New VP for Facilities Management

Boston College has named Patrick O’Hern, senior director of project management services at Dartmouth College, as its new vice president for facilities management, effective February 3. He succeeds Dan Bourque, who is retiring at the end of January after 16 years of service to BC.

A highly respected manager with 26 years of experience across corporate, commercial, residential, and higher education sectors, O’Hern has spent the past 14 years at Dartmouth supervising internal and contractual staff to support new building construction and major renovation projects for academic, residential, and athletic facilities.

As senior director, he was responsible for the development and execution of Dartmouth’s five-year capital program, leading a cross-functional team to review capital project requests and support the establishment of the college’s annual capital budget, while expanding and reorganizing project management staffing to align with Dartmouth’s institutional goals. He also led a comprehensive renewal plan of undergraduate campus housing and established a team to address decarbonization across campus facilities. Most recently, he led the construction of two major campus buildings, the 160,000-square foot Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center and the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society, as well as the renovation of historic Dartmouth Hall.

As vice president for facilities at Boston College, he will be responsible for all BC facilities operations and maintenance, capital construction, renovations and planning, and energy sustainability efforts.

Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead described O’Hern as a collaborative professional who has clear strengths in project and facility management, facilities operations, budgeting, and staff development that will help to lead BC’s facilities operations into the future.

"Patrick was selected from a strong pool of candidates interested in the vice president for facilities services position,” said Lochhead.  “I am confident that his broad experience, coupled with his commitment to higher education, will have a positive impact on Boston College for the foreseeable future.  I am thrilled to have Patrick joining the BC community and look forward to working with him to advance the University's mission."

O’Hern said he was honored to have been chosen for the position and looked forward to adding to BC’s reputation as a leader in facilities management.

“After close to 15 years at Dartmouth, I realized it was time for the next professional challenge,” said O’Hern. “When I had conversations outside of Dartmouth about potential career opportunities, everyone in the facilities world raved about Boston College. Adding in the extra dimension of BC’s mission and Jesuit, Catholic heritage, which is in line with how I grew up, I realized that this was where I wanted to be.”  

An alumnus of Northwestern University with an undergraduate degree in civil engineering and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management, O’Hern held project manager positions in Pennsylvania, Chicago, and Boston before joining Dartmouth College in 2010.   

Outside of work, he has been active in his Hanover, New Hampshire, community, serving as a member of the board of trustees of the Twin Pines Housing Trust, the region’s sole developer of affordable housing, and coaching youth basketball and soccer.   

He and his wife, Karen, are the parents of two children, Meghan and Ryan.

“Karen and I always thought we would make it back to Boston where we first met in the late ‘90s,” said O’Hern. “It is gratifying that our hope is finally being realized. Dan Bourque and his team have done an outstanding job as evidenced by this beautiful campus. I look forward to continuing that level of success on behalf of the Boston College community.”