August 5, 2024
Colleagues,
We are thrilled to welcome two new leaders to Yale and the Office of Facilities. Between them, they have more than sixty years of experience in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, which will enhance our team’s capabilities and support an ambitious capital plan.
Joseph “Joe” G. Costa joins Yale as the director of capital program development and delivery for College Place on August 5.
This key role reports to Michael Schrier, associate vice president for capital program development and delivery, until we onboard a senior director of capital program development and delivery for medical and west campuses. Joe is responsible for the successful delivery of College Place, a new research and teaching facility for Yale’s School of Medicine and School of Public Health. This project will allow the schools to expand into a primary location and grow in step with their programmatic ambitions.
Joe is an accomplished architect and project leader with extensive experience in large capital project planning, design, management, and construction oversight. Before joining Yale, Joe was principal and regional director at Perkins Eastman, where he oversaw capital development in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island. His portfolio included more than two million square feet valued at more than $1 billion. Many of these projects comprised complex structural and spatial challenges on difficult urban sites, like building atop subgrade subway infrastructure tunnels, near railroad tracks, within flood zones, and engineering high-rise structures.
Before that, Joe was principal at Fletcher-Thompson, responsible for the business development and management of over six million square feet of space valued at around $1.4 billion. He also worked for Westcott & Mapes, Inc., and Preiss-Breismeister & Coats (now Preiss/Breismeister, P.C.).
He received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Syracuse University. Joe is a LEED accredited professional, a registered interior designer, a certified public purchasing official in Massachusetts, and a registered architect in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Louisiana, New York, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.
Greg Kufner joins Yale as the senior director of the Lower Hillhouse Development on August 15.
This key role reports to Michael Schrier and will collaborate closely with James Kolker, University Architect, on the planning and delivery of the Lower Hillhouse Development. This program spans the planning, design, and construction of new facilities and the renovation of existing buildings for Yale’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Greg is a progressive leader with deep experience as a university architect, campus planner, and architect. Notably, his experience includes a range of building types for higher education campuses focused on science, research, and high-tech facilities as well as being a link between campus planning and architecture.
Prior to joining Yale, Greg was the university architect at Penn State, where he led campus planning and design for all campuses and properties—including its flagship campus, University Park, and 26 branch locations. He oversaw 32 million square feet of facilities on more than 22,000 acres and was a key leader who stewarded the planning, design, and construction of a $3.8 billion capital plan.
In his time at Penn State, Greg led more than 30 major projects, including the planning, design, and development of two new districts that greatly expanded the limits of University Park. Its West Campus district provides a new home for seven departments of the College of Engineering with two new buildings totaling 400,000 square feet. These buildings provide learning, research, administrative, and collaboration spaces for the engineering departments. Highlights include specialized research and classroom spaces, flexible wet lab research, student commons, and a spectrum of maker spaces, from design through fabrication and prototyping.
Prior to Penn State, Greg worked at BHDP Architecture, NBBJ, and CannonDesign, among others. He received a bachelor’s degree in architecture, graduate certificate in urban design, and a master’s degree in architecture from the College of Architecture & Environmental Design at Kent State University. Greg is a registered architect and a certified architect through the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
Please join us in extending our best wishes to Joe and Greg as they join the Yale community and assume their roles in the Office of Facilities this month.
Sincerely,
James Kolker, FAIA
University Architect
Michael Schrier, AIA, MBA
Associate Vice President for Capital Program Development and Delivery
Yale University
Top image: Joseph G. Costa, courtesy of Perkins Eastman
Lower image: Greg Kufner, courtesy of Penn State, Office of the Physical Plant