From Air Force to PLU: Greg Perkinson’s lifetime of service
By Britt Board
Assistant Director of Communications
The PLU community is shaped by people whose paths here have been anything but ordinary. I had the privilege of meeting with an important voice and perspective in our community, Greg Perkinson. Greg is a veteran, PLU’s associate vice president of facilities, and an all-around good guy. His path led him to 13 different assignments in the military over 26 years, parenthood, a career in higher education, and much more. His life and professional experiences are a boon to the Lute community.
Joining us for the conversation was his service dog, Ricky — a beloved 6-year-old German Shepherd – who kept scanning the space around us, endearingly protective and watchful. Known as the “mascot of Facilities Management,” Ricky has become a familiar sight on campus. Greg and I enjoyed the occasional interruptions of students walking by slowly to admire Ricky or stopping to give him a quick pet.
Greg’s (and Ricky’s) life has been defined by service, though the settings have changed: a career in the Air Force, followed by work in both government, and most recently in higher education. Now, at PLU, he continues that work in a way that feels both familiar and new. “It’s the same job, really,” he said. “A campus is like an Air Force base — food service, dormitories, maintenance, safety. Add a runway and it’s a very similar kind of set up.”
That continuity shows in his leadership as associate vice president for facilities, where he and his team keep the university running in visible and invisible ways. Right now, that includes coordinating a $2 million energy-efficiency grant to replace fluorescent lights with LEDs across 725,000 square feet of campus space — a project that will save up to $200,000 annually while improving lighting for students, faculty, and staff. At the same time, he’s updating processes, training, and technology to make Facilities Management more effective and accessible for the whole community.
Mission-centered work has always been important to Greg. “I can genuinely say that I love the work here. It’s a chance for me to collaborate with people and solve problems in support of a bigger mission.” He’s moved from supporting operations in Iraq, to overseeing joint-base operations at the Pentagon, to ensuring PLU students can learn and live in safe, sustainable, and welcoming spaces.
I was intrigued by his take on leadership, as he, among many other experiences, served as a Colonel at Ali Al Salem Air Base, a role he likened to being “the mayor of a small city.” Greg shared, “I’ve been very fortunate to have had a lot of really strong, ethical leaders throughout my career in the military. There’s an adage about leadership that goes something like this: when you have a good experience with a leader, you take those good lessons and put them in the right pocket. And when you have a not-so-great experience, you take those lessons, too, and put them in the left pocket. Being a good leader is remembering which pocket to look into.” He added this addendum, “You also have to be creative, motivate your team, and innovate.”
That’s what military service can teach people. Not just survive, but how to thrive and solve a problem that’s bigger than you.
Greg’s path to PLU was also shaped by family. He and his wife fell in love with the area while moving his daughter from Idaho to Tacoma for her doctoral program at University of Puget Sound. His perspective on parenthood as a father of a 31-year-old? He shared, “Being a good parent starts with being a good human with strong values and beliefs. Also, if you are gonna take care of others, you have to take care of yourself first. I’ve always been mindful of that.”
As Veterans Day nears, Greg’s story is both personal and communal. It reflects the many forms service can take, whether leading engineers on base or working alongside staff and students in Parkland. For Greg, it’s not two separate stories, but one shared story of service. A life dedicated to building, leading, and caring for the communities he’s part of. “Part of why PLU is a good place to be,” he said, “is that it’s a familial environment.”
Today, Greg channels his experience into making PLU’s operations stronger and more effective for others. “That’s what military service can teach people. Not just survive, but how to thrive and solve a problem that’s bigger than you.”
Greg’s perspective is a reminder of how much strength, ingenuity, integrity, experience, and humanness shape the PLU community.