Lines are drawn but some are unclear

Building Operating Management, Nov 1998 by Emmert, Mark

Lines are drawn but some are unclear

What is your role in capital projects?

In my role as chancellor, key members of all the capital projects at the University of Connecticut report directly to me. This means working with a variety of different people across the university system, and providing a leadership role on the integration of the master plan and the phasing of the projects. I also make the decisions on final designs and scheduling of projects. I turn all this information over to our facility professionals, but I stay very close to it on a weekly basis.

How do you manage this?

I created a number of management teams, the dominant one, of course, is the buildings and grounds team, which includes the university architect, vice chancellor for academic administration, vice chancellor for business administration, vice chancellor for student affairs, vice provost for undergraduate education and a technical support person from the university architect's office. The team's role is to look at the all the significant facility decisions and opportunities that are before us, review those and conduct inquiries, and then bring their recommendations to me.

Where is the line drawn between administration and the facility staff?

On small-scale issues, I just let them make the decisions and move forward. On large-scale issues, such as siting decisions, allocation of resources, sequencing and final design - all those wind up on my desk. There are gray areas, and I think that is healthy, as long as there is trust and mutual confidence in each other's abilities.

How do you instill this trust and confidence?

First, facility staff needs to know that we have good lines of communication and that we understand each others expectations. Second, the members of the management team need to know that if they strongly disagree, they can speak their mind and get a fair hearing. And when they have to make hard decisions, especially with resource allocation issues where there are always winners and losers, they have to know I will support them. It is easier for me to develop confidence in them, because they are producing tangible results. It is harder for them to develop confidence in me because what I do is far less tangible.

What level of detail in information do you expect?

The facility staff brings me options and say, "Here are the options and here are the two we think are the strongest." Then they support their case and ask what I think. At this stage, I am not dealing with a lot of detail. I sometimes over step the boundaries. Like so many people on the planet, I will put in my two cents worth on subjects I don't know a bloody thing about. That's when eyes roll.

How important is it that the school acts as its own construction manager?

I think it is extraordinarily important. It has added a new sense of responsibility and ownership to facility issues that had been utterly absent. From the students on up to the president, we now know we have this responsibility. These are our buildings and our facilities, and not some amorphous bureaucrat's. It has been a transforming event for us.