Randolph D. Odden appointed Director of Facility Operations for the Desert Research Institute
The Desert Research Institute has appointed Randolph D. Odden as director of facility operations with responsibility for more than 250,000 square feet of office and laboratory facilities on DRI campuses in Reno and Las Vegas. Odden, who was formerly director of facilities & operations for the North Kitsap School District in Poulsbo, Wash., and a supervisor in the University of Washington’s Physical Plant Department, will be based at DRI’s Southern Nevada Science Center in Las Vegas.
Odden will supervise a staff of 19 people involved in repair and maintenance, landscaping and grounds maintenance, minor construction, motor pool services, security operations and onsite telephone systems. A civil engineer, Odden has more than 30 years of experience in engineering and facilities management.
A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national, and international scale. Nearly 500 full- and part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 150 research projects at DRI annually. More than 85 percent of DRI's annual $33 million operating budget consists of research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists. The balance is received from the state of Nevada for administrative costs.