Carley brings three decades of experience leading facilities and emergency operations at large, complex campuses, including Baylor University.
The University of Rochester has named Patrick Carley senior associate vice president for Facilities and Services.
Carley will report to Elizabeth Milavec, executive vice president for Administration and Finance, chief financial officer, and treasurer, and will serve as a member of University President Sarah Mangelsdorf’s cabinet. He begins on October 19.
Carley comes to URochester from Baylor University, where he had served since 2021 as associate vice president for facilities and operations. He oversaw daily operations of a 1,000-acre campus and directed a $650 million construction program that included the early stages of a major conversion of the central utility plant from steam to hot water.
Before his time at Baylor, Carley served 26 years in the US Air Force, retiring as a colonel. He twice led civil engineering organizations that handled the equivalent of municipal public works, with responsibility for trades and shops, central heating and chiller plants, wastewater treatment, grounds and custodial services, and all design and construction activities. At Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, as the installation and wing commander, he oversaw a $301 million budget and facilities and capital improvements across a 4,000-acre campus. Carley also guided development of its campus master plan. At the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he co-led an organization of 3,000 people supporting around-the-clock operations across 19,000 acres, including facilities, emergency response, medical facilities, residential and student services, and athletic support for 26 NCAA Division I teams.
A licensed professional engineer, Carley holds an MBA from Baylor University, a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in strategic studies from Marine Corps University, and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University.
At URochester, Carley will lead Facilities and Services, an organization of about 800 people responsible for the buildings, grounds, and infrastructure that support teaching, research, and patient care across the institution. Their work spans day-to-day operations and maintenance, utility and energy systems, and the design and construction of new and renovated facilities. He will also guide long-range campus master planning, working with leaders across the University to align facilities planning with the goals of Boundless Possibility, the University’s strategic plan.
“Our campuses are among the University’s most important assets, and caring for them well takes discipline and good judgment,” Milavec says. “Patrick has spent his career supporting complex missions through facilities and emergency management, and his collaborative, One University approach and commitment to the people who keep this enterprise running reflect our Meliora values.”
Alan McNiff, who stepped into the interim role in 2025 while the University conducted its search, will return to his position as associate vice president for facilities operations. “Alan has led this organization steadily through a long transition, and the University is better for it,” Milavec says. “I’m grateful for his service in this critical role, and glad we’ll continue to have his leadership and experience in the facilities organization.”
