April 28, 2021
Chris Salmon named director of facilities maintenance
After a national search, K-State's Division of Facilities has appointed Chris Salmon as the director of facilities maintenance.
The director of facilities maintenance leads maintenance and renewal activities at Kansas State University, which encompasses more than 6.4 million gross square feet of campus infrastructure. This role provides continuous leadership to approximately 50 departmental staff and manages challenges presented from the built environment, with a keen focus on continuous improvement.
"This position plays a critical role in overseeing and improving the university's buildings and infrastructure, interfacing with the university community across all colleges, departments, and programs," said Casey Lauer, assistant vice president for Facilities. "Chris brings next-level talent to the Division of Facilities; his wealth of operations experience, drive for success, and his ability to foster relationships will help our Division and the campus achieve a higher level of success."
Salmon has 25 years of demonstrated leadership experience and success through a strong track record of employee development, commitment to financial and structural efficiencies, and team-focused objectives.
Salmon obtained his bachelor's degree in production and operations management from Kansas State University in 1995 and has spent his career in the food production industry working for Frito-Lay, PepsiCo and most recently, as plant manager for Russell Stover. He has experience in large-scale operations leadership with complex organizations at all levels, including managing more than 600 employees in his most recent role.
"My wife and I love K-State and Manhattan, having both been graduates, and I am extremely excited to join the team at K-State," Salmon said. I am a firm believer in Coach Snyder's mantra of getting a little better every day. I have applied that philosophy everywhere that I have previously led, and will work hard to do the same for my alma mater."
Salmon will begin his position at K-State on May 3.