Last semester, Facilities Management had a change in leadership with the hiring of a new Executive Director, Layne Maloney.Maloney said that the application and interview process for the position started in July and was a long process.
“I applied online directly to the university website and then I received a phone call to set up a phone interview, which I had,” Maloney said. “Then I went to have an in-person interview on campus, and then I had an essay question that was a possible facilities issue scenario… then I had five professional references that they checked and, actually Mr. Holstein [Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Michael Holstein] called each one of those personally.”
A search committee was formed to find the new Executive Director, according to Maloney. Maloney said that she was in constant contact with Holstein and that her background had moved the committee towards her.
“I think that one of the things that attracted them to me is that I have an educational background, but [that] I also have a corporate and industrial background in facilities,” Maloney said.
Maloney said that she found out that she was chosen for the position in Nov. and that she chose to wait to start until Dec., so that she could finish up some work at her previous job.
“I was with the Galen College of Nursing and I was heavily involved in some very large construction projects that they had there and I wanted to be able to transfer as much knowledge, and as much of all the deadlines, and all these things in planning that I had in place and get that successfully transferred before I left,” Maloney said.
Maloney was also the Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer at Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School. Maloney said that while she was there, she was involved with environmental sustainability projects involving the U.S. Green Build Council.
According to Maloney, one of the main reasons why she wanted to work at UIndy was due to the university’s mission and vision, and more specifically the Vision 2030 Plan and its incorporation of Facilities.
Maloney said that another reason why she came to UIndy is because she is from and currently resides in Indianapolis. She also said that she is ready for the changes that are happening to urban campuses.
“I’m very much excited about the direction that, overall, campuses, [the] students are wanting now,” Maloney said. “They’re wanting that urban experience and I know this is just a little bit on the outskirts, not exactly downtown, but it still has that urban feel and I think I see that a lot of students want, in their college experience… the reason they want the urban is because they want the university be part of a big part of their experience but not the whole of their experience. They want to be out and exploring the city and enjoying the benefits of being in a city.”
Maloney said that she likes that UIndy is a located in a city and that it’s enrollment is increasing. Maloney also said that she enjoys the energy that is present on campus.
“I like…that sense of community that I felt when I was on campus and that came, not only from the students, but even from faculty and staff who, as you walked around, [are] people who looked genuinely happy to be here,” Maloney said.
According to Maloney and Vice President for Communications and Marketing Jeanette DeDiemar, the departments that Maloney will oversee in Facilities includes building maintenance, construction projects, housekeeping, groundskeeping and the university’s receiving department, which handles the mail and packages that are delivered to UIndy. According to DeDiemar, most of Maloney’s job is involved with growing the campus and the environment that both current and prospective students see.
“We have the faculty that are responsible for delivering the education, and then you have Layne’s folks that are responsible for making sure that your environment is the best that it can possibly be…and preserving it for the future,” DeDiemar said.
Maloney said that she believes that Facilities is more than able to accomplish the tasks that DeDiemar said and that are part of their role in the Vision 2030 Plan. Maloney also said that the university is well aware what is important to both prospective and current students.
“[The university] know[s] that what is key to attracting and retaining students, is having attractive facilities and facilities that are conducive to learning, the classrooms that are conducive to learning,” Maloney said. “I just walked through the library and saw the renovation that had been done there a couple years ago, and how much more conducive that was to learning, and to studying, and to working with your peers and other students.”
