Update: Head of UNMC, NE Med Facilities to Stay On in Current Role

* UPDATE: On Tuesday, March 26, it was announced that Ken Hansen, who serves as associate vice chancellor of facilities at UNMC and vice president of facilities at Nebraska Medicine, would stay on in his current role.

Previously, on Jan. 31, 2019, Hansen announced his plans to step down with John Amend, UNO's assistant vice chancellor and director of Facilities Management and Planning at UNO, providing interim supervision of UNMC/Nebraska Medicine utilities.*

Ken Hansen has announced plans to step down as associate vice chancellor of facilities at UNMC and vice president of facilities at Nebraska Medicine.

His last day at the medical center will be later this spring.

“Ken has been a trusted adviser for the university for many years and has had tremendous success on the footprint of this campus, not to mention the utility savings we’ve seen,” said Doug Ewald, vice chancellor for business, finance and business development at UNO and UNMC.

Cory Shaw, executive vice president/chief operating officer at Nebraska Medicine, agreed. “Through technology and innovation, Ken has made the medical center a leader in energy efficiency and, through the LiveGreen initiative, helped to promote energy-efficient behavior change among employees and students.”

The following leadership changes have also been announced:

• John Amend, assistant vice chancellor and director of Facilities Management and Planning at UNO, will provide interim accountability for all academic facilities and UNMC/Nebraska Medicine utilities. John will report to Doug Ewald with dotted-line reporting to Cory Shaw.
• Darren Daggeford, executive director of utilities and energy utilization for UNMC, will be accountable for UNO/UNMC/Nebraska Medicine utilities and report to Amend.
• Jen Bartholomew, executive director of planning and construction, project management and operations for UNMC and Nebraska Medicine, will provide accountability for all clinical facilities, and report to Shaw with dotted-line reporting to Ewald.

In addition, campus leaders plan to form a four-person coordinating council of Ewald, Shaw, Amend and Stephanie Daubert, chief financial officer for Nebraska Medicine, to meet monthly and oversee all facilities/security activities.

Hansen has extensive background in both the utility and health care industries, where he has introduced energy and technology solutions, as well as managed construction activities. He joined UNMC in 2005, and has led the campus in implementing sustainable systems and solutions that have resulted in significant energy efficiencies. Prior to 2005, he spent 29 years at the Omaha Public Power District.

Among his many campus accomplishments, Hansen said three milestones stand tall:

• Accomplishing a 25 percent reduction in campus energy use, despite adding 2 million square feet to the medical center campus.
• Finishing and commissioning the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center - the largest public-private partnership in the history of the state of Nebraska.
• Merging Nebraska Medicine and UNMC’s Facilities Management and Planning departments into one team, resulting in cost savings and other efficiencies.
• A self-professed ‘techie,’ Hansen is a registered professional engineer in the State of Nebraska with a bachelor’s in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“I’ve had a rewarding career at the medical center and am proud of the work done by the facilities teams,” Hansen said. “I’m at a fun place in my career and will pursue other interests in the arena of energy and energy efficiencies.”

“It has been a great pleasure to work with Ken on many critical projects,” said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “New buildings, enhanced classrooms, research labs and clinics, as well as his tireless approach to energy conservation. He is a remarkable leader and will be greatly missed.”