Kathy Richards, Northern Michigan University’s associate vice president of engineering and planning/facilities, received the Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP) credential from APPA, the association dedicated to leadership in educational facilities. The CEFP is a way to validate the knowledge and competency required of a professional in the field.

Richards earned the credential by passing a four-hour, comprehensive test on all areas of facilities management: general administration and management; operations and maintenance; environmental and energy/utilities management; and building design and construction.

“By obtaining the CEFP, it assures the individual and their institution that they have established a thorough and applied understanding of the best management practices related to educational facilities,” said J. Thompson Becker, chair of APPA’s Board for Educational Facilities Professionals Certification. “Our CEFP recipients and their institutions have also committed to an ongoing program of professional development that will further assure cutting-edge relevancy going forward. The APPA CEFP is quickly becoming the industry standard for leaders within educational facilities.”

On a related note, Richards and NMU colleague Jim Thams presented "Northern Michigan University’s New High-Tech Classroom Facility: A Catalyst for Change" at the APPA annual conference in Chicago. The presentation provided attendees with an overview of the design process for John X. Jamrich Hall and highlighted how the design team was able promote a campus- hift in the type of learning spaces available at NMU, foster collaborative learning, adopt standard class scheduling guidelines, improve classroom utilization and highlight the operational efficiencies incorporated into the new building.