Chris Dupuis, associate vice president for capital planning and management, will be leaving UHart. His last day on campus will be March 8.
“While I have many physical reminders of the projects that I have worked on over the years,” Chris says, “I most appreciate the friends that I have made—and the relationships forged—during my 18+ years serving the UHart campus community.”
Chris initially joined the University in 2001 as UHart began ramping up for significant new construction and major renovations. His impact was immediately felt as he led project teams through most of the major work done in the ensuing 14 years. This included his first project — overseeing a significant road relocation on campus—followed by the construction of Abrahms Hall, the Village Market, the Renee Samuels Center, the Handel Performing Arts Center, the Shaw Center, and the bridge over the Park River. University Commons, the Campus Store, and the outdoor athletics complex also underwent major renovations among many other campus improvement projects.
After a brief time away, Chris returned to campus and has guided numerous initiatives in recent years:
- Managed the successful completion of the Hursey Center through the challenges presented during the first 18 months of the pandemic
- Renovations to Dana Hall/UT Hall associated with the backfill of programs that moved or expanded into the Hursey Center
- A new look for Auerbach Auditorium—upgraded the outdated tiered seating general purpose classroom into a modern, flexible layout general purpose classroom that also provides multipurpose use for many of our student clubs as a performance space.
- Campus-wide LED Lighting Project, saving the University $1 million in operating costs.
- Facilitated the University’s decision to outsource campus maintenance operations to Aramark in May 2021 to ensure as smooth of a transition as possible for both the campus community and the employees directly impacted by this change.
- Managed the bidding, permitting approvals, design, and construction oversight of the new Doosan Fuel Cells on campus, which are scheduled to “go live” next month. The Fuel Cells will provide CT Class 1 Renewable “green” energy to campus and significantly lower the University’s operating costs.
Chris notes that one of his personal favorites has been the track and field project. “Twenty years after partnering with Athletics and CHA Sports to plan for the future track and field when designing and then constructing the new Al-Marzook, baseball, and softball fields, it has been great to finish the design, permitting, and start the construction on the new campus track and field, which will be ready in the fall of 2024,” Chris says.
Faculty, staff, and friends are invited to a farewell reception for Chris on Tuesday, March 5, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Shaw Center, Hillyer Hall.