Peter C. Shields has been appointed as the new Associate Vice President for Facilities Services, according to an e-mail to the Justice from Senior Vice President of Administration Mark Collins. Shields, who began his position Jan. 3, will be in charge of overseeing the facilities department and working with Collins to see what infrastructure will need to be renovated and how to preserve campus buildings.

Infrastructure would include buildings and all internal structures, as well as electrical and heating systems, landscaping and roads.

Shields was the Vice President of Management for The Fallon Company, a real estate development company based in Boston, and he has extensive experience in hospitality.

Collins said that Shield's experience in operations allows him to look at projects from a financial perspective, while his hospitality background provides experience with customer service, which Shields said he will continue in the facilities department.

Collins was the last person to serve as Associate Vice President for Facilities Services.

"I've been involved in the Facilities [department] for the last decade, ten to twelve years," said Collins in an interview with the Justice.

Collins explained that during his career at Brandeis, he has been promoted multiple times, the most recent being last summer when the University made several changes in the Division of Finance and Administration, promoting Collins from Vice President of Campus Operations to his current position, where he oversees facilities, services, human resources and library and technology services.

Collins said as his former position opened up, he began a sixmonth process with his colleagues to find a new candidate.

His colleagues interviewed applicants and provided feedback to Collins, who appointed Shields in December 2010.

Collins expressed that he thought Shields was the best candidate for the job.

"At the end of the day ... this is the guy who reads at the top of the scale for us and brings to Brandeis everything I was looking for and everything we need to have in that position right now."

When asked why Shields was picked for the job, Collins said that it was Shields' experience in planning and development, as well as facilities operating and development, and his ability to present an issue with both a financial and operational perspective.

Shields said that his goal was not to ultimately change the practices in the facilities process, but rather to help the department continue to serve the Brandeis community.

"We have a lot of work to do on this campus," said Collins.

"We have a large deferred maintenance challenge, which basically means we have a lot of work to do that's been postponed over the years for one reason or another."

Collins explained that many of the buildings on campus are approaching a point where they need to either be update or restored due to damage or age.

"Everything is coming of age, and we are reaching a point where ... preservation or updating of our facilities is becoming more of an important matter. We can no longer carry on with these buildings in many cases because they're old and tired and they need work."

Collins and Shields would not specify which specific areas of the University they plan to focus on.

However, in an e-mail to the Justice, Collins stated that the Integrated Planning and Budget Committee, an existing committee at the University, could be used to set priorities for the facilities department.

Shields said he is up to what he called a "complicated puzzle."

"Brandeis is an incredible institution," said Shields.

"It's got a tremendous history, a great campus, and it also has some interesting challenges for a person like myself who likes to work in a mixed-use environment," he said.

He went on to describe Brandeis as having "both incredible beauty around it as well as some serious deficiencies and challenges."

"It really has to do with both the challenge and the opportunity," Shields said.

A challenge, said Collins, which will be met by not only himself and Shields, but also by the entire facilities department, which Collins praised for its work for the University.

Shields said that he believes an institution with any mission, such as Brandeis, needs to have the proper infrastructure in order to support that mission.

Shields says that he does not yet have any specific structures that he plans to work on, but he will work with Collins to put together a plan of what structures need to be updated or renovated, and that he will work with Facilities to promote customer service.