The University of South Florida has appointed Daniel LaForge as director of facilities planning and management for the Sarasota-Manatee campus, replacing longtime Director Rick Lyttle. LaForge’s appointment becomes effective on Aug. 1.
“Dan has served as an integral member of our facilities planning and management team since he arrived on campus, and he has taken on an expanded role in recent months with Rick Lyttle’s retirement,” said Eddie Beauchamp, regional vice chancellor for business and finance at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. “I am confident he will continue to excel in this important role as director because of his expertise and leadership skills.”
LaForge (pictured above) currently serves as the campus’ associate director of facilities planning and management. He joined the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus in 2016 after having held facilities management positions at Unity College in Maine and MaineGeneral Health.
He holds an MBA from Thomas College (Waterville, Maine), a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Maine at Augusta and an associate’s degree in electrical theory, construction and maintenance from Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle.
“I am thrilled and honored to serve as director of facilities, planning and management at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. This appointment provides me with an opportunity to do what I enjoy most, delivering critical support to the campus' infrastructure, overseeing the energy plant and related facilities, and helping to plan for future needs to enable USF Sarasota-Manatee to continue to serve as a vibrant USF campus,” LaForge said.
As director, LaForge will be responsible for providing leadership in the planning, design, construction and management of the campus’ physical environment, including management of the energy plant; safety and space planning; planning and scheduling of campus events; campus master and capital improvement planning; and the preparation of educational plant surveys. Additionally, he will oversee campus development agreements.
Recently, he oversaw improvements conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A large part of our work in recent months has been to prepare the campus for the return of students, faculty and staff in the pandemic environment,” LaForge said. “We’ve been considering all aspects of safety and working to ensure that our campus is a safe place to work and learn upon their return. We have a terrific team and it shows.”
Those efforts have included the cleaning and sanitizing of classrooms and campus workspaces, the addition of sanitizer dispensers to classrooms, offices and hallways and the pending installation of sneeze guards at transactional counters, including at the campus café, the I.T. Support Services Office, the FCCI Rotunda information desk and in the second-floor Information Commons area.
In addition to COVID-19 preparations, a significant amount of additional work has occurred on campus this summer, including the sealing and painting of the main campus building, various improvements to parking areas, including drainage repairs, and the replacement of several rooftop air conditioning units.
For more about the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, visit www.sarasotamanatee.usf.edu.