The school hired Ed Wormald as the new upper school Plant Manager on Feb. 9, replacing Dave Mintz ’87. Mintz is now the Director of Campus Operations, and Jim De Matté, who previously served as Chief of Construction and Campus Operations, is now Chief of Construction.

According to Wormald, the school Plant Manager is responsible for overseeing campus infrastructure to ensure students and faculty feel comfortable on school grounds. Wormald said these responsibilities can range from supervising basic utilities like gas and air conditioning to setting up spaces for larger events like Faculty Appreciation days.

According to Associate Head of School Laura Ross, Mintz will be in charge of managing both the upper and lower school facilities in his new role. As Chief of Construction, De Matté will be primarily focusing on running and developing the River Park campus, Ross said.

De Matté declined to comment regarding his promotion.

Varsity track and field sprinter Benson Fleischer ’23 said he appreciates De Matté’s focus on the construction of River Park.

“As an athlete myself, it’s very encouraging to see [that River Park] is of high priority to the administration,” Fleischer said. “Not only will [River Park’s facilities] improve the athletic experience of other track and field athletes, [but] sports like basketball, baseball and soccer will be hugely benefited as well. Hopefully, by senior year, we’ll all be able to see this project finish and reap its benefits.”

Wormald said he is eager to join the school community and continue Mintz’s previous work.

“I’m definitely looking forward to working at this new position and interacting with all the students, staff and faculty,” Wormald said. “Something contributing to this is the great groundwork [Mintz] has laid out for me. He’s been here for seven years, and [the department] is running very smoothly, so it is and will be my intention to continue that.”

Wormald said his prior experience, as well as Mintz’s guidance, have helped him smoothly transition into his new role in operations and plants.

“[Mintz] has been investing a lot of time in me, and I’m getting a lot of great advice from him,” Wormald said. “Also, the good thing is that I’ve had the same position at another school, so I’m very familiar with what needs to be done here. Obviously, though, there are more students on campus and therefore more need, so it won’t be exactly the same.”