APPA 2024-2026 Election

Candidate for Vice Chair

APPA Primary Representatives (or their proxies) from APPA member institutions and affiliate member organizations are eligible to vote. Voting is now open, and closes at 5PM PM (ET) on Monday, August 26, 2024.

Vice Chair

Robert J. Aldrich, CEFP

Director of Operations and Campus Planning
Hackley School

Platform Statement:

I am humbled to be nominated for service as APPA’s next Vice Chair, especially at such a pivotal and exciting time for our organization as we welcome our new president/CEO. When I transitioned from law enforcement to education in 2006, I was lucky to go to work for an institution that embraced its membership in APPA, where I found myself surrounded by many active members. With their support, I had an opportunity early on to participate in conferences, workshops, and more, and to see all that APPA had to offer.

I credit APPA’s signature Supervisors Toolkit and the Institute for Facilities Management for giving me the tools, knowledge, confidence, and connections to eventually become a successful senior facilities officer. They also opened the door to new opportunities within the association to get involved—whether serving on the board for my local chapter, volunteering on a committee, or presenting at a regional conference.

I am guessing that many of us have a similar story: once you’re involved in the association, you cannot get enough! My early experiences with APPA led to participation in the Thought Leaders Series, the Facilities Management Evaluation Program, and as an APPA advisor. These have been tremendous opportunities for professional development and growth, and I have made life-long personal and professional connections with colleagues worldwide.

I am eager to embrace another way to serve the association and our members. With a lifelong passion for professional development—both for myself and my teams, I am most excited to support and grow our opportunities and engagement around learning geared toward existing and new members. As we continue to emerge from the COVID years, we must find ways to engage our membership, celebrate our offerings and programming, and recruit new professionals and institutions to the association.

APPA is at a moment in its 110-year history that doesn’t come often—a change in its professional leadership with a new president/CEO. With that transition comes new ideas and new energy. Combined with the fact that we are incredibly lucky to have an engaged group of staff and volunteers, the momentum around what is possible is something I’m excited about.

I thank you for your vote and for supporting my nomination to the position of Vice Chair. I look forward to seeing you at a future APPA program.

Biography:

Robert J. Aldrich has served since July 2021 as the director of operations and campus planning for the Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York. In his role at Hackley, Aldrich is responsible for the school’s non-academic functions and logistics, including oversight of the physical plant and campus, faculty housing program, transportation, environmental sustainability initiatives, capital projects, campus safety and security, food service, the infirmary, and information technology.

Before his appointment at Hackley, Aldrich served in a similar role for 10 years at Miss Hall’s School in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts. Earlier in his career, he served as the programs manager and accreditation manager for the Office of Campus Safety at Phillips Exeter Academy and served for more than five years as the appointed Chief of Police for the Town of South Hampton, New Hampshire. It is believed that Chief Aldrich was the youngest Chief of Police in New Hampshire history at that time.

Aldrich attended Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice. He then earned an MBA with a focus on transformational leadership from Franklin Pierce College.

Aldrich has been a Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP) since 2017 and has presented workshops for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Professionals (IACLEA), the Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), and the Eastern Region of APPA. He has also served as an accreditation assessor for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS).

Aldrich has also been active in APPA throughout his career in education. He served as an elected board member of the Southern New England chapter and volunteered for the professional development committees at the regional and national levels. He participated in and contributed to several Thought Leaders Series workshops. He continues to serve as an evaluator for the Facilities Management Evaluation Program (FMEP) and APPA Advisors.