Sitzabee

William “Bill” Sitzabee, associate vice president for facilities engineering and project management, has been named interim vice president for infrastructure, properties and planning (IPP). He will begin his interim role Jan. 21 while a national search for the new IPP vice president is conducted.

“Bill has demonstrated his outstanding ability to promote Cornell’s mission and develop and implement strategic vision,” said Joanne DeStefano, executive vice president and chief financial officer, in announcing the appointment. “Cornell will be well-served by his many years of experience in strategic planning, capital planning, project and construction management, facility and infrastructure design, and transportation asset management.”

Sitzabee will replace Vice President KyuJung Whang, who announced in November he will leave Cornell Jan. 20.

“I am thrilled to have been asked to fill this position, and I am grateful for this opportunity,” Sitzabee said. “I am looking forward to working closely with the executive vice president, provost and IPP team. A guiding principle for me is to do the right things at the right time for the right reasons, and I plan to use that principle in this role.”

Sitzabee has been at Cornell in his current role since 2014. During that time he has developed and directed a $12 million operating budget, including facility planning, programming, design and construction of $250 million in annual capital construction. He has also provided oversight and contract execution for the Cornell Tech campus build-out. From 2012-14 he was a professor of aerospace studies at Cornell.

A former Air Force colonel and engineer, he has more than 21 years of experience leading large organizations as a civil engineer officer. He is also a combat veteran and has earned multiple campaign medals for his service in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo. A native of New York state, he has a Ph.D. in civil engineering from North Carolina State University.

During the period that Sitzabee serves in this capacity, Senior Director for Real Estate Jeremy Thomas, who currently reports to the IPP vice president, will report directly to DeStefano.

Thomas came to Cornell in early 2015 in his current role. Since his arrival, Thomas negotiated the public-private partnership agreement that will replace and nearly triple the amount of graduate student housing at Maplewood Park. He currently is identifying potential agreements for third-party development of undergraduate student housing.