Facilities management administrator to head industry association

Contact: Deanne Puca
Photo of Peter Strazdas.

Strazdas

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University's Peter Strazdas has won the vote to become president-elect of a leading industry association of facilities professionals at educational institutions.

Strazdas, WMU's associate vice president for facilities management, currently serves as secretary-treasurer for the APPA-Leadership in Educational Facilities—formerly known as the Association of Physical Plant Administrators—which represents 5,200 educational facility professionals at more than 1,500 institutions throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and abroad. He will assume the role of president-elect July 22 during APPA's annual conference and 100th anniversary celebration in San Diego, California. He will become APPA president in August 2015.

Peter Strazdas

Strazdas has been involved with APPA for two decades. Additionally, he is a past president of the Michigan APPA chapter and has served on the Midwest regional organization. He has been a conference speaker several times for these organizations as well as conference speaker at events held by the Construction Owners Association of America, Canadian Association of University Business Officers, American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, and Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

His leadership within APPA includes service as its membership chairman, leading efforts to successfully increase the number of APPA member institutions and improving engagement and participation of facilities professionals in APPA's programs and services.

"I am honored and humbled to be elected by my peers," Strazdas says. "Educational facility officers in Canada, United States, Mexico, and around the globe play a critical role in transforming institutions into more inviting and supportive learning environments. These are exciting and challenging times for education as we design and build the future facility learning environment and maintain very expensive assets that will result in a better quality of life for citizens."