Thweatt returns as facilities head at CU-Boulder

Steve Thweatt

Steve Thweatt, the CU-Boulder campus architect and director of planning, design and construction from 1994 to 2007, has returned to the university as executive director of Facilities Management. Thweatt will provide strategic leadership and administrative oversight for capital planning, design and construction, sustainability, engineering, physical plant operations, campus utilities and campus logistics.

His appointment is effective Aug. 1. He comes from Emory University, where he is associate vice president of planning, design and construction.

“Steve provided excellent leadership in his previous role as director of planning, design and construction,” said Interim Vice Chancellor for Administration Jeff Lipton. “He led significant facility developments, including ATLAS, Wolf Law and Koelbel Business, and had a demonstrated focus on customer service.”

The Facilities Management organization has approximately 500 employees with an annual operating budget of more than $57 million, Lipton said. The department also manages a $548 million, five-year capital development program and a $5 million annual facilities renewal program.

Before his positions at CU-Boulder and Emory University, Thweatt worked at Duke University as director of the facilities design office and assistant dean of facilities from 1988 to 1994.

“It has been an extraordinary privilege to work on three of the most beautiful campuses in the country -- Duke, CU-Boulder and Emory,” Thweatt said. “Returning to CU affords me the unique opportunity to compare the best practices of these great institutions and capitalize on the best of each.”

Thweatt, who received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Louisiana State University in 1974, is a registered architect and past board member and president of the Association of University Architects. He is a faculty member of the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers Institute for Facilities Management and authored several chapters in the Higher Education Facilities Management Manual published by the association.

The executive director position was last held by Lipton, who left the post in 2006. At that time the position was left unfilled as a cost-saving measure, but a recent operational review determined the position is an important element in providing overall direction for critical campus operations.