APPA (Leadership in Educational Facilities)

Congratulations to APPA's 2026 award recipients.

Each year, we recognize the people and institutions whose work moves the educational facilities profession forward. This year's honorees reflect the depth of our community, from members who have given years of steadfast service to institutions piloting practices others will learn from.

This year's recipients:

• Meritorious Service Award: Jessica Pepoy and Thomas W. Jones

• Pacesetter Award: Dr. Ayodele Akinola and Larin Davis

• Rex Dillow Award for Outstanding Article: Dean Hansen and Mike Dunnavant, University of Mississippi

• Effective and Innovative Practices Award: Auburn University

• Sustainability Innovation Award: University of California, San Francisco and Georgia Institute of Technology

Join us in celebrating their service, leadership, and innovation. Read more about each recipient here: https://www.appa.org/news/celebrating-excellence-announcing-appas-2026-award-recipients

The full speaker lineup and agenda for APPA Annual Conference 2026 are now live.

This July, educational facilities leaders gather at the Ga***rd National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD for three days of learning, networking, and the conversations shaping the future of our profession.

The program opens with a keynote from Patrick S. Malone, PhD of American University and digs into the pressures facilities organizations are navigating right now, from funding strategy to the intelligent campus to the evolving role of facilities leaders as strategic partners.

If you have been waiting to register, now is the time. Tickets are still 10% off for the next few weeks, and the discounted hotel room block is closing soon. The final event registration deadline is July 2, that's just one month away! We can't wait to see you there.

👉 See the full agenda and speaker lineup here: https://www.appa.org/events/appa-2026-annual-conference
👉 Discounted hotel room block: https://www.appa.org/events/appa-2026-annual-conference

33 facilities professionals just finished APPA's first cohort of AI in Facilities: 101.

Real work, built during the program and used at their own institutions: deferred-maintenance funding proposals, BI dashboards from 20,000+ work orders, board-ready memos, capital plans, crisis communications, and board-level affiliation analyses.

⭐️ One program participant said:

"I used my capstone for a real-time project that was well received by my executive leadership and some community members."

Join us for the next cohort:

📅 Sessions 1–3: June 1–3, 1:00–3:00 PM ET
📅 Session 4 (Capstone Presentations): June 10, 1:00–3:00 PM ET

Designed for facilities professionals in higher education and K-12 who want to use AI for real work, not just experiment with it.

🔗 Interested? Register here: https://www.appa.org/events/ai-for-facilities-101-20260601

JobExpress is now the APPA Careers Center!

This new platform is the dedicated home for educational facilities careers, connecting professionals with institutions and businesses hiring across the country.

Hiring for your team? Member rates for posting a position now start at $299, lower than before.

Whether you're eyeing your next role or building out your team, this is where the educational facilities community connects.

🔗 Check out APPA Careers Center here: https://careers.appa.org/

Micromobility devices are everywhere on campus, and the risks are catching up faster than the regulations can.
Join Steve Knapp of SUNY Cortland for a closer look at the hazards of Li-ion powered devices, how campuses are responding, and the resources available to help facilities teams get ahead of the issue.
Steve is currently a member of the NYAPPA board and brings firsthand experience with Li-ion battery fires from 20 years in healthcare.

👉 Register here: https://www.appa.org/events/e-scooter-and-battery-safety

APPA was pleased to be represented at AUDE 2026, engaging with Directors of Estates from universities across the UK.

The conference also included representatives connected to HEFMA (Southern Africa) and TEFMA (Australasia), creating a valuable opportunity for cross-regional dialogue.

“The concrete cracks the same no matter where you are in the world." APPA CEO Lalit Agarwal spoke to the workforce pressures, infrastructure demands, financial constraints, the evolving role of public funding, and the rise of AI as challenges that resonate globally.

The exchange of ideas highlighted how different approaches can spark innovation and inform new ways of thinking.

APPA remains committed to strengthening global partnerships and advancing shared solutions to support the future of educational facilities.

👉 Read the blog post: https://www.appa.org/news/global-dialogue-shared-pressures-reflections-from-aude-2026