Alumnus Named Top Ten Public Works Leader of the Year

Steven F. Parkinson, E’75, who has served as the public works director for the city of Portsmouth, NH, for nearly 20 years, was recently named a 2008 Top Ten Public Works Leader of the Year by the American Public Works Association (APWA).

The award honors 10 of the most outstanding public works professionals in the United States and Canada for their professionalism, expertise, and career-long dedication and service, according to an APWA press release.

Among Parkinson’s many accomplishments were a 10-year sewer separation project to eliminate storm water from infiltrating the sanitary sewer system; designing a new water treatment plant; helping move the public works department into a new facility through a design-build process with minimal taxpayer expense; and building a new library that was the first municipal facility in New Hampshire to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification.

Parkinson has worked for the city of Portsmouth for 27 years, beginning as city engineer in 1981 until his promotion to public works director in 1989. He manages 135 employees and oversees a $21 million operating budget and $11 million capital budget.