Rhoads Named Assistant Vice President

 MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Troy Rhoads, interim assistant vice president for facilities management at Western Illinois University, has been named the permanent assistant vice president for facilities management, effective Dec. 1.

Rhoads has served as the interim assistant vice president for facilities management since July 2021. Previously, he had served as the executive director of Facilities Management since January 2020 and was the interim director from June 2017-January 2020. In these roles, Rhoads led more than 160 employees within Facilities Management, with responsibilities for campus planning, design and construction, utilities, sustainability, landscaping, building and mechanical operations and transportation.

Rhoads has also served as a maintenance worker (1996-1998); stationary fireman helper (1998-1999); utilities and maintenance repairman (1999-2008); lead stationary engineer (2008-2010); assistant chief building operating engineer (2010-2012); superintendent of building maintenance (2012-2016), and assistant director (2016-2017).

"Troy's many years of leading, and working in, Facilities Management, along with his diverse maintenance background, will allow for continued seamless operations," said Shannon Sutton, interim vice president for finance and administration.

Before coming to Western, Rhoads was a plant operator for the Urbana and Champaign Sanitary District and he served in the United States Navy as an F-14 aircraft mechanic.

Rhoads received his bachelor's degree from WIU. He is also a graduate of the Environmental Resources Training Center at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and received an associate degree from Illinois Central College.