"Walking encyclopedia of campus operations” recognized for staff achievement award

Surrey’s “go-to person at Surrey campus for everything” and Facilities Services project manager, Todd Mann, has been recognized as an SFU 2022 Staff Achievement Award recipient.

With a background in buildings and construction from the hospitality sector, Mann joined SFU in 2010 accumulating expertise in all things Surrey campus. From facilities inquiries and historical information knowledge to the successful execution of key construction projects, Mann’s contributions have been particularly remarkable. In 2022, Mann led several notable projects that garnered praise from everyone he collaborated with.

A long overdue project he took over was the installation of Surrey’s new ablution stations. A first for SFU, these accessible washing stations are used by faculty, staff and students of Muslim faith before they participate in daily worship. “I was particularly impressed when we ran into supply chain challenges around fixtures and Todd hunted down stock in North America to move the project along. This showed his dedication to the work and its completion,” commented Seth Greenham, director of SFU’s Multifaith Centre.

Once Mann was brought on, he brought the project back on track and immediately engaged with contractors, the City of Surrey and vendors directly to complete the project under budget in May 2022.

Mann particularly enjoys working with students in mind when improving the Surrey campus experience. Working alongside Student Services, Mann led the facilities work on the new Centre for Accessible Learning exam space. “Todd has always been very responsible with the changes that we have needed to make as we expand Student Services at the Surrey campus,” says Dina Shafey, director of Student Services at the campus.

Currently Mann is working on a project with the Fraser Library. “Todd always puts students first – ensuring that any given project or work to be done does not impact students’ ability to access Fraser Library’s space and services,” says Leanna Jantzi, head of Fraser Library.

His team at Facilities Services are very familiar with his extraordinary service over the years. Tales of Mann’s dedication tending to floods, power outages, mechanical failures and other building emergencies at all hours, including evenings and holidays, are well known by folks in Surrey.

“Todd consistently prioritizes campus needs before his own and has never sought out recognition for his exceptional performance, though it’s long overdue,” says Mike Devolin, associate director of Facilities Services at Surrey campus.  

Through his years of service at SFU, Mann continues to improve his knowledge and skills. Recently, he became a Certified Educational Facilities Professional. What he loves most about working at SFU is the people. “I enjoy working with very capable and intelligent people who do things with common sense and with SFU’s interest in mind. We have a great community here. Everybody is helpful and friendly.”