By SUSAN JONES
Gina Bleck, Pitt’s new vice chancellor for planning, design and construction, said she was lured back to a university campus by “the possibilities at Pitt and in Pittsburgh … both for the magnitude of work that’s happening now and what’s to come.”
Bleck came to Pitt in March with nearly 30 years of experience, as an architect, designer and project manager. She spent 11 years at Georgetown University, finishing as university architect, and nearly seven years at Rutgers University.
“I’m about the space between buildings as much as I’m a building architect,” she said in a recent interview. “I think the space between the buildings are more important on a campus than the buildings themselves, because that’s what fosters life and interaction. And there is a lot of work and possibility still here. … What does it mean to be at Pitt? And how does that connect with with the neighborhood of Oakland and then with the larger city and then the region? I think the opportunities are exciting.”
Last year, when Mary Beth McGrew retired as vice chancellor for planning, design and real estate, the decision was made to split her duties between two people — Anish Kumar, vice chancellor for real estate who started in February 2022, and a vice chancellor for planning, design and construction.
Dave DeJong, senior vice chancellor for business and operations, said earlier this year that combining planning and construction allows one office to follow a project all the way through.
“The teams all worked really well together, but we thought that putting them under one organization would make for clean handoffs all the way through,” DeJong said. “Get the planners explicitly part of the project all the way down to the last nail, and the construction folks in on the discussions so that when the planning is happening, the buildability considerations are there. It was all happening, but just putting it under that structure we think makes a lot of sense.”
For Bleck that means, “I’m responsible for the full continuum of a project: Inception, creation of the vision, through construction and occupancy.”
One of the areas she’s focusing on now is the landscape around the two major projects on campus — the Wellness and Recreation Center and the Sports and Performance Center, which are both under construction on the mid-campus hillside.
The landscaping around those two projects, “will fundamentally transform how we move through and up and down on campus, and I’m most energized and excited about that,” she said. “It’s a huge shift in the dynamic of the upper campus and the connection to the lower campus.”
She’s new to Pitt and Pittsburgh, and is learning what it means to be here. “My role is about placemaking, so we can foster the student experience and and have the physical reality of space match the academic and research prowess of Pitt,” Bleck said.
Right now, she’s getting up to speed on Pitt’s portfolio of buildings and construction projects, as well as the campus master plan and the institutional master plan. She’s also working on the reorganization and integration of staff, now that planning and construction are in one office.
Another area of interest for Bleck is Pitt’s commitment to sustainability and carbon neutrality.
“I’ve just scratched the surface in that regard, and I know there’s much more to come,” she said. “I’m excited about what we can do in the end, and how that ties not just to Pitt but to Oakland and Pittsburgh and the economics within the region.”
The Philadelphia native said everyone has been very welcoming, including DeJong, Kumar and Scott Bernotas, vice chancellor for facilities management.
“I know there’s sometimes that tension about which side (of the state) are you from, but it’s been really, really great. Everybody’s been very welcoming. Pittsburgh’s dynamic; the food is great; so all kinds of positives toward that end.”
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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