Vol. 24, No. 8	October 30, 1998

As Lerner Hall Takes Shape, So Does Its Management Team

By Carol Eskaros

Though the official opening of Lerner Hall is almost a year away, the day-to-day budgeting, scheduling and operations of the future student center are already being addressed by a newly-assembled management staff.

Activities and construction around Lerner are bustling, according to Harris Schwartz, the center's executive director. He said the bookstore will open this spring, and move-in for the rest of the facility will begin this summer. "Lerner's staff needs to be on-hand and ready to occupy the building as soon as it is completed," he explained.

Among the staff members are three newly-appointed administrators:

Dara Falco, associate director for scheduling and support services, will be responsible for managing the scheduling of all spaces and coordinating support and technology services associated with the student center. The Lerner scheduling system, which Falco oversees, will serve as the basis for a campus-wide event management system. In addition, Falco will oversee the box office, hospitality desk and game-billiard room as well as manage the Campus Alcohol Awareness and proctoring program. Prior to joining the University, Falco served as general manager of the John Harms Center for the Arts in Englewood, N.J.

"My background in the arts will allow me to bring a fresh perspective and strong organizational and people skills to Lerner," Falco said.

Falco is joined by Maria Gerena, who will serve as Lerner's manager of budget and administration. Prior to managing Lerner's finances, Gerena was the director of office operations for Zagat Survey, where she gained experience in the fields of budgeting, human resources and office management.

Also in September, Schwartz named Allen Glenn as the assistant director of plant operations in Lerner. Glenn, who has extensive real estate development and construction experience and who served as the director of housing and capital projects at Rockefeller University, will direct the physical maintenance of Lerner and will oversee the work of the engineering and cleaning staff in the facility.

The goal of the new staff, Schwartz said, was to "establish an effective customer-focused program," and to work closely with student activities officers to support programming and student activities.

"In running a facility as large and service-oriented as Lerner, we will need to bring together many operations, including Student Services, Student Activities and Support Services. Integrating these services is an exciting challenge, and the end product will be a facility built for and tailored to the needs of students."

Vice President for Student Services Mark Burstein said, "I am very pleased by the team Harris has assembled to manage Lerner. Their diverse talents and backgrounds complement the overall potential of the building."