Facilities Focus - Spring 2011
Sustaining All Seasons
A new season is here, and the third largest snow blizzard in Chicago history now seems long ago. Nonetheless, gratitude and art are always in season. We invite you to engage in both by visiting our gallery space in the Young Building lobby, 5555 S. Ellis Avenue. There you will find a sustainable sculpture made of cardboard snowflakes, and be welcomed by images which capture the collaborative spirit and creativity with which grounds crew, trades staff, utility plant and building engineers, residential services janitors, and so many others pulled together to plow, both literally and figuratively, through inordinate amounts of snow so that students, faculty, and staff could safely return to campus.
For some, two days of cancelled classes meant time to be with family, to have the opportunity to be creative, or just play. Yet, this collective of dedicated, multifaceted trades and service professionals willingly responded to a call of duty. Piles of snow were moved off of intersections and cross streets to establish access and better lines of vision for pedestrians and motorists. When there is that much snow and there seems to be nowhere else it can go, innovation and technology are part of the tools of the trade. At times like this a positive, smart, and dedicated team make all the difference.
The great work of this team was met with many kudos, including a “giant thank-you” from one member of the community who saw the before and after effects of a pathway buried in snow and slush. He had asked them to “take a look,” and found that “not only did they take a look,” but “completely blasted through a 15 foot wall of ice and snow, and reopened the pathway.”
Facilities Services’ dedication to building and maintaining excellence supports University campus priorities in as many uniquely defined ways as the shape of a snowflake. So do the many talented employees who embody the FS core value of Responsiveness.
This achievement put Facilities Services front and center on campus. Let’s celebrate University of Chicago’s men and women of all seasons!