Cambridge, MA The Lunder Art Center is the new home for Lesley University’s College of Art and Design in Porter Sq. Opening in the Spring of 2015, it is on its way to fulfilling a key university goal of creating a “Nexus for the Arts.” The center blends new architecture with a landmarked and re-purposed church structure, making a new 75,000 s/f architectural composition.

On Thursday, March 31, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. panelists led a discussion that touched on galvanizing support around the arts in a tough regulatory climate, sustainable design strategies that contribute to the expected LEED Gold rating, and approaches to preservation (and change) associated with the church building.

Panelists: • Jason Forney, principal, Bruner Cott Architects: Forney specializes in the transformative adaptive reuse of historically significant structures as well as the design of high-performing contemporary architecture. Forney led the design teams for the reuse of the Lunder Arts Center at Lesley University. Forney holds bachelor’s degrees in Architecture and Environmental Design from North Carolina State University.

• George Smith, director of operations and campus planning, Lesley University: Smith is director of operations and campus planning overseeing a variety of facility management functions in support of Lesley University’s growth and ongoing operations. His responsibilities include campus planning and development, commercial and residential real estate management; capital project and construction oversight, and management of daily facilities operations, including maintenance, preventative maintenance and custodial services. He has 30 years of experience in the facility management field. Previous to Lesley, Smith spent 10 years with CB Richard Ellis. He served as the regional director for the Fleet Bank Account in Hartford, Conn., with the overall responsibility for 7.2 mm s/f of administrative and retail space in New England and New York, and previously served as senior facilities manager for CB Richard Ellis, assigned to the 1.2 mm s/f Dow Chemical Company corporate headquarters campus in Midland, Michigan.

• Richard Zauft, dean, Lesley University College of Art and Design: Zauft serves as the dean of the Lesley University College of Art and Design. Previous to joining Lesley in 2014, he served as the dean of graduate studies, executive director of the institute of interdisciplinary studies, and the associate vice president of academic affairs at Emerson College in Boston. He’s also served as the president of the College Book Arts Association and president of the Society of Printers. A two-time National Endowment for the Arts recipient, his artist’s books are included in many institutional special collections, among them Brown University, Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Smith College, Wellesley College, Dartmouth College, University of the Atlantic, New York Public Library, National Gallery of Canada, and the Centre Romand d’Art Graphique, Lausanne, Switzerland. Zauft holds an MFA degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

• Charles Goss, assistant director of physical plant: Goss has over 25 years in the facility management field supporting a variety of markets. He came to Lesley in July of 2013 with C&W Services as the asst. director of physical plant and provides direct oversight of plant maintenance and cleaning staff. Goss comes to Lesley following a 20 year O&M/FM professional career with Johnson Controls in the pharmaceutical vertical market supporting big pharma companies, where he provided oversight of various building management systems infrastructure & central utility plants supporting manufacturing, research and vivarium facilities complying with regulatory agencies, including USDA, FDA, AALAC, OSHA and European FDA.