Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Experienced Sivage Takes over PCC Plant Services

Photos and story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – Stephen Sivage is back to where he wants to be. Sivage is Portland Community College’s new director of Plant Services (effective on March 5), marking his return to an extensive career in higher education. As director of the PCC Physical Plant, Sivage will be responsible for maintenance, capital design and construction, utility services and a $15 million budget. With an implementation of the $144 million bond measure underway, Sivage says he’ll be busy helping the college upgrade and expand its facilities, just the type of job he relishes."Most of my career I have been in higher education, whether it’s been at a community college or a university. The opportunity to come back to this field was too much to pass up,"said Sivage, who lives in southwest Portland.Being in an educational setting is nothing new for Sivage, who has worked with three other institutions of higher education in his 30 years of professional service. He was the project manager of centralized activities for the Oregon State System of Higher Education in 1995, managing the final months of construction of the Capital Center, which houses joint facilities of OSSHE and PCC. Between 1989 and 1994, he was the senior campus planner and assistant vice president of administration and facilities planning for Portland State University, and was the director of the Physical Plant and vice president of college support services for Mt. Hood Community College from 1980 to 1986.Sivage spent the last six years as the manager of the project management section with the City of Portland. He turned the section into a dynamic and respected division that managed 75 to 100 projects a year with a capital stream of roughly $120 million. Some of the projects Sivage spear-headed include the $30 million seismic upgrade and historic restoration of Portland’s City Hall; construction of East Portland Precinct of the Portland Police Bureau; developed the Chinese Classical Garden; and helped to create a plan to seismically upgrade and renovate 22 city fire stations and 11 new stations to add to the city’s 911 Emergency Communications Center.Sivage has a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Portland State. He says he looks forward to, "continue to make this an attractive place to work for Physical Plant employees, who have all made me feel welcomed here."