Eric Lessne has been promoted to Associate Vice President for Capital Budgeting and Facilities Operations, after a search and an 18-month interim appointment.
Lessne is very familiar with facilities management at Southern, having served as Associate Director of Project Management and Engineering with the CSCU System Office since 1998.
In this capacity, Lessne has administered many capital projects at both Southern and Western Connecticut State University, including the landmark buildings on the SCSU campus. In 2008-09, he oversaw 15 construction projects at Western in a similar interim capacity as Director of Facilities Planning.
He has also helped develop plans to finance equipment, maintenance and construction, and supported initiatives in key areas such as sustainability. These include the recent solar energy and fuel cell implementation on our campus.
Lessne has extensive knowledge of state policies and procedures through his interactions with the former state Department of Public Works and its successor, the Department of Construction, and direct experience operating the SCSU campus in an interim capacity for the last 18 challenging months. He also brings construction management expertise from this previous career in the private sector, including employee oversight, budgeting, negotiating, procurement, and scheduling. He holds a B.S. degree in construction management from the Utica College of Syracuse University.
Lessne’s wide-ranging experience and knowledge of Southern will be invaluable as the university continues to advance its master plan, including the completion of the College of Health and Human Services building and the new home for the School of Business.
