment of the proposed Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech.
A. Ross Myers / American Infrastructure
In 1939, A. Ross Myers’ father and grandfather founded a local hauling company in the Philadelphia suburbs called Allan A. Myers and Son. This company evolved into American Infrastructure, a heavy civil construction company and materials supplier, strategically located in the Mid-Atlantic region adjoining the metropolitan areas of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.
Today, A. Ross Myers is the chief executive officer of American Infrastructure, a company that consistently ranks in the top half of Engineering News Record’s annual Top 400 U.S. contractor’s list, the Top 50 Heavy and Highway Contractors, and the Top 200 Environmental Engineering and Construction Companies. It is American Infrastructure’s mission to bring added value to the construction process and to achieve superior results with efficient, cost-effective quality procedures, provided by cutting-edge technology, management and support services in a corporate environment dedicated to people development, safety, and high ethical standards.
Under Myers’ guidance, American Infrastructure conceived and implemented a program to build a depth of leadership that will insure the company’s growth and profitability well into the future. Called the Leadership Intensive, it selects the most dedicated and committed people in its operating units and provides them with an 18-month program of training designing to grow and hone their leadership skills.
Among American Infrastructure’s projects was the completion of the largest highway construction project ever awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Route 202/I-76/422 interchange. The project, started in 2001, came in ahead of schedule, earning two milestone bonuses and a citation from Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. It also won the Award for Construction Excellence from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors.
Ross, a 1972 civil engineering graduate of Virginia Tech, and his wife Beth are the parents of six children. He is a former member of the College of Engineering’s Via Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering’s Advisory Board. In his spare time, he enjoys restoring and collecting antique cars and racing vintage sports cars.
John R. Lawson II / W. M. Jordan Company, Inc.
In 1958, William M. Jordan and Robert T. Lawson founded W. M. Jordan Company, Inc. With its corporate headquarters in Newport News, Va., and its regional office in Richmond, Va., the firm employs nearly 400 people making it the largest construction company based in Virginia.
John R. Lawson II, a 1975 geophysics alumnus of Virginia Tech, is the president and chief executive officer. Under his leadership, W.M. Jordan Co., has enjoyed annual revenues exceeding $360 million and a ranking in Engineering News Record’s Top 400 Contractors in the U.S. for the past 25 years.
W.M. Jordan is committed to the relentless pursuit of excellence. This commitment is the foundation of a corporate culture based on trust, integrity, and responsibility, with an emphasis on quality, fiscal responsibility, and mutual respect.
W. M. Jordan provides comprehensive construction services, including construction management and design build, to clients in a wide variety of businesses. Its clients represent a wide range of markets including healthcare, senior living, education, museums, commercial, hospitality, and government facilities. The Hampton Roads Convention Center of Hampton, Va., the Ferguson Center for the Arts at Christopher Newport University of Newport News, Va., the Louise Obici Memorial Replacement Hospital of Suffolk, Va., and the Patrick Henry Building of Richmond, Va., are just a few of its most recent projects.
Lawson is a member of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and chair of its Buildings and Grounds Committee. He received the Ernst and Young Virginia Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2004, the Lenora Mathews Lifetime Achievement Award from the Volunteer Hampton Roads in 2003, and the United Way Volunteer of the Year Award in 1997.
He is married to the former Paige Zemany of Virginia Beach and they have three children: Taylor, Tess and Jack.
Additional information on the proposed Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech can be found here.
