Alan Bigger honored as a Fellow by APPA

July 30, 2009

RICHMOND, IN — Earlham College Director of Facilities Alan Bigger was recently honored as a Fellow by APPA, an association that serves and assists facilities officers and physical plant administrators in colleges, universities and other educational institutions, according to a press release.

According to the release, Bigger, who was selected as CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management^® magazine''s Person of the Year in 2004, was formally honored at the 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition at the Vancouver Convention Center in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Before joining Earlham College in 2007 and gaining responsibility for all aspects of the physical plant, Bigger was the director of building services at the University of Notre Dame for more than 15 years, the release stated.

APPA Associate Vice-President John Bernhards said: "Very few APPA members receive the Fellow designation. Alan is one of only eight to receive this honor since its inception in 2004."

A Registered Executive Housekeeper from the International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA), Bigger has published nearly 350 articles in trade journals, including a recent Facility Focus article in Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine, and more than 100 "Frugal Housekeeper" columns in Executive Housekeeping Today, the release noted.

According to APPA President William Elvey, "Alan has held several key leadership positions in APPA. The most notable is that of president in 2007-08. He presents everywhere and writes incessantly for numerous magazines. He is equally as generous in counseling individual members regarding their career paths. We hope his service to APPA will continue for years to come. It''s only appropriate that he receive the APPA Fellow Award designation."

Bigger, who has accomplished a great deal on campus in a very short period of time, will be taking early retirement and will leave Earlham College at the end of the summer, the release added.