Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Manos sent an email to the Brandeis community yesterday to announce that the University hired James W. Gray as vice president for operations. Gray will report to Manos, and will officially take on the role of vice president of operations on June 23.
Gray's position was created as a replacement position after former Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins' departure at the end of the 2013 calendar year, though there are several differences between the two roles.

According to Senior Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Marianne Cwalina in a Jan. 14 Justice article, the vice president for operations will continue to be in charge of facilities, public safety, major capital projects, environmental health and safety, conferences and events, dining and other campus services. However, "[j]ob descriptions may change based on the qualifications of the individual ultimately selected," Cwalina wrote. According to Manos in an email to the Justice, the position's responsibilities have not since changed based upon Gray's qualifications. According to Union President Ricky Rosen '14 in an interview with the Justice, the only difference, from what he is to understand, is that vice president for operations is not a part of the senior administration, whereas Collins was.

"[Gray] has extensive experience in facilities and construction, having served as Associate Vice President, Real Estate Services at Harvard University; Executive Director, Real Estate, Construction, Security, and Facilities at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Senior Vice President and General Manager of Duke Realty Corporation, a for-profit corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota," Manos wrote in his announcement to the community. Manos continued, writing that Gray has been the executive director of the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, a nonprofit student housing and food service cooperative in Berkeley, Calif.

"[Gray] was described by references from individuals he worked with and for throughout his career as: respected, someone you can really trust, efficient and professional, energetic and enthusiastic, having high standards, and a great team member. Believe me, I could go on," Manos wrote.

According to the announcement, Gray has served as a trustee of Indiana University and chaired their building and grounds committee. He has also been a member of the executive committee of both the Harvard Square Business Association and the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce.

According to Manos in an email to the Justice, the decision to hire Gray as vice president for operations was finalized "in the last week or so." The initial timeline, according to the Jan. 14 Justice article, projected that an individual would be hired to take on the position in March.

According to the Jan. 14 Justice article, the search firm of Witt/Kieffer was hired in December to assist Brandeis with the search for a vice president for operations. In addition, a search committee comprised of representatives from administration, faculty and students worked to select the vice president for operations. According to Rosen, the only student representative on the committee, in the Jan. 14 article, its first meeting was on Dec. 16.

Rosen said in an interview with the Justice that the committee held day-long interviews with applicants starting in either late February or early March. According to Rosen, applicant materials were available in an online database for committee members. Members were also able to participate in day-long interviews and correspond via email regarding their opinions on the applicants.

"My role in the decision-making process was such that I was the only student in the room," Rosen said. He said that there was also a faculty representative and "four or five" senior administrators on the committee. "From the senior administrative perspective, I think that the goal was to select a vice president of operations who was experienced, who could bring some leadership to the position," he said. "But from my perspective, what I wanted was an individual that had a level of rapport with students ... because certainly, the vice president of operations, as was the case with Mark Collins, was ... the Student Union's greatest ally in the administration."

Rosen said that Gray will start in time for newly-sworn in Union President for the 2014 to 2015 academic year Sneha Walia '15 when the academic year begins. According to Rosen, he used to meet with Collins every two weeks, and expects that practice to remain consistent for Gray and Walia.

"Based on my knowledge of Mr. Gray, his experience, of what he brings to the table, and as well as the perception of other committee members, I thought that he would be a very good choice," Rosen said.
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