Phone: 828-227-2439
Email: jpatterson@email.wcu.edu
Office Address: Belk 231

Education:

• Ph.D., Heriot-Watt University
• M.S.C.M., Clemson University
• B.S., Clemson University
• A.S., Piedmont Technical College

About Dr. Patterson:

Dr. John E. Patterson brings to Western Carolina University a wealth of practical and academic experience: 20 years of residential and commercial construction and 19 years of part- and full-time teaching. Dr. Patterson’s construction career began while in high school. He started as a laborer and did odd jobs around a construction site and advanced to carpenter after completing high school. He managed projects and eventually became co-owner of a residential construction firm. As co-owner, his major duties included estimating, scheduling, and procuring new contracts in addition to performing hands-on activities at the job site.

While working full-time, Dr. Patterson earned a one-year degree in Machine Tool Technology and an Associate Degree in Building Construction Technology from Piedmont Technical College, South Carolina. He continued his education by earning a B.S. Degree in Industrial Education and an M.S. Degree in Construction Management from Clemson University. After completing his Master's Degree, he was accepted as a Ph.D. degree candidate at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland in the University’s School of Built Environment. The Doctor of Philosophy Degree was awarded to him in July 2006.

Dr. Patterson’s teaching career began at the high school level (South Carolina) where he taught masonry. Later he accepted an appointment as an instructor in the Building Construction Technology Department at Piedmont Technical College and subsequently was appointed department chairperson. In addition to his full-time teaching responsibilities at Piedmont Technical College, he also served as an adjunct professor at Georgia Southern University in the Department of Construction Management. His next academic appointment was as department head of the Construction Program at Savannah Technical College, Georgia while continuing as an adjunct professor at Georgia Southern in the Department of Construction Management and Interior Design Program. In 2001 Dr. Patterson accepted an instructor's position in the Department of Construction Management at East Carolina University.

Dr. Patterson accepted an appointment as an associate professor in the Department of Construction Management at Western Carolina University in the fall of 2007. Dr. Patterson’s research interests are in the areas of quality systems for construction firms, sustainability of residential structures in hurricanes, and construction education.