Retired CH2M senior vice president honored as a Distinguished Alumni

Denver — Richard J. Bedard, P.E., was recently inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of the UMASS Amherst Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Bedard was one of fourteen members of the inaugural class. Bedard is a native of Athol, Mass., a 1969 graduate of Mount Wachusett Community College and a 1973 Graduate of UMASS Amherst Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.

After graduation, Bedard joined Gordon Ainsworth and Associates (now CT Male) in South Deerfield, Mass. Over nine years he progressed to be the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the 50-person Civil Engineering firm. During this time, he was Alumni Advisor to the UMASS ASCE Student Chapter and President of the Western Massachusetts Branch of the Boston Society of Civil Engineers.

Bedard joined CH2M in Boca Raton, Fla., in 1981 as a project manager. He managed four different regions for CH2M over the next 20 years from Florida to New England, leading major water and wastewater client projects, as well as leading major project and program teams in US cities such as Baton Rouge, Cleveland, Chicago, Miami, Loudoun County, Va., and New York City.

In 2000, Bedard began the first of various global roles, leading the firm’s Global Wastewater Team for five years, and then the Global Program Management Team another five years. Internationally, he led the winning and startup of major wastewater programs in London, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Singapore and Australia.

For UMASS, Bedard has served as a member of the CEE Advisory Committee for the past 25 years, also serving seven years as Chairman from 1998 to 2005.

Bedard retired from fulltime service in 2010, but still consults to CH2M with major East Coast clients.

He and his wife of 46 years, Susan, are devoted to their three sons, their wives and seven grandchildren.