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By Mel Groves
Smith. Photo: UVic Photo Services When did you join UVic and what is your background?
I started at UVic in November 2008 and feel very fortunate to have been selected for this position. It’s not often you get to step into a role where the things that are important to you personally are also the things that are important to the institution. For me, those are issues such as sustainability, and practices such as consultation, collaboration and transparency. I’m happy and proud to be here.
Before joining UVic, I was the director of capital management with the provincial Ministry of Education. Prior to that, I was chief of operations with the Upper Grand District School Board in Guelph, Ontario, for many years and also worked in municipal operations for the City of Cambridge.
How would you describe your role within Facilities Management?
I’m here to support the great people we have in the department, who are doing good work and providing high levels of customer service. My staff implement projects once funding has been approved by the vice-president finance and operations, so my role is to oversee those projects and make sure we’re meeting the needs of our clients.
I manage the operating budget and staffing for the department, which includes janitorial, grounds, shops and administrative areas, as well as capital construction.
What are some of the department’s current projects?
One of the initiatives I’m most proud of is the university’s commitment to sustainability. I attended the Sustainability Summit organized by the Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability the first week I was here, and am pleased to see the good things UVic is already doing. I’m very supportive of the new Sustainability Policy and Sustainability Action Plan and excited by the number of sustainability initiatives Facilities Management can get involved with.
This spring we will be holding a workshop within the department to explore opportunities for reducing energy use and incorporating alternative energy sources on campus. Although UVic is mandated by the reporting requirements of the provincial Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy to reduce our carbon footprint, I believe we need to be proactive in looking for long-term solutions that will save energy and also have good payback. For example, our grounds staff have been working on a waste and recycling strategy to divert waste from the landfill that will be up and running in the 2009 budget year and will eventually move UVic to a state-of-the-art waste and recycling system.
Another major area for Facilities Management this year will be building renewal work funded through the federal/provincial infrastructure funding. In addition to the hundreds of minor capital projects our department carries out in a regular year, this new funding will allow UVic to replace systems and components in several of its older buildings. It’s going to be busy across campus, and the job of coordinating this work is going to be complex.
What are you looking forward to in the next few months?
Everywhere I go people have been welcoming, positive and optimistic. I am looking forward to changes within our department so that we can focus even more on making our operations efficient and customer-focused. We’re also looking at integrating the capital and operations sides of the departments to make our work more coordinated and more rewarding to everyone involved.
I look forward to meeting more people across campus, and ask for their patience as the building renewal projects pick up speed later this year. We will be communicating more detailed information to the campus community once the projects have been approved.
I also encourage any Facilities Management employee to drop in during my monthly “open door” office sessions to talk about any ideas or concerns they may have.
What do you like to do outside of your work life?
I’m an avid fly fisherman and am starting to explore the local rivers. My wife and I also enjoy the outdoors—hiking, cycling and kayaking—and have been getting to know the local parks and trails. I also enjoy old British sports cars.
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