McConnell, Jr.

Jim McConnell is associate vice president of facilities services at the University of Chicago. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master’s in civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. At UChicago, he oversees all campus design, construction, strategic planning, sustainability initiatives, maintenance, and building operations. Jim joined the university in 2016 from Ascent, a Chicago-based capital program management firm, where he served as executive vice president. He brings broad experience in executing major capital programs and managing the built environment.

For 13 years, he served as the senior executive for large, complex construction, repair, and maintenance programs on behalf of the U.S. Navy, Chicago, Qatar, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Previously as the capital program manager at Chicago’s Public Building Commission with ARCADIS U.S., he oversaw a $2.4 billion capital construction program and led program management in the design and construction for nine different City of Chicago client agencies. As chief facilities executive with LAUSD from 2001 to 2006, Jim developed a capital program that delivered 130 new schools and, at $11.8 billion, was the largest program for new schools in the nation.

A Pittsburgh-area native, Jim is a retired U.S. Navy captain with the Navy Civil Engineer Corps.