Barry Swanson currently serves as Chief Procurement Officer and Interim Vice President for Facilities Management at the University of Kentucky. Procurement Services comprises a Central Unit, Construction Unit, Business Process Automation Unit, Procurement Compliance Unit, Surplus Property, and the UK Supply Center. Facilities Management is responsible for providing custodial, grounds and maintenance services for over 21 million square feet of facilities located across over nine hundred acres at the Lexington campus. Facilities Management also oversees all capital construction projects and maintains the utilities infrastructure and building systems across campus.

At UK Barry is actively involved with numerous P3 partnerships. Those partnerships include residence halls, dining services, parking/mixed use facilities, and the current central utility plant contract negotiation.

Prior to coming to UK, Barry served as the Associate Vice Provost for Campus Operations/Chief Procurement Officer for the University of Kansas, where he was responsible for leading seven departments – Design and Construction Management, Facilities Services, Parking and Transit, Environmental Health and Safety, the KU Center for Sustainability, Procurement Services, and the Campus Operations Business Center. 

Barry was a member of the team that developed the Central District P3 project while at KU. This project transformed an over 40-acre area located in the heart of the Lawrence campus. The project included a science academic/research facility, a student services facility, residence hall, parking garage, and a power plant.

Barry is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in History and Political Science. He also has a Juris Doctor degree from the Washburn University School of Law.