Built to Last
Believed to be the first three-generation family in the history of KU’s CEAE department, the Gibbs family’s connection to KU Civil Engineering dates back to the 1960s. With careers in public service and contributions to infrastructure and site development in the Kansas City area, the family has been planning and designing parts of Kansas City for the last 60 years.
Following duty in the U.S. Public Health Service, Phil Gibbs Sr. founded Continental Consulting Engineers in 1976, and currently operates offices in Leawood and Kansas City, Kansas. The engineering firm is family-founded and family-operated.
“Having a family business is the American dream and is just the best,” said Phil Gibbs Sr. “The family deeply cares about the quality of services provided to clients as well as the success of the people we employ.”
His son, Phil Gibbs Jr., is an integral part of Continental, as is his daughter, Susan, and his wife, Kathy. Phil Jr.’s early summer internships started with painting of the office walls as the business expanded into additional office space. He later assisted on the land surveying crew, which came in handy when it came time to take the Surveying class at KU and led to him being asked to teach the laboratory portion of that class for five semesters as an undergraduate student.
Since joining the company full-time in 1994, Phil Jr. has worked to create iconic landmarks in the Kansas City area, and that work has transformed and created a lasting impact. “We helped the community win the speedway for the state of Kansas when there was a competition for it to perhaps be built in Missouri. We provided the City of Kansas City, Kansas, with support related to existing infrastructure capacities, project siting, and cost estimating assistance to determine the viability of the project. These quick services helped win the project for KCK and Kansas,” said Phil Gibbs Jr. “The Village West tourism district, which we designed as a result of Kansas Speedway coming to the area, now represents over 10% of the property value of Wyandotte County.”
Phil Jr.’s daughter, Mandy Gibbs, is currently a senior in CEAE and is the latest addition to the Gibbs generations. She has grown up around civil engineering and the projects Continental designed.
“I went into civil engineering because of my dad and grandfather,” said Mandy Gibbs. “I grew up watching them work on projects, hearing their discussions about infrastructure design, and visiting sites as they opened. I found it fascinating that they were working on something on paper, and then you could see its impact in real life.”
As the current president of the KU American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter, Mandy Gibbs is honing her leadership skills, but takes the most pride in increasing student engagement numbers and mentoring younger members. “The past few years, we’ve seen an increase in membership, interest in attending meetings, and competing at the annual Mid-America ASCE Symposium,” said Mandy. “It’s really been fun to see how everyone enjoys ASCE. Each time I’ve attended the Symposium competition, it’s been wonderful to see how the younger members get excited about Civil Engineering the same way I did as an underclassman. Now, serving as a mentor to some of our younger members has been rewarding and a tribute to those older members who guided me.”
For Mandy, civil engineering is a rewarding experience since it shapes the infrastructure people depend upon every day. “As civil engineers, you have a direct impact on citizens of society and the community around you,” Mandy Gibbs said. “I think it’s really cool that we help design and build infrastructure that the public utilizes daily.”
Phil Gibbs Sr. describes civil engineering similarly: “Civil engineering follows orderly design requirements and codified laws for the protection of the public.”
With plans to earn a master’s in civil engineering and a future in her family’s business, Mandy Gibbs is planning for a career path that blends education, ambition, and tradition. “I look forward to working with my dad and grandpa eventually,” said Mandy. “Right now, I’m planning on attending graduate school for the next couple of years to earn a master’s in civil engineering with a transportation emphasis.”
This complements well the existing Gibbs family education with Phil Gibbs Sr. earning his Master’s in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Structures and Phil Jr.’s earning his Master’s in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering.
“My proudest accomplishment is that Mandy’s going to follow in my footsteps,” said Phil Gibbs Jr. “When you have kids, that’s what you dream of. My other objective is to use my talents to do good things for my community, which I feel like I have done.”
The lineage of civil engineers in the Gibbs family highlights their dedication to their Kansas City community, and their influence has helped shape infrastructure for the community's good. And it is a direct result of the CEAE department at the University of Kansas.