Honorary Professorship for BEAM Chair

Tom Steele has been appointed an Honorary Professor of GCU.

Professor Steele is Director of Estates and Facilities at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) and a graduate of GCU with whom he has maintained alumni relations since the 1990s.

The directorate Professor Steele leads has an asset base of 1.2million square metres over 126 sites, employing 4,900 staff, with an annual revenue budget of £250m and a significant planned capital investment programme rolling out in the coming years.

Professor Steele has been a driving force behind a Memorandum of Understanding between GCU and NHSGGC under which NHSGGC have provided to date circa 10 internships for our Sustainable Urban Environment and Environmental Management students.

Professor Steele has been associated with the university since 1990, as both a student and occasional lecturer. He said: “I am thrilled and humbled to be appointed an Honorary Professor of Glasgow Caledonian University and look forward to further developing the already strong links we have forged. The partnership between NHSGGC and GCU is benefitting both organisations, with research into creating better and more sustainable healthcare facilities for the communities we serve.

“More than that, we have been proud to welcome a number of students through student placements and paid internships, who have brought passion and expertise, particularly in areas around improving our greenspace and sustainability. Many of those students have gone on to work with us, improving our health care facilities and estates and providing expertise as we work towards becoming a net zero organisation.”

Since 2016, Professor Steele has sat on the GCU Built Environment & Asset Management (BEAM) Research Centre Advisory Board and has recently taken up the role of Chair. His support and influence have been significant in raising more than £200,000 for BEAM to fund healthcare facilities research.

BEAM Director Professor Rohinton Emmanuel said: “With over 30 years of experience in healthcare-built environments, Tom is a perfect strategic fit for the BEAM Research Centre, in which he has recently taken up the role of Chair of the Advisory Board. The centre’s research, knowledge transfer and capacity building initiatives will gain significant benefits from Tom’s experience and connections to align our research expertise in Built Environment Asset Management and the University Strategy Research Theme in Sustainable Environments.”