VOLUME 12, NUMBER 15 • FEBRUARY 16, 2001

Busy Man on Campus: Alex Kogan is New Director of Plant Operations

Alex Kogan, a former consultant to The Rockefeller University, is the new director of Plant Operations. In this role, Kogan will oversee more than 100 employees in the powerhouse, custodial, grounds, maintenance, carpentry and paint shops.

In his new role at Rockefeller, Alex Kogan will oversee the powerhouse, custodial, grounds, maintenance, carpentry and paint shops.

Plant Operations is responsible for maintaining not only the infrastructure of the campus but also its physical appearance. "That’s a challenge," Kogan says, "because our work is very visible. The campus has a beautiful landscape, beautiful buildings, a beautiful powerhouse…" A beautiful powerhouse? "Well, to us, it’s beautiful," he says.

Other areas of campus, such as the steam tunnels and vaults, are not seen by most of the Rockefeller community but are vital for the functioning of the university. Kogan’s team works around the clock to keep all systems working well. Some of Kogan’s challenges in the near future include ensuring that staffing levels meet the university’s needs, working with utility suppliers to reduce the university’s energy costs, improving public spaces and coordinating an on-line requisition program for Plant Operations work orders.

Off-campus, Kogan is nearly as busy as he is at Rockefeller. He is halfway through an MBA program at Baruch College and is the father of a six-month-old.

Kogan, who is fluent in Russian, emigrated from the Soviet Union with his parents in 1979. He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Bucknell University in 1994 and joined what is now the Aramark Corporation. At Aramark, he served as the regional technical director for the northeast, handling such accounts as Lincoln Center, NYU Medical Center and the American Museum of Natural History. He has been a consultant at Rockefeller since 1996, serving as both a project manager and associate director of Plant Operations.

After so many years as a consultant, what made him decide to join Rockefeller? "One thing that drew me here," he says, "is the incredible sense of community. If you ask the Plant Operations employees what their purpose is here, most will say it is to enhance scientific research. We feel very much a part of the university’s mission. I think that’s unique to this institution and certainly contributes to the success of our team."

Kogan finds that the university’s congenial environment has practical advantages too: "People are accessible here. You can get an answer right away. There’s less red tape.

"The university community was wonderfully supportive during the transition," he says. "I couldn’t be happier."