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Contact: Paul Cocke, director, University Communications, (360) 650-3350

John Furman

BELLINGHAM - John A. Furman, an engineer and veteran U.S. Coast Guard administrator, has been hired to serve as the director of Facilities Management at Western Washington University.

“We are excited that John has agreed to join Western as director of Facilities Management.  He is a service-centered leader with strong communication skills and a vast array of facilities experience,” said Richard Van Den Hul, vice president for Business and Financial Affairs. “He also has a strong commitment and proven track record in advancing sustainability, energy efficiency and facility preservation.  He is an excellent addition to the team here and will help us all in fulfilling our mission of serving Western in the facilities area.”

Capt. Furman, now deputy at the Coast Guard’s Shore Infrastructure Logistics Center in Norfolk, Va., will begin his duties at Western in August. He was hired following a national search and succeeds Tim Wynn, who is retiring.

“I am honored and delighted to join the Western Washington University community, and can't wait until August,” Furman said. “I thank the Search Committee and especially Rich Van Den Hul for placing their trust in me! My wife Sylvia and I have long admired the Western campus, and we are ecstatic that we now have an opportunity to contribute to the university, to the Bellingham community and to the State of Washington.”

Furman received his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and his master’s in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois.  He was an assistant professor of Civil Engineering at the Coast Guard Academy. Furman is a registered professional engineer and a certified facility manager.

Over the last 21 years, Furman has successfully managed a myriad of contracts for maintenance and repair projects as well as multi-million-dollar construction projects at dozens of locations around the country. Among these are some of the oldest facilities in the Coast Guard and some of the newest and most innovative.

In his current assignment, since 2009, he is responsible for the overall leadership and management of a 1380-person organization with 22 satellite locations engaged in management of Coast Guard’s $12 billion shore facilities. He directs all facility base operating services, energy conservation and environmental compliance activities through development of standard processes and requirements. As logistics section chief for the Coast Guard’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill response, he coordinated arrival and training of participating personnel, provision of hotel services, security, facilities, medical services and telecommunications across the entire Gulf region.

Prior service includes as commanding officer, Coast Guard Facilities Design and Construction Center Pacific. In that position, among many responsibilities, he oversaw completion of a $20 million LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver-certified operations facility for the Coast Guard. He also developed the budget request and a phased construction plan for a new housing development in Cordova, Alaska, which is the Coast Guard’s first-ever LEED design for housing. Under his leadership, energy consumption was reduced by an estimated $2 million at the facility.

Other service included as executive officer, Integrated Support Command, Kodiak, Alaska, where he directly supervised and led 288 employees delivering logistics services, facilities maintenance, housing management, environmental compliance, fire protection, and campus security to military and dependents living and working on the installation. He partnered with a local electric company CEO to establish mutually beneficial, financially viable steam/electricity co-generation plant operating parameters. The organization earned the Coast Guard’s overall Environmental Excellence Award for outstanding performance in recycling and hazardous material handling.

Other service includes as executive officer, Civil Engineering Unit, Providence, RI, public works officer, Air Station Borinquen, Puerto Rico, and as project engineer in the Coast Guard’s Civil Engineering Unit in Miami.

As director of Facilities Management, Furman will manage a staff of 185 full-time employees responsible for management of Western’s utilities, maintenance, in-house construction and renovation, and energy conservation. For more information see the .