Ian Smith, director of facilities at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, will join Kenyon College as vice president for facilities, planning and sustainability on Feb. 1, 2020.
In this newly configured position, Smith will oversee campus planning and maintenance, new construction and commercial property management and development. He will report to President Sean Decatur and serve as a member of senior staff.
“We were excited when Ian emerged in our pool of candidates for director of facilities operations,” said President Decatur. “When [Chief Business Officer] Mark Kohlman shared his plans to move on from Kenyon, we saw an opportunity to integrate campus planning and environmental sustainability at the senior leadership level. Ian brings the mix of expertise, experience and leadership needed to make progress on our carbon commitment.”
“I am humbled, challenged and inspired by the opportunity to walk Middle Path every day, both literally and through collaboration with the Kenyon community in stewarding the College’s phenomenal physical environment,” said Smith. “Our collective journey to a carbon-neutral future Kenyon will provide many opportunities to deepen existing relationships, both within the College and with our surrounding community partners.”
At Earlham, Smith oversees both facilities operations and capital projects, heading a team of more than 50 full-time and seasonal employees. He led the development of Earlham’s first-ever comprehensive campus facilities condition assessment and the College’s 2015 campus master plan. He managed a $70-million construction program, including four LEED-certified projects. Smith guided the development and execution of a campus-wide energy conservation project and is co-leading the planning of a solar power project that will meet 80 percent of Earlham’s energy needs.
“Kenyon’s campus is among the most beautiful in America,” said Chair of the Board of Trustees Brackett Denniston ’69, “and it’s critically important that those tasked with stewarding it do so with the next hundred years in mind. Ian has the experience and expertise to preserve the rare harmony of nature, architecture and village that distinguishes this community from so many others.”
Prior to joining Earlham, Smith was director of facilities at Emma Willard School, one of the oldest private schools for girls in the U.S.; its upstate-New York campus is on the National Historic Register. He served as town engineer for the Town of Milton, Vermont, and as a project engineer for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, the largest U.S. Department of Energy science and energy lab. Smith began his engineering career in the Navy, as a commissioned officer in the Civil Engineer Corps, or “Seabees.”
Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Princeton University and a master’s degree in engineering management from Dartmouth College. He is an accredited professional through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, and is a licensed professional engineer in his home state of Vermont.
As part of the restructuring, some auxiliary functions currently handled by Kohlman will be managed by Vice President for Finance Todd Burson. The director of facilities operations — a search that is ongoing — and the maintenance department will report to Smith.