Jack Powazek appointed administrative vice chancellor
Jack Powazek, associate vice chancellor for UCLA General Services, has been appointed administrative vice chancellor by Chancellor Gene Block. Starting July 1, Powazek will fill the position currently held by Administrative Vice Chancellor Sam J. Morabito, who is retiring.
By Judy Lin
Originally published in UCLA Today
A Bruin for more than 40 years, Powazek is a three-time alumnus, with a B.S. in engineering, an M.B.A. and an Ed.D. from UCLA. Since 2008, he has served as associate vice chancellor of General Services, a position in which he oversees a staff of more than 1,400 in Facilities Management; Transportation; Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S); the UCLA Police Department; Emergency Management; and Sustainability.
“We are fortunate to have someone with Jack’s deep expertise and broad experience to step into the vice chancellorship,” Chancellor Block wrote in a letter to campus leadership announcing Powazek’s appointment. “He brings tremendous institutional knowledge to the position.”
Among his notable accomplishments, Powazek has led initiatives that have enabled the campus to reduce energy consumption at the same time that 800,000 square feet of medical and research facilities have been added. He also directed the development of UCLA’s first climate action plan, which has the campus on track to meet the University of California’s 2014 and 2020 greenhouse gas reduction targets ahead of schedule.
Programs Powazek implemented — including restructuring work schedules and facilitating competition between in-house units and external vendors — have been instrumental in increasing the productivity and cost-efficiency of maintenance operations. In addition, he revamped the campus emergency response plan to reflect the new realities of the post-9/11 world, including the introduction of the BruinAlert system and the expansion and upgrade of the campus emergency operations center.
Since 2002, Powazek also has coordinated the Partnership for Performance, a consortium of facilities management leadership from throughout the UC system, USC, Stanford and Caltech working collaboratively to address operational issues affecting research universities.
Powazek started his UCLA career in 1974 in the staff personnel department (now Campus Human Resources). In 1987 he moved to UCLA Facilities Management and a decade later became the assistant vice chancellor of the department, which has since expanded to General Services, incorporating several key operational units.
Published: Friday, March 18, 2011
