Colorado Mesa University employs 295 full-time faculty members. Within this faculty, there are two professors who share the same last name and the same field of study. Dr. Scott Bevill and Professor Kelly Bevill. The two are married and teach in the engineering field. Scott is a professor of mechanical engineering. Kelly is a professor of civil engineering. They are both part of the CMU-CU Boulder engineering program.
“We actually met in high school,” Kelly said.
Dr. Bevill graduated with a BA from the University of Denver and received his PhD from Stanford. Mrs. Bevill graduated with a BA from CU Boulder and received her Master’s at Cornell.
They married in 2010; that same year, they returned to Grand Junction and Scott began teaching at CMU.
Kelly was working as an engineering consultant at the time. Then in 2011, she joined the CMU faculty as a professor in Construction Management.
“I don’t think she expected to work at CMU,” Scott said. “But a position opened up the following year that aligned with her expertise. It was too good to say no to.”
Kelly worked in the Construction Management field for a few years until recently. She is now a civil engineering professor. CMU recently added civil engineering courses to the CMU-CU Boulder program. She was the first faculty member to teach any civil engineering classes.
Although the two may work in similar field and are employed by CMU, they do not often see each other during work hours. Currently, the main engineering building, the Archeleta Engineering Center (AEC), is not on the main CMU campus. With only a few miles apart, it still separates the couple for most work hours.
“We are often working in different buildings, or even on different campuses, so physically proximity really hasn’t been beneficial,” Kelly said.
However, CMU is adding an engineering building to the main campus.
“We don’t typically see each other during the day. When the new engineering building opens next year, we expect that to change,” Kelly said.
The two engineering professors have two daughters. Madeline is four, and Audrey is two.
“We do have similar work schedules and with two kids, we often find ourselves working at home,” Kelly said.
“It’s impossible to keep work and home life completely separate, especially when we teach some of the same courses,” Scott said. “We have embraced it for the most part and even started working on a collaborative research project.”
Scott is currently researching biomechanics. He is interested in orthopedic biomechanics specifically. With the help of students and Kelly, he has produced some research on the progression of osteoarthritis.
The Bevill’s have shared a common interest in engineering since college. With the new engineering building on the main CMU campus, the two will be able to work more closely together.
