FE&P’s Kathy Jones named assistant VP for project management and engineering

Facilities Engineering and Planning’s (FE&P) Kathy Jones, who had been serving as interim assistant vice president for project management and engineering since Doug Tomlinson left Rice in January, has stepped into the role permanently.

Kathy Jones

“Kathy is one of the strongest managers I have ever seen in the design and construction industry,” said Barbara White Bryson, associate vice president for FE&P. “Her skills built over years of working architecture, construction and project management will serve Rice well as we take on the building, renovating and operations challenges of the next decade.”

Jones is responsible for the project management of all of Rice’s capital projects as well as the operations for the Central and South plants.

Since joining Rice in May 2006, she has served in multiple managerial roles, including as a senior project manager who managed the design and construction of the BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC) as well as the interior build-out of the BRC. She also has been a supervising project manager and oversaw a projects manager on the new Baker College addition, the Baker College servery, the new Will Rice and Baker colleges additions, the Abe and Annie Seibel servery, the D. Kent and Linda C. Anderson and Robert L. and Jean T. Clarke Center, the George R. Brown Tennis Complex and a multitude of smaller projects. Most recently she was director of capital projects.

“While I was the senior project manager for the BioScience Research Collaborative, I reported directly to Barbara, and I learned so much in the four years that I was working directly with her,” Jones said. When Tomlinson retired, Bryson asked Jones to serve as the interim assistant vice president for project management and engineering.

“I jumped at the opportunity because I love coaching and mentoring younger project managers, and this position allows me to do just that,” said Jones, who officially assumed her new role in May. “I draw my experience from having worked for both architecture firms and a construction firm and I want to be able to share the ‘lessons learned’ with my colleagues.”

Jones’ expertise includes both architecture and construction. A graduate of the University of Texas, she is a registered architect in Texas and a LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, accredited professional.

Jones’ daughter, Audrey, is a member of McMurtry College and will be a senior this year in chemical engineering.