Capital Planning and Projects Announcement from Jay Wasson

Over the last few years, Administrative Operations (AO), grounded in our guiding principles of safe, reliable and transformative, has strengthened our focus on our people through intentional leadership development and succession planning across key roles within the organization. Our collective charge is to develop, retain and promote strong leaders into areas of progressive responsibility to ensure the sustained success of AO and its embedded departments. In this light, I am pleased to provide this update specific to our capital planning and development functions.

Effective July 1, Campus Planning and Architecture (CPA) and Capital Asset Management (CAM) will merge into a new department of Capital Planning and Projects (CPP). The new department will retain the responsibilities of the previous groups but will be structured to sustain our momentum and further integrate our planning and project-delivery professionals. This change will also solidify our strategic support for development efforts on our Indianapolis campus. These organizational changes will be implemented through the following leadership appointments and role transitions:

Jim Keefe will be promoted to executive director of Capital Planning and Projects, leading this newly formed department. Jim’s responsibility will be to lead and be accountable for this integrated, cross-functional team through the spectrum of capital project development, from conception through occupancy. The planning and asset management functions are most often where projects are defined and prioritized. Project funding and approvals are carefully coordinated through close collaboration with the offices of fiscal planning and analysis, government affairs and Purdue for Life. Project delivery occurs through collaboration among architecture, engineering, project management and construction staff, and through partnerships with private-sector service providers.

Ken Jacobs will be promoted to senior director of Project Management and Construction. Ken will lead the project management and construction team for all projects at the West Lafayette and Purdue Northwest campuses, while also providing support for project work at the Purdue campus in Indianapolis.

Robert Smith will be promoted to senior director of Asset Management. Robert will oversee the engineering and asset management groups with primary responsibilities including capital project support, stewardship and Purdue’s R&R program.

Don Petersen will become the director of Project Management and Construction for Indianapolis. Don will lead Purdue’s project management and construction activities at Purdue’s Indianapolis location.

Please join me in congratulating these individuals as they assume their expanded roles. I am confident that this realignment will maintain our positive momentum and position us well for future successes by working together to power Purdue through the study, programming, design and construction of a physical campus environment that will support education, discovery and service to our state, nation and world community.

Jay Wasson
Vice President for Physical Facilities and Chief Public Safety Officer