Bisnow Higher Education and University Development Summit

As Executive Director of Real Estate for the University oversee the strategic planning and management of Penn’s vast non-academic real estate holdings including real estate partnerships, off-campus housing, retail, development, brokerage (acquisitions and divestitures), third party leasing, urban planning and property management.

Michael (Mick) Flanagan serves as President of Development for The Michaels Organization. In this role, Mick is an integral part of the Senior Leadership Team, overseeing all development activities for affordable, workforce, market-rate and student markets.. Mr. Flanagan has previously served as Executive Vice President for Michaels’ student and market-rate areas of expertise. Prior to this, Mr. Flanagan was Vice President of Capital Markets where he was responsible for supervising an acquisition platform for the overall operating company as well as procuring equity that supports the acquisition and development of multifamily housing projects. Mr. Flanagan comes to The Michaels Organization with more than twenty years of experience in finance. Prior to joining Michaels, Mr. Flanagan held the position of Executive General Manager of Finance at Lendlease Corporation where he acquired more than $80 million dollars in assets, developed Telecom Infrastructure in the United States with initial equity of $400 million, and oversaw a renewable energy portfolio across 16 states. Before his work at Lendlease, Mr. Flanagan worked as a Portfolio Manager at AMP Capital Investors, where he led and executed more than $9 billion in funding for new facilities. Before that, he was Managing Director of AssetBacked Finance, a boutique finance and securitization company. Mr. Flanagan holds a Master of Business Studies in Finance and Organizational Behavior from the University of Dublin. He received his Bachelor of Commerce in Corporate Finance and Accounting from the University of Queensland.

With over 20 years of practice in award-winning firms, Erin has a broad knowledge of building typologies in diverse environments and scales. As a project architect and project manager, she has the expertise to lead and organize project teams, set project goals, and prioritize project budgets and schedules. Her role on numerous preeminent projects including the New College House at the University of Pennsylvania, the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons at Georgia Tech, and the iconic Liberty Bell Center in Philadelphia has honed her expertise to lead and realize a design vision. Erin approaches design challenges through a lens focused on collaboration to find the best solutions for every project.

Since joining Drexel as a full-time faculty member in spring 2016, Alan has overseen the expansion of legacy programs in architecture and interior design as well as the creation of new graduate programs in research and urban strategy. Alan also serves on Drexel's Design Review Task Force, the Return Oversight Committee, and President Fry's Neighborhood Campus Development Group. Since Donald Moore's departure last year, Alan has been managing Drexel's critical external real estate and development-related partnerships. Before coming to Drexel, Alan served in former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's administration as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Director of Commerce, as well as executive director and then chair of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. Under Alan's leadership, the city rewrote the Philadelphia Zoning Code and initiated a five-year long comprehensive plan, entitled Philadelphia 2035. Both initiatives were the first of their kind for the city in over 50 years, receiving the American Planning Association's National Excellence Award for a City Planning Agency in 2016. Alan's office also launched multiple programs to attract and support a burgeoning entrepreneurial community, attracted new, technology and venture capital firms to Philadelphia, and expanded business opportunities for small, minority- and women-owned businesses throughout the city. In recognition of his efforts on behalf of Philadelphia, the American Institute of Architects honored Alan with its 2017 Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture. For 34 years prior to joining the Nutter administration, Alan was a practicing architect with Mitchell/Giurgola Architects and its successor, MGA Partners, where he was the design lead on many award-winning projects at institutions of higher learning. I want to thank Senior Vice President for Student Success Subir Sahu for chairing the search committee, as well as the other search committee members for their time and thoughtful consideration of the candidates for this role.

KyuJung Whang was appointed Vice President for Facilities of the University effective January 2017. Prior to his appointment he led Cornell University’s Division of Infrastructure, Properties and Planning which encompasses all the traditional facilities functions as well as Cornell Real Estate, the Office of Sustainability, and Transportation and Mail Services. Whang has been a licensed architect and professional planner since graduating from Syracuse University in 1981 with a Bachelors of Architecture degree. He has extensive backgrounds in capital project management, facilities management and campus planning in the private and public sectors. He previously served as the Vice President for Facilities and Capital Planning at Rutgers University. Whang currently serves as a board member and Secretary for the Princeton Community Housing Board of Trustees. He previously served as a board member for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and both the New Jersey and New York State Board of Architecture. Additional professional involvements include serving as a visiting team member on behalf of the National Architectural Accreditation Board (NAAB); and serving in various capacities for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). While at Rutgers, he was a founding member of the New Jersey Higher Educational Partnership in Sustainability, an organization promoting environmentally focused design standards for New Jersey higher education institutions.

Nick Bayer has always been in the business of bringing people together, whether it’s as one of Philadelphia Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs or as a consummate team captain since Little League. So when he created Saxbys Coffee in 2005, he never really considered it to be a coffee company — instead, it’s a hospitality company fueled by great coffee. Saxbys has since grown from one corner café to a 30-unit, Philadelphia-based hospitality business with a mission: Make Life Better. Driven by deep-seated core values and O.D.D. (outgoing, detail-oriented, and disciplined) team members, Saxbys is headquartered in Center City Philadelphia with cafés in nine states and on a number of college campuses — and growing fast (30% a year fast). In April 2015, Saxbys opened its first experiential learning café. The product of a partnership between Saxbys and Drexel University’s Close School of Entrepreneurship, it’s the nation’s first entirely student-run café where students earn full academic credit through a university cooperative education (co-op) program. Nick is currently the Entrepreneur in Residence at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and an adjunct professor at Drexel University, where he teaches a course in entrepreneurial franchising. As a frequent guest lecturer at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University’s Fox School of Business, American University’s Kogod School of Business and Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, Nick loves supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and encouraging everyone he meets to believe in the Saxbys mission and core values. He serves on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region and the board of Drexel University Steinbright Career Development Center. He resides in Center City Philadelphia with his wife and son.

A recognized expert and leader in higher education design, David leads project teams and plans, directs, and executes projects in the higher education and science and technology markets throughout the eastern United States. With more than 30 years of experience, he has led a broad cross-section of successful, award-winning projects on more than three dozen college and university campuses. His expansive portfolio includes teaching and learning spaces, library projects, laboratory renovations, dining facilities, art studios, theatres, student housing and student activity spaces. David uses an evidence-based approach to campus programming, planning and design and is interested in how research into learning, cognition and student success can inform the design of effective learning environments. Active in the industry, he has co-chaired several conferences for, and is an active member of, the Society for College and University Planning.

Chuck Hurchalla is the president of Evolution Sustainability Group. He has over 30 years of experience in the deregulated energy markets, including natural gas, electricity and petroleum products. He is considered a subject matter expert on hedging strategies and the fundamental and technical drivers of movements in the energy markets, including renewable products. In addition, he has been instrumental in helping clients develop comprehensive energy management solutions that meet or exceed energy efficiency and sustainability goals.