Adam D. Thies, director of planning and development initiatives for Indianapolis, has been named assistant vice president for capital planning and facilities at IU.
Thies has served since October 2012 as director of the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, where he manages a staff of 75 city planners, redevelopment officials, transportation planners and design review professionals with an annual budget of $32.3 million. He has received naional recognition for his competence as an urban planner.
“Adam Thies is a highly regarded urban planner with deep and varied experience in both the private and public sectors,” Thomas Morrison, IU vice president for capital planning and facilities, said in the release. “I’m very pleased that he has agreed to join our team at Indiana University, where his skills and background will prove invaluable in the planning and completion of capital initiatives related to the Bicentennial Strategic Plan.”
He will provide system-wide strategic leadership and vision for facilities planning and management at IU, with a specific focus on University master planning, site planning and campus development. As Assistant Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities, he will be the primary University liaison with external planning consultants and engage with campus and community officials and groups regarding the scale and effect of campus planning.
“My goal is to be a part of the team and to be a part of making IU a better university,” Thies said in the release. “The University has been around for almost 200 years, and I want to help ensure it’s around for another 200 after.”
Thies said he is honored to have been selected and looks forward to starting work.
“IU represents an example of some of the world’s greatest research,” he said. “It truly is an anchor institution not only in Bloomington, but in Indiana, nationally and even globally.”
As an urban planner, Thies said he is eager to work with and to offer opportunities to students within the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
“Students who want to get involved with urban development should have a good understanding of design, economics, sociology, finance, governmental affairs and municipal finance,” he said in the release. “I’m hopeful I’ll get to work with these students and continue to better the University for many years to come.”
