Higher education capital planning, university procurement, and what it really takes to win AEC work with a public university anchor this conversation with Howard Wertheimer, FAIA Emeritus, LEED AP, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities at UNC-Chapel Hill. Howard has spent more than two decades on both sides of the design and construction table. He built his career in private practice, including 21 years as a Partner and Principal at Lord, Aeck and Sargent, before moving into ownership and institutional leadership roles at Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt University, and now UNC-Chapel Hill, where he oversees planning, design, construction, and operations across nearly 20 million square feet of campus facilities. Host Katie Cash sits down with Howard to unpack how UNC's capital improvement plan comes together, from early pre-planning and budgeting through board approval, and what firms need to understand about the state's advertising and procurement process. Howard explains why attention to detail on proposals, from accurate references to correctly spelled university names, matters more than most firms realize, and how outdated reference contacts can quietly sink a submission. He also shares how UNC brought in an independent cost estimator to reconcile budgets on a CM at-risk delivery project and saved three million dollars on a single job, along with a look at the 950-acre former airport site UNC recently acquired for future campus development. Whether a firm is chasing its first project with a public university or working to strengthen a long-standing relationship, Howard's perspective from both sides of the table offers a clear, practical roadmap. It is a conversation packed with guidance for any AEC firm serious about growing its higher education practice. Key Takeaways Sweat the details. Typos, misspelled university names, and language copied from a previous proposal read as a lack of care and are one of the fastest ways to lose credibility with a selection committee.Keep references current and relevant. Outdated contact information undermines a proposal before anyone picks up the phone, and a reference tied to the wrong project type can do just as much damage.Local presence builds trust. For out-of-state firms pursuing public university work, having someone who can be on site within a day matters, especially on the construction side.Independent cost estimating pays for itself. Bringing in a third-party estimator to reconcile budgets between the design team and the CM helped UNC save three million dollars on a single project.Connect with Howard Wertheimer, FAIA Emeritus, LEED AP, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities, The University of NC at Chapel Hill https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-wertheimer-faia-emeritus-leed-ap-6711454/ Resources Mentioned in Episode: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, official website and facilities RFQ postingsGeorgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Howard's previous institutionUniversity of North Carolina System, Board of GovernorsUNC-Chapel Hill Board of TrusteesNorth Carolina State Construction Office (SCO)Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, Georgia TechClough Undergraduate Commons, Georgia TechKrone Engineered Biosystems Building, Georgia Tech, AIA COTE Top Ten award winner, LEED PlatinumHoward Wertheimer's contact email: worthy@unc.edu Connect with Katie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kacash/ https://smartegies.com/ Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts: We hope you’re finding value in our AEC Marketing For Principals. Your feedback is important to us, and we’d love to hear from you. Here’s how you can help. Scroll to the bottom, rate our podcast with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Let us know what you found most helpful from this episode! And if you haven’t done so already, give the podcast a follow, and you'll be notified when new episodes come out.
