When Colgate Director of Facilities Operations Jason Wallace isn’t coordinating the University’s army of custodial and maintenance staff, he is leading about 11,000 United States Army Corps of Engineers as a newly decorated brigadier general in the 416th Theater Engineer Command.
Wallace, who has been with Colgate since June, 2019, has served his nation in the military for a total of 29 years, three of which in active duty and the remainder as part of the U.S. Army Reserves. On July 24, Wallace was promoted from Colonel into his new Brigadier General role at the Fort Ontario State Historic Site in his hometown of Oswego, NY.
“I handle the logistics and the administrative side, including personnel or, what we would call human resources at Colgate. I make sure we have the right supplies where we need them, that the equipment works, and everything is properly maintained east of the Mississippi.”
Wallace is a graduate of Clarkson University with a bachelor of science in civil and environmental engineering, and he holds a master of business administration from SUNY Oswego. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, where he earned his master of strategic studies degree.
In his military service, Wallace has helped the reserves respond to five hurricanes, and he has been involved in countless building projects, including constructing a new water treatment plant in Iraq. His highest decorations and awards include the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, and the Bronze de Fleury Medal.
When Wallace leaves campus for the day, he heads home to start work for the military.
“Colgate has been very good to me. I do Army work every night. From emails to personnel management and making travel plans, it’s all very time-intensive,” Wallace said. “A lot of that stuff is cross applicable. It has helped me with all of my work here. Clearly, years in the army being around construction and maintenance has been critical. It’s also helped with my leadership as we work to foster team development in Colgate’s Facilities Department. It’s always one team, one mission.”
Associate Vice President for Facilities and Capital Projects Steve Hughes said Wallace’s work at Colgate has had an impact on their team building and day-to-day success.
“Jason and his leadership qualities have made a positive impact on our Colgate Community. He supports our teams with the same passion as he does for our country, and for that I am grateful,” Hughes said.