UK’s Wiseman will retire after 11 years

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By Will Wright

[email protected]

Bob Wiseman, the vice president for facilities management, has announced his retirement after an 11-year career at UK.

Wiseman has overseen multiple large projects, including the recent housing developments, renovations to the Student Center and creation of a $600 million hospital, a project that was completed on time and on budget.

Over the course of his UK career, Wiseman managed more than $1.5 billion in construction operations.

Before coming to UK, Wiseman was the executive assistant to the mayor for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, the Lexington commissioner of public works and the director on financing for the Kentucky League of Cities.

“I think the next person (to fill Wiseman’s position) will have a lot to live up to,” said Michael Karpf, the executive vice president for health affairs. “He has an extensive knowledge of construction and beyond that he has a deep knowledge of how city and county bureaucracy work.”

Wiseman said the acquisition of the Lexington Theological Seminary and moving the Fine Arts Department from the Reynolds Building to the University Lofts are some of his favorite personal achievements.

“We tried everything … to try and get out of there,” Wiseman said of the Reynolds Building. “It was an effort that took years and years to finally come to fruition, so I’m pleased with that.”

The Reynolds Building move is one of many changes the university will see in coming years.

Major construction and change comes in waves, Wiseman said, and UK is currently on top of one of those waves.

“There have been several watershed decades for change on campus,” Wiseman said. “The amount of change on this campus in the past five years … I can’t think of another five-year period in UK history that has seen that dramatic of a change.”

In Wiseman’s time in the city and at UK, he has witnessed the “sometimes rocky” relationship between Lexington and the university from both sides of the spectrum.

“Bob has established excellent relationships in the community,” said Eric Monday, UK’s executive vice president for finance and administration. “He’s very good at working with people.”

A staff of about 800 people who report to Wiseman are responsible for many of the day-to-day operations on campus, including snow removal and cleaning the buildings.

“They are the most dedicated, hardworking people you’ll find,” Wiseman said. “They keep this place secure, clean, attractive, and I can’t say enough about the employees I had here.”

Wiseman said there were times when he worried about natural disasters and the impact that a tornado could have on campus, but that the day-to-day operations were something he could always feel secure in.

“I don’t worry about snow removal, and I don’t worry about people maintaining the grounds, and I don’t worry about keeping buildings clean,” Wiseman said.

Wiseman said he looks forward to becoming more involved in the Lexington art community during his retirement and the opportunity to spend more time traveling in Europe with his wife, Rena.