April 19, 2007
Kavanagh to head transport services
Joshua Kavanagh, associate director of Parking and Transportation Services at the University of New Mexico, has been named the director of Transportation Services at the UW.
“At the University of New Mexico, Josh has garnered glowing acknowledgements from his peers and colleagues, and brings with him a wealth of experience and leadership skills,” said Charles Kennedy, associate vice president for facilities services. “We are looking forward to having him assume leadership of Transportation Services.”
Transportation Services encompasses Motor Pool, Property and Transport Services, Parking Services and the Transportation Office.
Kavanagh, who has been associate director at UNM since 2002 and with Parking and Transportation Services there since 1999, is a native of Waterloo, Wisconsin, near the “other UW” in Madison. But his undergraduate degree in education was earned at the university’s Eau Claire campus. He spent several years as a teacher before earning his MBA at UNM, where he first got a job as a parking officer.
“Nobody plans a career in parking and transportation services,” Kavanagh said. “But opportunity struck, and I found it to be a surprisingly fascinating environment with many interesting challenges.”
He served as the department’s public information representative before becoming associate director.
As associate director, Kavanagh managed the day to day operations and long range planning for an 11,000 space parking system and a fleet of 30 shuttles, supporting annual ridership of more than 2 million people and 500 university events each year. He also guided the development of policy at the departmental, institutional and state levels. Kavanagh received the Gerald W. May Award, the highest honor for staff at UNM, in 2006.
He said he was attracted to the UW in part because of its leadership role in the transportation field nationally.
“It’s exciting to come to an institution that has done so well, especially in building partnerships with transit, which is the wave of the future,” Kavanagh said. “I’m also looking forward to working with Motor Pool and Property and Transport Services, which are organizationally separate at UNM.”
He’s also happy to be moving to Seattle, where he has relatives and friends.
When he arrives on May 7, Kavanagh said he will be spending a lot of time meeting with major stakeholders and listening to them before formulating any plans of his own.
“I’ve already met with some members of the Facilities Services team, and I’m looking forward to meeting with faculty, staff and students,” he said. “I like to work in as inclusive a way as possible.”
Kavanagh may also be juggling more than work responsibilities at the University; he has been the staff adviser for the UNM Unicycling and Juggling Club, hobbies he calls “social and relaxing.”
