Dale Rudick, P.E. - 2016 EAA Distinguished Alumni Award

Dale A. Rudick, P.E., (BSCE ’91) was appointed as the director of the Department of Public Works and Engineering for the City of Houston on Aug. 20, 2014. As the director, he is responsible for overseeing services to Houston citizens through the planning, operation, maintenance, construction management and technical engineering of the city's public infrastructure. The department’s responsibilities include operation and maintenance of the city’s streets and drainage, production and distribution of water, collection and treatment of wastewater, and permitting and regulation of public and private construction. The department is staffed with a trained workforce of over 3,700 employees and operates with an annual budget of nearly $2 billion. Rudick has an extensive background in municipal government. He worked for the City of Sugar Land for more than 18 years while the population nearly tripled. He served as City Engineer until 2006. Then, from 2006 to 2011, he formed and built an Intergovernmental Relations Department where he worked directly with local, state and federal elected officials on regional issues. His efforts in Austin and Washington, D.C. included matters such as securing additional capital funding, gaining representation on a local Water Authority and – for the first time in Texas history – closing a state prison. He was hired by Mayor Annise Parker in September of 2011 as the ReBuild Houston Executive and served as Deputy Director of Public Works and Engineering. Prior to his public sector service, he worked for a road and bridge contractor in Houston. Rudick came to Houston in 1987 and is a proud University of Houston graduate with a degree in civil engineering from the Cullen College. He also has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He resides in Houston and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.