ASU's Pinney to lead international organization

Polly Pinney, executive director of Facilities Management, has been installed as president of APPA, an international association dedicated to maintaining, protecting, and promoting the quality of educational facilities.

APPA, whose mission is “to support educational excellence with quality leadership and professional management through education, research, and recognition,” was founded in Chicago in 1914 by representatives from 14 Midwest institutions.

Over the past 95 years, the organization has grown in scope and size, and changed its name several times to reflect the expanding responsibilities of facilities-management departments.

There are more than 4,800 members today, and the organization, which has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., has a budget of $5.1 million.
APPA’s goal is to elevate educational facilities professionals into “higher performing managers and leaders, and help them transform their institutions into more inviting and supportive learning environments, which furthers the recognition and value of the field, highlighting the direct impact faculties have on the recruitment and retention of students, faculty and staff.”

Pinney earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of South Dakota. She also is a graduate of the APPA Facilities Management Institute, the Leadership Academy and the HERS-Mid America Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration at Bryn Mawr College.
Under her leadership, her departments have garnered six Arizona Governors Awards for Excellence. She also was named twice to the Outstanding Young Women of America, and she is the recipient of the APPA Meritorious Service Award, the organization’s highest award for professional service.

She served as APPA vice president for educational programs from 2006 to 2008. She has been a speaker at both regional and national forums on multiple occasions and is a facilitator for APPA’s Supervisors Toolkit training program.

As president of APPA she will, over three years, travel to nine countries and speak to other universities about ASU and its significant programs.
Her installation was a highlight of the APPA conference, “Focusing on the Critical Few,” held in Vancouver, B.C., Canada in July 2009.