CoSci prof advising global facility management foundation board

The board of the [International Facility Management Association Foundation] (https://foundation.ifma.org/home) , a group that supports educational opportunities for facilituy management students and professionals, is getting advice with an academic perspective from Sarel Lavy, Texas A&M associate professor of [construction science] (http://cosc.arch.tamu.edu/) .

“My role is to advise board members, all of whom have many years of industry experience, about academic institutions, facility management academic programs, students’ perspectives, and what industry professionals can contribute to academia,” said Lavy, who has served the board since July 2016 and is the faculty adviser for the College of Architecture’s Undergraduate [Minor in Facility Management] (http://cosc.arch.tamu.edu/undergraduate/minor/) .

“The board’s decisions set the tone for the direction of the foundation,” said Lavy,

The foundation’s three-pronged strategy to support facility management education includes accrediting FM degree programs while supporting scholarships for students pursuing degrees in the field and research critical to advancing knowledge in the profession.

The IFMAF relies on private donors who view academics and research as critical means to enhance the profession of facility management, whose practitioners manage the operation, maintenance, renovation or decommissioning of existing facilities.

The foundation has supported numerous students in the College of Architecture over the years, said Lavy. Many of them have also networked with professionals and learned more about the field by attending IFMA annual conferences.

The IFMA’s next national conference is scheduled in Houston’s George R. Brown convention center Oct. 18-20, 2017.