New Facilities Director Begins Transition

By Joseph Iemma 
Staff Writer

Roy Fergus, the district manager for facilities at Aramark, has begun training to replace Bill Kirker as the head of the Facilities Department next month.

Fergus’s career began in 1980, after he graduated from Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute with a degree in mechanical engineering. He began working with EBASCO Services Inc. designing equipment and overseeing safety practices at Shearon Harris, a nuclear power plant in North Carolina. He then worked at IBM from 1985-1994, overseeing engineering facilities.

In 1994 Fergus began overseeing building facilities that was angled towards the needs of the youth. “I joined Covenant House in 1994,” Fergus said, “It was a not-for-profit organization that provided a place of refuge for runaway youth. The main objective of the organization was to help young people find a rite of passage, in a time where they’re going through a time of crisis.”

At Covenant House, Fergus oversaw the infrastructure and facilities of three separate locations. He specialized in “dealing with the influx of people in and out of the facility, but it was during that time where I really refined my ‘general mode’: to always challenge myself.”

Prior to joining Post as an employee of Aramark, Fergus managed facilities at Yeshiva University for Aramark for over 13 years.

Fergus and Kirker share the same belief that the best practices within facilities will help students garner the education that they need. “The master plan is to capture the vision of the university, to implement the changes in physical infrastructure. Therefore, the more we [facilities] focus on maintaining the operations with an approach to use the best practices, then; we’ll be able to introduce new projects for the university as a whole.” Fergus said.

What does Fergus have in mind for campus? Right now, he is observing and learning in his new department. “He started March 28,” Kirker said. Fergus said, “Yes, it’s like drinking water from a fire house! I’m taking everything in. Bill’s built an exceptional program, and he’s been awesome [in terms of shadowing Bill around campus].”

“Roy’s a good man. He’s has experience, has a lot of knowledge on how a university works, and what is expected at this university…all in all, the transition is going very well,” Kirker said.

After the transition, it is not game-over for Kirker. In fact, it’s the beginning of a new act in his career. “After I’m done here, I’ll be working with an engineering firm in Manhattan; managing facilities for buildings that my firm will work with.” While he’s excited for the next step he takes in his already fruitful career, Kirker will miss his days at the university.

“I’ve had a great time at this campus. We got a lot of work done, and I’ll miss it here.”

As for Kirker’s entire staff, secretaries and assistants, Kirker believes that they will be retained after his departure. For Facilities questions, contact Roy.Fergus@liu.edu.