His life-long motto has been “build it and they will come.” And for the past 13 years David Wayland has done just that for the University of Texas Permian Basin and the University of Texas System.
In recent years, Wayland, who officially retired this past Friday, has overseen, to name a few projects, the construction of UTPB’s Science and Technology Building, Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, the Engineering Building and most recently, the D. Kirk Edwards Human Performance Center.
“I’ve been extremely fortunate to be part of this campus during this time,” said Wayland, who has served as UTPB’s vice president of Facilities Management for the past 3 years. “We’ve had a lot of projects going on.
“A big part of the reason I made the jump to UTPB is because of (UTPB President) Dr. Sandra Woodley’s vision. I saw that she was putting together a great team; an exciting team.”
Prior to arriving at UTPB, Wayland served as the senior project manager for the University of Texas System Office of Facilities Planning and Construction.
That experience is why Woodley wanted Wayland on her team, she said.
“This university has benefited from David Wayland’s expertise and commitment since 2008,” Woodley said. “He is an exceptional talent and we will miss him tremendously.
“His contributions to UTPB will be paying dividends for our campus and students for many years to come.”
Wayland, who was born in Bloomington, Delaware, earned his master’s of architecture and B.S. in architecture from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
After stints working as an architect in Washington and New Mexico, he arrived in West Texas where he was first hired as the chief building official for the City of Odessa from 1983-88 and then served in the same capacity in Midland until 2008 when he joined the University of Texas System, which consists of 8 campuses including Odessa and Midland.
Becoming an architect was a childhood dream that came true for Wayland, who says “there was never any doubt in my mind what I wanted to do.”
He loves the challenges of designing and building something, whether it’s a new house or a performing arts center. The most important task is making sure a project is completed within budget.
One of his most challenging and enjoyable projects was the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, he said.
“There were so many consultants involved and so much to learn,” Wayland recalls. At the start of the project he quickly realized how intricate the design needed to be in order to provide the best acoustics, lighting and seating.
“We ended up bringing in a theater consultant who came in and gave us all a lesson in performing arts 101 to help us understand what we needed to do,” Wayland said. “The $80 million Wagner Noël was a real fun project.”
For Wayland, the satisfaction comes from doing a job well done and knowing that he and his staff have created buildings that will serve instructors and students for many decades to come.
Although Wayland officially retired on April 30, he still participated in the university’s commencement activities May 1. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday he was back at his office desk, finishing up notes for his eventual successor, and making sure he was on-hand in case school administrators had any questions about current projects.
Wayland laughs out loud when he realizes, that he’s in his office working on his birthday (on May 5). Being retired “is going to take some adjusting to,” he confesses.
“I just turned 67,” Wayland said. “I’m very fortunate to be able to retire at this age; many people can’t.
“It’s going to be a transition. I’m starting a new chapter in my life, so I’m going to try and take it one day at a time. Maybe I’ll get a little more golf in and be able to work out at a little more leisurely pace, instead of always having to hurry to get to the office.”
