I am pleased to announce that the Board of Governors has approved Vice-President (Facilities & Operations) Andrew Sharman's second five-year term, effective July 1, 2021.
Andrew joined the U of A in September 2016 and since then has provided exemplary leadership in Facilities & Operations, a diverse portfolio responsible for a range of essential services across our five campuses, including managing capital construction and renewals, utilities and energy management, and residential and campus services. Recently, we announced that several units will soon move under F&O, such as Campus Community Recreation, the U of A Botanic Garden, and the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic.
Andrew's strategic approach has changed how the university manages its infrastructure. Under Andrew's leadership, the university developed its first Integrated Asset Management Strategy (IAMS) which ensures that every decision impacting our buildings and grounds is furthering the university's strategic objectives and goals in For the Public Good.
Andrew was instrumental in securing capital funding to restore and expand the U of A's iconic Dentistry-Pharmacy Building. Construction is proceeding on time and on budget, and the building will become the university's "front door," housing a range of student and staff services, critical new academic learning spaces, as well as community gathering spaces.
Andrew and his team's goals are to maximize the use of good space, minimize the risk of critical building failures that would affect the university's core mission, and reduce the deferred maintenance burden. With the IAMS in place, Andrew and the F&O team's role in the U of A for Tomorrow initiative has been - and will continue to be - critical, particularly around reducing the university's footprint, decreasing the overall costs associated with that footprint, and driving new revenue, particularly through the land trust.
Over the last four years, Andrew has built an exceptional leadership team, who have embraced his open and transparent leadership culture throughout F&O. He is perennially visible, going out of his way to connect with every part of the portfolio - a trait staff from across F&O truly appreciate.
In addition to his work within F&O, for the last 10 months, Andrew has taken on the additional responsibility of executive lead of the U of A's COVID-19 Public Health Response Team. When the university moved into emergency operations last March, we were fortunate to be able to draw on his experience as a leading member of Alberta's Flood Recovery Task Force in 2013, as well as his expertise in logistics management honed during his 22-year career in the British Army. In these unprecedented times, he has been instrumental to ensuring the health and safety of our community, while also maintaining the U of A's critical operations through the COVID-19 emergency. As a new president arriving in the midst of this crisis, I have been extremely fortunate to work with Andrew in this capacity.
I want to thank the members of the Advisory Review Committee for the Vice-President (Facilities & Operations) for their time, efforts, and guidance. I am delighted that Andrew will continue to be part of the executive team as the U of A moves through a period of significant academic and administrative change. His strategic mindset, always focused on achieving the academic goals of the university, will be instrumental to our success.
Please join me in congratulating him on his reappointment.
Bill Flanagan
President and Vice-Chancellor