diff --git a/ci/build_cpp.sh b/ci/build_cpp.sh
index f676d195ce..a4ac94907a 100755
--- a/ci/build_cpp.sh
+++ b/ci/build_cpp.sh
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ then
         cd papi/src
         export PAPI_BUILD=${build_dir}/papi
         mkdir -p "$PAPI_BUILD"
-        CC="${CC:-cc}" F77="${F77:-gfortran}" ./configure --prefix=${PAPI_BUILD}/install
+        CC="${CC:-cc}" F77="${F77:-gfortran}" ./configure --prefix="$PAPI_BUILD/install"
         make -j ${dashj} && make install
     fi
 fi