Stephanie Dorsch TNE writer

Vice President for Operations Tim Foutch retires

Vice President Tim Foutch was with NSU for 25 years. His retirement after the many years of service has left the university with new directions of who will take over his operations. The division of operations has really dynamic directors who have had a huge responsibility for the day-to-day functions whether it be construction or public safety, said President Turner. Of course Vice President Foutch had an overall coordinating role. Certainly in the last two years he has spent a great amount of time creating our Master Plan. Foutch had a major role in the creation and implementation of NSUs Master Plan, a first for the university. The Master Plan is a roadmap, with five steps ultimately aligning academic, spatial, fiscal and physical visions for NSU. Future operations will be handled mostly by Patti Buhl, director of public safety. She will really have a coordinating, communication, and collaborating role with the other directors such as the director of facilities and those types of things, said Turner. She is taking on additional coordinating duties, but we are not changing her title. In that capacity she will participate in cabinet meetings, she will sit in on executive council meetings, she will approve those daily things like student time sheets requisitions. Turner said within that coordinating capacity, with the cabinet and exec, she will be a conduit to the other directors in the operations division. She is basically a liaison, said Turner. There are several open projects in the division, with two people mainly responsible for them. Harold McMillen and John Asbill have been the day-to-day supervisors of our construction projects so none of the progress of those will change, said Turner. Recent and open projects on campus include the Event Center, community space which is now called the Tahlequah Event Center, the Willis parking lot, John Vaughn Library and the 5-million-dollar renovation of the Fitness Center. The renovation of Wilson Hall is also in NSUs future, to secure the exterior, repair the roof and replace the windows. There are always multiple small projects and repairs all the time, said Turner. Asbill will take on the ultimate responsibility of day-to-day supervision. Turner said Asbill, along with director Buhl, will have discussions with the cabinet and they will share what has been reported in those meetings. Anytime you have a transition or retirement, you step back and look at the overall picture to see if there are operational efficiencies that we could create, said Turner. We also look to see if there are any alignments that could be made to create better operations. There are over 200 employees in this division. VP Foutch told me at the beginning of the spring semester that he planned to retire, and when he was presented with opportunities that were so immediate, his

retirement took effect on the February 28, said Turner. In the process of moving forward, the VP of operations will be filled by July 1st, the start of the fiscal year. Turner said there is a lot of history and institutional knowledge that leaves with someone who has been with the university for 25 years. I recognize VP Foutchs longtime personal goals, and I want to acknowledge the appreciation for his roles throughout the years, said Turner. Tim has been a key part of the renaissance of our campus. He has made many significant contributions. Hes looking forward to the next chapter of persuing his lifelong goals. The position for Vice President of Operations will be open this spring.