Gary Reynolds barely blinked before reciting his favorite project during a 10-year career managing UCCS construction and facilities maintenance.
“The Ent Center for the Arts is the crown jewel for the campus and for me personally,” Reynolds, associate vice chancellor campus planning and facilities management, Administration and Finance, said. “I’m glad I’ll be able to see that project through.”
Reynolds, 67, plans to retire from UCCS in January 2018, about the time the $70 million arts complex is finished. The project will culminate Reynold’s decade at UCCS and more than 45-year professional career, 36 of which have been in higher education construction and facilities management.
Susan Szpyrka, vice chancellor, Administration and Finance, will begin a search for Reynolds’ replacement before the end of the spring semester. The search will be national in scope with the goal of having someone in place by Nov. 1. That way, Reynolds and his successor will have the opportunity to work together to enable a smooth transition.
“Gary is a huge asset to the effective and efficient management of this campus,” Szpyrka said. “He will not be easy to replace. Our search will be both broad and deep. I ask the campus community to participate in the process, either as a member of the search committee or by sharing the opening with qualified individuals who fit UCCS.”
Reynolds joined UCCS in 2007 and led construction during the largest expansion since its founding in 1965. During his tenure, more than $300 million in construction took place as the campus added students, faculty and staff and needed living, office and classroom spaces. Meeting the facility needs of a growing campus, and being involved in first creating a facilities master plan, are career highlights.
“To do what you said you were going to do is immensely rewarding,” Reynolds said. “If you take a map from our master plan and overlay it against an aerial photograph of the campus, it’s a match.”
Other Reynolds highlights include working with Linda Kogan, director, Office of Sustainability, and project managers to implement Leadership in Energy Efficient Design standards in new construction. He also cited building and working with a team of professionals in campus construction, facilities maintenance, parking and transportation as personally rewarding. Reynolds also enjoyed a stint in the classroom where he taught heating and cooling design for the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
“I tell everyone who works in facilities they should attend commencement,” Reynolds said. “As those students walk across the stage, I want everyone to feel as though they had a little piece of each person’s success. That’s what kept me motivated all these years.”
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