For nearly two decades, Facilities Manager Brent Wishart has been a major influence in the Gillings School’s growth – literally.
From overseeing small and large renovation and construction projects, to facilitating the move of more than 200 faculty and staff to new offices, to dealing with daily facilities issues like events planning and parking logistics, to implementing COVID-19 safety measures, Wishart’s work spans all departments of the School.
“The best part of working at Gillings is the great people who work as a team. No matter your department or whether you’re faculty, staff or student, we’re all working toward the same goal of creating a thriving environment for learning,” says Wishart, who began working at the School’s facilities office in 2002. “I have a great facilities group that makes the School inviting, and we are lucky to have a part to play in facilitating so many of the achievements that come out of the Gillings School.”
While growing up in Lumberton, North Carolina, Wishart often came to Chapel Hill for football and basketball games. Working on campus now, he enjoys the excitement of each new semester and the constant opportunity to work with new people on projects and events – whether it’s a student career fair or a food truck rodeo to celebrate the last day of class.
“There is no such thing as a typical day,” Wishart says. “Every day provides an opportunity to help ensure important research and learning is advanced at the School.”
With that in mind, Wishart and his team, which includes Facilities Coordinator Julie McManus and Facilities Assistant David King, execute facility changes – for example, dealing with scheduling challenges posed by a $10-million lab upgrade or implementing noise and dust abatement strategies due to an auditorium renovation – in a way that prioritizes the School’s learning and research missions. “These types of facility issues intersect with busy classrooms, student study needs, research and work spaces,” Wishart says, “so we use planning and project management to help connect all of these parts so that our operations can run as smoothly as possible.”
In recognition of his work, Wishart received the School’s Staff Excellence Award in 2008, with colleagues praising his helpfulness, calm demeanor and good humor. In addition to his full-time job, Wishart recently earned a master’s degree in project management. His thesis project: writing a manual for project management at the Gillings School.
“Brent is our resident superhero. He quietly handles a huge array of facilities issues, including many that are stressful for those involved, and I have yet to see him respond with anything other than calm efficiency and a dry wit,” McManus says. “Taking care of the Gillings campus, its students, faculty and staff comes very naturally to him – and he inspires it in others as well.”
