Administration

Sitzabee, vice president for facilities management and planning, stepping down

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — William Sitzabee, Penn State vice president for facilities management and planning, is stepping down from Penn State after seven years leading the University’s Office of Physical Plant (OPP). His last day at Penn State will be Sept. 6. Thomas Rodgers, OPP assistant vice president of administration, will serve as interim.

Sitzabee joined Penn State in July 2017 as associate vice president for facilities management and planning and was elevated to vice president and a member of President’s Council in July 2020.

As the leader of OPP, Sitzabee oversees nearly 1,700 employees and the largest University operating budget. The Physical Plant consists of more than 36 million square feet of facilities in over 2,000 buildings across more than 21,000 acres. The unit consists of eight divisions: Administration, Business and Finance, College of Medicine Facilities, Commonwealth Services, Design and Construction, Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), Operations and Planning, Design and Properties. 

“I want to thank Bill for his leadership and dedication to Penn State, and for prioritizing and executing the University’s capital plans to address the maintenance of Penn State facilities and infrastructure,” said Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for Finance & Business/Treasurer.

The University’s capital plan supports the maintenance, health, safety and construction of facilities across all Penn State locations and includes new construction and major renovation projects.

As a retired Air Force senior officer and combat veteran, Sitzabee said: “September marks exactly 10 years since I retired from the military. We have an incredibly strong leadership team within OPP/EHS, which makes this a good time to transition. I am proud of what we have accomplished, including building and modernizing OPP, building and developing a great team, executing on the  2018-2023 capital plan, and addressing a growing backlog of maintenance.”

Along with guiding the University’s capital plan, Sitzabee played a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic as the executive overseeing EHS. He worked with a team of experts focused on strategies to clean and disinfect campus facilities and prepare University properties for a safe return to on-campus learning and working in fall 2021 amid the pandemic.

Sitzabee developed and implemented the $316 million West Campus expansion plan for the College of Engineering, which includes nearly 400,000 additional square feet of complex lab and academic facilities that will modernize and transform the college. He also led a public-private partnership in Pennsylvania’s largest solar project, partnering with Lightsource BP to reduce Penn State’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25%, projected to save the University $14 million over the life of the contract.

He has served the University on multiple committees, including the Facilities Resource Committee, Facility Naming Committee, Project Decision Review Board, University Planning Committee, Property Executive Committee, and Sustainability Operations Executive Committee. In the community he has served on the Clearwater Conservancy Board of Directors and the Innovation Park Board.

Sitzabee, a civil engineer, joined Penn State from Cornell University, where he served as associate vice president of Facilities Engineering and Project Administration and interim vice president for Infrastructure, Properties and Planning, overseeing a building portfolio of 15 million square feet, 2,000 campus acres, and an annual operating budget of $200 million.

Prior to joining the Cornell administration, he was a department chair and professor of aerospace studies at Cornell. He also was the director of the engineering management program and an associate professor of civil engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology. 

Sitzabee holds an affiliate professor appointment with the College of Engineering. During his time with Penn State, he has served on multiple Ph.D. committees and published eight peer-reviewed papers, including a book chapter and three journal papers. 

For more than two decades, Sitzabee served in the U.S. Air Force as an engineer, reaching the rank of colonel, before bringing his expertise in the areas of planning, design, construction, maintenance, energy management, sustainability and transportation to higher education. As a former deputy commander of the 379th Civil Engineer Squadron in Qatar, Sitzabee developed a highly rated construction safety program and managed 18 million square feet of airfield, more than 100 aircraft and four power plants.  

Sitzabee earned a doctorate in civil engineering from North Carolina State University, a master’s degree in engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Norwich University. He is a certified professional engineer in New York and North Carolina. 

Last Updated August 29, 2024