The UH Facilities Forum is an annual two-day event specifically targeted at all UH System’s facilities leaders and the key partners on their teams.
The Forum provides relevant presentations on topics of concern and interest to today’s higher education facilities leaders. Associate Vice Chancellor/Associate Vice President David Oliver said, “The time we spend together during the forum builds our knowledge base and helps to encourage the continuous development of new ideas. We intentionally had each university present topics because they all have a vast amount of experiences from which we can learn and grow.”
A total of nine workshops were presented with the first workshop including UHCL President Ira Blake. Dr. Blake kicked-off the gathering with an inspiring message on the influence and dedication of facilities support within universities.
This was the third year for the Facilities Forum and each year brings new logistical challenges to overcome. “We started brainstorming in the fall of 2019 by gathering ideas from the UHS Facilities key leaders. In January, it was time to work on the logistics which changed multiple times due to the current environment of a pandemic. We were unable to meet face-to-face but we were able to invite more individuals and present to an even wider audience.” said Program Director 2, Jennifer Rea. Rea led the amazing Facilities Forum event planning team which was able to overcome multiple challenges as the event evolved.
The expanded attendance at this year’s event included inviting UH Building Coordinators. Carrie Miller, the Building Coordinator for Cullen Performance Hall, attended the Facilities Forum and stated that she “loved the diversity of presenters from all over the system and beyond.”
Project Manager Michael Flowers joined the University of Houston Facilities/Construction management department in 2020 and was pleased with the content presented. “While there were some technical difficulties and, I personally did feel engaged. The material was definitely interesting, especially for someone "newer” to the University. Learning how other campuses' do things and how we'll lead going forward is one of my best takeaways.”
Facilities/Construction Management thanks all of the participants who engaged during the forum with a special thanks to the hard work and dedication to the planning committee and presenters. Facilities/Construction Management looks forward to many more UHS Facility Forums.