Blake Takes Reins as UW Facilities Planning Director, Architect

Larry Blake, who has directed the University of Wyoming’s Facilities Planning Office on an interim basis for the past year, has been appointed UW facilities planning director and university architect.

“Larry has been doing an outstanding job, working with diverse groups of people on multiple projects, with many more projects in the pipeline,” says Vice President for Administration Bill Mai, who announced Blake’s appointment. “He has brought stability to a sometimes turbulent process during a period of unprecedented construction and facilities planning at the university.”

Blake came to UW as deputy facilities planning director in June 2012 and became interim director upon the retirement of longtime director Roger Baalman in July 2013. Before coming to UW, Blake was the managing principal of JAG Architects in Eureka, Calif., after working in facilities management and planning offices at Southern Oregon University, Boise State University and the University of Nebraska.

He earned a bachelor of architecture degree from the University of Nebraska in 1973 before going on to receive master of business administration (1983) and master of community and regional planning (1996) degrees, also from Nebraska.

UW’s Facilities Planning Office oversees the planning, design and construction of new structures, and renovation and replacement of existing structures; maintains UW space allocation inventories; schedules spaces; and plans the long-range development of university properties.