David Frazier has joined Hardaway Construction Corp., which built Featheringill Hall and other Vanderbilt University projects, as president and operations manager.
Frazier, a graduate of the School of Engineering’s Engineering & Construction Management Program (ME ’09), previously served more than 12 years as senior construction manager at Nashville-based builder D.F. Chase.
Frazier brings to Hardaway both engineering and construction experience, and has overseen projects including high-rise hotels, educational facilities and industrial buildings.
Hardaway is a third-generation, family-owned Nashville firm that is no stranger to the Vanderbilt campus. The Featheringill Hall project involved demolition of one building and extension renovations to two others to create a three-story complex with 60,000 square feet of classroom space, research labs, public spaces, a prominent atrium, and a 120-seat lecture hall with multimedia capabilities.
Additionally, Hardaway was involved in the University Commons Center Dining Hall, which was the first educational facility to achieve LEED Gold certification in Tennessee; the restoration of historic Alumni Hall; and restoration of and additions to the Social Religious Building, which is listed as a National Historic Landmark.
Stan Hardaway will remain in a leadership role with the company, acting as CEO, the company said in a statement.
“David has been trusted with enormous responsibility in his career in the Navy and in the construction industry,” Hardaway said in the statement. “His appointment at Hardaway Construction is a continuance of the trust he has earned based on his leadership skills, industry experience, work ethic, and intellect. I am fully confident in David to lead our company into its next chapter as we approach our 95-year anniversary.”
Frazier, who holds a Tennessee contractor’s license and is LEED accredited, also graduated from the United States Naval Academy, where he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
He was awarded his aviator wings from the Naval Aviation Flight School in Pensacola, Florida, and served as a naval aviator and mission commander, leading as the pilot-in-command of a P-3C Orion patrol aircraft. He later became a naval command pilot transporting foreign dignitaries and Navy senior leadership to global locations.
While earning his master’s degree at Vanderbilt School of Engineering, Frazier was a full-time working project manager. In a prior interview, he praised the Construction Management program for adding competitive depth to his own portfolio.
“The CM program has given me a broad knowledge of projects that my peers don’t have. The program has allowed me to be more in line with an executive level of knowledge and understanding,” he said.
Other high-profile Hardaway projects include the Tennessee State Capitol, the Metropolitan Courthouse of Nashville and Davidson County, the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center and the Belmont University Curb Event Center.