Bio
Mike Toole has been an entrepreneurial and interdisciplinary leader in the military, industry and academia. He is currently the Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Toledo. The College’s enrollment is ~2800 undergraduate and ~250 graduate (master’s and PhD) students. There are six academic departments offering 22 degree programs, ~70 full-time faculty, ~35 part-time instructors, a dedicated Career Development Center that places ~1500 full-time co-ops per year, and an industrial testing and research center. Four faculty deliver a BS in Computer Science Engineering program at the Lorain County Community College campus. Research expenditures average $10M per year, including by seven research engineers who work full-time at the NASA Glenn Research Center.
Before becoming a Dean at UToledo in August 2017, Dr. Toole spent 18 years at Bucknell University, where his positions included Associate Dean of Engineering, Professor of Civil and Env. Engineering, Director of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program, and Director of the Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management. A professional engineer since 1987, Toole received a B.S. in Civil Eng. from Bucknell University, and an M.S. in Civil Eng. and Ph.D. in Technology Strategy from M.I.T. His scholarship focuses on Prevention through Design, in which designers explicitly consider the safety of construction and maintenance workers, and he initiated and maintains http://www.designforconstructionsafety.org.
Previous employment includes serving as a Company Commander in a Seabee Battalion and Asst. Resident Officer in Charge of Construction with U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps, Purchasing Manager with Ryland Homes, and Vice President with a multidisciplinary engineering firm.
Toole’s current board memberships include the Executive Board of the American Society for Engineering Education Engineering Deans Council, the Toledo Society of Professional Engineers, the Better Business Bureau of NW Ohio and SE Michigan, and he is the recent past Chair of the Ohio Engineering Deans Council. He served as Vice Chair of the ASCE/Construction Institute Prevention through Design Committee and the Site Safety Committee and as Co-Chair of the NIOSH NORA Construction Sector Council Prevention through Design workgroup. Past honors include being elected a Fellow within ASCE, receiving Best Paper awards from an ASCE journal and an ASCE conference, receiving the Class of 1956 Teaching Award, and being nominated by Bucknell for the U.S. Professor of the Year award. He is a member of the Order of the Engineer and six national honor societies.
Contact Information
My Linked In Page Work email: michael.toole@utoledo.edu Work mailing address: 5012 Nitschke Hall, Mail Stop 310 2801 W. Bancroft St. Toledo, Ohio 43606-3397
CVs and Bios
Select Presentations (since 2018)
Toole, T. M., “Ethics of Prevention through Design ASCE CI March 2023.” Construction Institute Summit, St. Louis, March 4, 2023.
Toole, T. M. “Toole Pittsburgh MBA AIA PtD presentation Feb 22.” Invited presentation to the AIA-Master Builder Association Pittsburgh Chapter Joint Committee, Feb. 22, 2023.
Toole, T. M. “Ethics of Prevention through Design ACPA.” Invited presentation at the American Concrete Pipe Association Conference, St. Louis, Feb. 9, 2023.
Toole, T.M. “Electronic Vehicles 101.” Presented at Opportunities for Northwest Ohio in Electric Vehicle Technology, hosted by the Toledo Chamber of Commerce, September 29, 2022.
Toole, T.M. “UToledo College of Engineering’s Pandemic Challenges and Successes.” Keynote presentation at the IEEE Toledo Section Institute Night, November 18, 2021.
Toole, T.M. and Relue, P. “UToledo’s Smart Mobility Journey.” Toledo Transportation Summit, hosted by the Regional Growth Partnership, November 16, 2021.
Toole, T. M. “Toole PtD presentation.” Western Council of Construction Consumers Safety Summit, May 19, 2021.
Toole, T. M. “Toole Ethical Issues in Marketing Bidding Negotiation.” Keynote presentation during the All-Ohio Engineering Conference (held virtually), June 11, 2021.
Toole, T. M. “Electric Vehicles 101 and how the Toledo Region can benefit.” Invited presentation to select group of Toledo regional leaders from industry and government convened by Rep. M. Kaptur, March 22, 2021.
Toole, T. M. “Toole Applying NSPE Code of Ethics to Campus Reopening” and “Toole EFO Ethics ASCE comparison.” Presentations during the Engineers Foundation of Ohio Professional Development Conference (virtual), November 6, 2020.
Toole, T. M. “Opportunities and Challenges for PtD Education.” Invited plenary presentation at the Arizona State University/NIOSH Prevention through Design Workshop, Tempe, AZ, Mar. 11, 2020.
Toole, T. M. “Achieving the Triple Bottom Line through Integrated Design and Construction.” Invited presentations at the FECON Project S.A.F.E. conference, Jacksonville, FL, Mar. 10, 2020 and the Florida Engineering Society annual conference, Marco Island, Aug. 3, 2018.
Toole, T. M. “Leveraging Industry Trends to Facilitate PtD Adoption.” Invited presentation at the Northern Ohio Chapter of ASSP Workshop Design-In-Safety for Sustainable Business Results, Oct. 11, 2019, Independence, OH.
“Introduction to Safety by Design in Electrical Construction.” Invited presentation to Toledo Chapter of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Sep. 25, 2019.
“Prevention through Design and the Triple Bottom Line,” Safety Council of Northwest Ohio, Maumee, OH, June 19, 2019.
“Integrated Lifecycle Engineering,” All Ohio Engineering Conference, Perrysburg, OH, June 7, 2019.
Toole, T. M. “Design for Safety and the Triple Bottom Line.” Engineers Foundation of Ohio Fall Professional Development Conference, Powell, OH, Nov. 2, 2018.
Toole, T.M., “Prevention through Design.” 2018 Pennsylvania Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health Conference, Oct. 29 and 30, 2018, Hershey PA.
T. M. Toole. “Using Prevention through Design to Achieve Project Safety Goals.” Project Management Institute, Western Lake Erie Chapter. University of Toledo. Sep. 11, 2018.
Toole, T. M. “Implementing Prevention through Design to Achieve Life-Cycle Safety.” Invited presentation at SSOE Group, Toledo, OH, July 26, 2018.
Publications
(those with links to non-copyrighted text files)
Refereed Journal Articles
Toole, T. M. and Erger, K. (2018). “Prevention through Design: Promising or Perilous?” ASCE Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)LA.1943-4170.0000284.
Gambatese, J. A., T. M. Toole and D. Abowitz (2017). “Barriers to Prevention through Design.” J. of Construction Engineering and Management. DOI 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001296.
Toole, T. M., J. A. Gambatese and D. Abowitz (2016). “Owners’ Role in Facilitating Prevention through Design.” J. of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice. DOI 10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000295.
Toole, T. M. and G. Carpenter (2013). “Prevention through Design as a Path Towards Social Sustainability.” J. of Architectural Engineering 19(3):169-173.
Toole, T. M., M. R. Hallowell, and P. S. Chinowsky (2013). “A Tool for Enhancing Innovation in Construction Organizations.” Engineering Projects Organization Journal 3(1):32-50.
Toole, T., M. P. Heckel, and M. R. Hallowell (2013). “Public and Organizational Policy: A Key Factor Enabling Prevention through Design.” Professional Safety 58(1):41-49.
Toole, T. M. (2011). “Internal Impediments to ASCE Vision 2025.” Leadership and Management in Engineering 11(2):197-207.
Abowitz, D. and T. M. Toole (2010). “Mixed Method Research: Fundamental Issues of Design, Validity and Reliability in Construction Research.” J. of Construction Engineering and Management 136(1): 108-116.
Hallowell, M. R. and T. M. Toole (2009). “A Contemporary Design-Bid-Build Model.” J. of Construction Engineering and Management 135(6): 540-549.
Toole, T. M. and J. Gambatese (2008). “The Trajectories of Construction Prevention through Design.” J. of Safety Research 39(2): 225-230.
Toole, T. M. (2007). “Design Engineers’ Responses to Safety Situations.” J. of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice 133(2): 126-131.
Toole, T. M. (2005). “Increasing Engineers’ Role in Construction Safety: Opportunities and Barriers.” J. of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice 131(3): 199-207.
Toole, T. M. (2002). “Construction Site Safety Roles.” J. of Construction Engineering and Management 128(3): 203-210.
Toole, T. M. (2001). “The Technological Trajectories of Construction Innovation.” J. of Architectural Engineering 7(4): 107-114.
Toole, T. M. (1998). “Uncertainty and Homebuilders’ Adoption of Technological Innovations.” J. of Construction Engineering and Management 124(4): 323-332.
Refereed Proceedings
(since 2008, excludes papers that were expanded into published journal papers)
Toole, T. M. and J. A. Gambatese (2017). “Levels of Implementation of Prevention through Design in the United States.” Proceedings of the CIB W099 and TG59 International Safety, Health, and People in Construction Conference, Cape Town, South Africa, June 11-13, 2017.
Toole, T. M. (2016). “Strengthening Sustainability Rating Credit for Off-Site Construction.” Proc. of the 2016 Modular and Offsite Construction (MOC) Summit, Univ. of Alberta, Canada.
Hallowell, M.R., J.A. Gambatese, and T.M. Toole (2008). “A Systems Model of Construction Innovation.” Proc. of the 2008 Conference for Leadership and Management in Engineering, October 2008.
Selected Non-Refereed Publications
Toole, T. M. (2018). “PEs should Pursue Integrated Lifecycle Engineering.” PE. Published by the National Society of Professional Engineers. May/June. Page 8.
Toole, T. M. (2017). “Adding Prevention through Design to Civil Engineering Educational Programs.” J. of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice. DOI 10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000344
Toole, T. M. and J. Gambatese (2014). “Prevention through Design: a Path to Social Sustainability.” COAA Owner’s Perspective Fall/Winter 2014. Pages 22-25.
Toole, T. M., J. Gambatese and D. Abowitz (2011). “Owners’ Role in Facilitating Designing for Construction Safety.” Research report published by the CPWR/NIOSH.
Toole, T. M. and R. Marshall (2006). “Designing for Geoconstruction Safety.” Invited paper presented at the ASCE “Trends Affecting the Geo-Community” workshop held in Reston, VA December 5-8, 2006.
Toole, T. M., N. Hervol and M. Hallowell (2006). “Designing for Construction Safety.” Modern Steel Construction 46(6): 55-59.
Toole, T. M. and J. Gambatese (2002). “A Primer on the Federal OSHA Standards.” ASCE Practice Periodical in Structural Design and Construction. 7(2): 56-60.
Toole, T. M. (2002). “A Comparison of Site Safety Policies of Construction Industry Trade Groups.” ASCE Practice Periodical in Structural Design and Construction. 7(2): 90-95.
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