Cedric McGhee Square- March 2025

Cedric L. McGhee, P.E.

  • Chair
  • ACT-SO
  • NSBE President Emeritus
  • Civil Engineer
  • The Ohio State University, BS
  • University of Dayton, MS

Cedric McGhee grew up as a resident of the Five Oaks neighborhood just a block north of the current Dayton NAACP Headquarters. With the help of many, Mr. McGhee earned a BS degree in Civil Engineering at The Ohio State University in 1996, and a MS degree from the University of Dayton in 2004. In 2007, Mr. McGhee earned a professional engineer’s license from the Ohio State Board of Registered Engineer’s and Surveyors. Mr. McGhee currently works as an assistant bridge engineer for the Montgomery County Engineer’s Office. Mr. McGhee has spent over 29 years in the industry. Mr. McGhee has spent many of his off-work hours in volunteerism. Early on, he devoted time to Project Reach Ministries and Aspire Church for several years prior to 2008. This prepared Mr. McGhee for his volunteer work today as the ACT-SO (Afro-Academic Cultural Technological and Scientific Olympics) Chair. 

In 2008, Mr. McGhee was introduced to the NAACP ACT-SO Program by former Chairlady Linda Bolds and by current ACT-SO co-chair, Sylvan Davis. Mr. McGhee is passionate about mentoring his students’ success in life even beyond ACT-SO. With some encouragement, he’s seen ACT-SO students grow and improve academically, spiritedly, and emotionally. No achievement medal is bigger than seeing how students increase their self-esteem and confidence from one year to the next. In 2016, Mr. McGhee earned the 2016 Dayton Unit- Youth Empowerment Award. As treasurer for the Dayton Branch NAACP (2017-2020), Mr. McGhee kept good stewardship of the budget under the leadership of Dr. Derrick L. Foward.

Mr. McGhee is also currently, President Emeritus of the National Society of Black Engineers-Dayton Professionals, (NSBE) (Member 2014-present). Mr. McGhee served as President from (2016-2018). In NSBE, Mr. McGhee mentored/tutored high school youth in mathematics thru the Academic Achievement Program at Thurgood Marshall High School in 2015-2016. NSBE Professionals volunteered with various events such as TechFest, Junior LEGO League, and hosted Professional Development Seminars for college engineering students.

Mr. McGhee also serves on the Board for the African-American Visual Arts Guild, (AAVAG). Mr. McGhee is a freelance artist and joined the group to sharpen his skills. Mr. McGhee has participated in art exhibitions located in the Central State-West Dayton Gallery, and also participated in travelling exhibits which included locations such as Dayton Metro Library, UD Fitz Center, and Springboro Performing Arts Center.

In 2025, Mr. McGhee was inducted as a 2025 Top Ten African-American Alum recognized by Dayton Parity, Inc. This honor culminates all the volunteerism work above.

In his spare time, Mr. McGhee likes jogging/ training for 10ks to Half marathons. He likes to grill BBQ and watch his favorite football team, The Ohio State Buckeyes. Mr. McGhee also enjoys travelling.