News // Business Operations

Fire Department celebrates 130 years

2009-10-14T15:51:00-04:00

Fire Department celebrates 130 years
NDFD is the oldest university fire department in the nation
BY CAROL C. BRADLEY, NDWORKS

On November 21, 1879—in the wake of a devastating fire that destroyed the Main Building—the Provincial Council of Holy Cross directed Rev. John Zahm, C.S.C., to form a fire department, staffed by brothers and students. Within 12 hours, it’s said, Father Zahm had organized two hand-drawn hose companies for the newly-established fire department.

Today—130 year later—Notre Dame is the oldest university fire department in the nation—and the only career fire department at a private university. A staff of 17 fields more than 1,300 calls a year, offering protection for three campuses and a population of around 15,000—a number that swells to over 100,000 on football weekends.

Notre Dame has it’s own fire department today as a direct result of the Main Building fire, and the geographic isolation of the campus at the time.

“In 1879, we were the school at the top of the hill,” Farhat notes. “The South Bend volunteer fire department was down the hill and across the river.” At the time of the Main Building fire, the beleaguered fire brigade had looked to South Bend for help. But by the time the horse-drawn steamer engine arrived—45 minutes later—the building was already gone.

There are records of a rudimentary fire department on campus as early as 1846, notes Farhat, who has done considerable research on the department’s history. At the time the department’s main duties were to procure buckets, axes and other tools in the event of a fire.

The 1879 fire department included a chief, assistant chief and fire marshal—all brothers or students. The campus bulletin for 1879-80 noted that, “The destruction of the old College has drawn special attention to the protection of the new building from all possible danger of fire.” The walls, it was noted, “are of solid brick and stone.” Fire escapes were added on every floor, “so that should fire ever again occur, which may God forbid, there will be ample means of escape from every story and every room of the building.”

The first central firehouse was built in 1896, about 300 feet northeast of the Main Building—that building was torn down after the current firehouse was built in 1945.

“We’re a small department of 17, but the fire department has a long and illustrious history at the University,” Farhat says. “It’s evolved from volunteers to brothers and students to professional firefighters. We have a proud history—and we look forward to it continuing.”

Shuttle bus service changes—but staff stays the same

2009-09-24T16:22:00-04:00

Shuttle bus service changes—but staff stays the same
BY LISA BUCIOR, NDWORKS

The University may have changed its shuttle provider, but the man who drives the buses is not going anywhere.

On Sept. 10, Bill Trethewey officially left Coach USA—the University’s original shuttle provider—and the next day joined Cardinal Bus, after Coach USA decided to drop the route.

“It’s been great,” says Marty Ogren, the University’s transportation manager. “We’ve had a long-standing relationship with Cardinal Bus, and the fact that they were able to hire Bill makes it a painless transition. He knows all the routes and schedules.”

Trethewey says he has driven the shuttle bus at Notre Dame for almost nine years.

“It’s been great to work here,” he says. “I wouldn’t change that for anything—except retirement, but that’s at least two years away.”

“People who ride [the shuttle] don’t like anybody but Bill driving them,” says Gayle Wilson, an administrative assistant at the Office of VP-Business Operations. “It’s an easy route, but it’s hard to find the right person.”

If there’s a day when she gets a lot of emails from people complaining that the shuttle forgot them, Wilson says, “We know that Bill took the day off!”

Food Service Support Facility takes Team Irish Award

2009-09-24T16:19:00-04:00

ND Works
Food Service Support Facility takes Team Irish Award

Handling a staggering annual workload, the Food Services and Support Facility (FSSF) epitomizes Notre Dame’s core values of teamwork, integrity, accountability, leadership in mission and leadership in excellence.

Consider these statistics: Within the last year, FSSF drivers had over 36,000 stops; the bakery staff produced 3.6 million portions of product with over 125 selections each day; the cook chill staff produced over 2.1 million portions of soups, sauces and entrees; and the cold prep staff produced over 2.8 million portions of deli meats, cheeses, vegetables, fruits, protein salads, sandwiches and other ready-to-eat items.

Working together as a team to address the University’s sustainability goals, the FSSF has doubled its efforts to recycle, as well as to salvage edible food waste. Last year the FSSF staff diverted over 60,000 pounds of peels and cores to a local farmer rather than sending these items to a landfill. Additionally, the team tackled energy conservation by reminding each other to shut off lights and turn off trucks in an effort to reduce energy usage.

Amazingly, this group of hard-working individuals also finds time to support each other and the community. They do not hesitate to help each other out during tough times. They have encouraged each other to reach health and fitness goals that lead to a healthier lifestyle and frequently band together to support causes such as the United Way, the Food Bank of Northern Indiana and the American Cancer Society.

This unmatched dedication to not just the Notre Dame community, but also to each other and the greater Michiana community, highlights the FSSF’s vital contribution to the mission of the University of Notre Dame.

“Instant college town” open at University’s southern edge

2009-09-24T16:07:00-04:00

“Instant college town” open at University’s southern edge
Eddy Street Commons brings urban living to South Bend
BY GENE STOWE, FOR NDWORKS

Eddy Street opened through Eddy Street Commons in time for the first home game, revealing the long-awaited instant “college town” that provides a welcoming front porch to campus at its Angela Boulevard threshold.

Despite a down economy, most of the space in Phase 1—between Angela and Napoleon—is taken, says Greg Hakanen, Notre Dame’s director of asset management and real estate.

“Approximately 65 percent of the space has been leased, which is really phenomenal in the current economy,” he says. “The retail part of it is doing very well, given the economic times.”

The urban mixed-used development creates, for the first time, an accessible college-town environment for Notre Dame’s campus community.

“My definition of a college town is stores, restaurants and entertainment within easy walking distance of the campus,” says Hakanen.

Eddy Street Commons businesses, including a Chipotle restaurant, Outpost Sports and Hot Box Pizza will be opening over the next few weeks,.

The project has 90,000 square feet of retail space and 82,000 square feet of office space. University offices will occupy two of the three floors in the office building, although the units moving over have not yet been announced.

“It looks like the first occupancies will take place in November and the first quarter of next year,” Hakanen says.

The Foundry West, the first of three buildings with rental apartments on the upper floors, was already four-fifths leased when it opened in mid-August, and some 10 percent of future buildings are pre-leased. That project is built and managed by Buckingham Companies of Indianapolis.

The first Champions Row City Homes are under construction and are scheduled to open later this year. The 119-room Fairfield Inn and Suites hotel has broken ground and is scheduled to be open in time for the 2010 football season.

Kite Realty Group of Indianapolis is developer of Eddy Street Commons, the latest in a broad range of developments near campus supported by Notre Dame in collaboration with City of South Bend and other local groups. Phase 1 was built on land Notre Dame owned.

“From the University’s point of view, this is Notre Dame’s ‘front door.’ It reflects on the University,” Hakanen says. “Under Father Malloy, the University started building bridges to the community and to South Bend, and Father Jenkins has energetically continued that outreach.

Among other things, the University has helped revive the Harter Heights neighborhood, a historic residential area south of campus that had been in decline. A project along Notre Dame Avenue fosters construction of new homes designed to blend into the neighborhood.

“The Notre Dame Avenue Housing Program has been ongoing since 2002,” Hakanen says,“ and progresses according to the availability of buildable lots,” usually three or four a year.

“What’s happening here is driven by the University in collaboration with other area institutions that make up the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization,” including the city of South Bend, Memorial and St. Joseph hospitals and Madison Center. “The NNRO, working with South Bend Heritage Foundation and neighborhood residents, formulated the underlying plan, which includes seven different redevelopment zones.”

Heritage Foundation for years has developed individual affordable houses in the Northeast Neighborhood, and it’s now making plans for the Triangle. Heritage also is making plans for Eddy south of Five Points—“the next frontier,” Hakanen says.

Along Angela, Eddy Street Commons, Innovation Park and the IU Medical School form a powerful synergistic development.

The University has also helped shape transportation routes, removing the Juniper Drive artery from the heart of the pedestrian campus and improving Twyckenham Drive.

“The University invested mightily,” Hakanen says, adding that University officials met with neighbors and responded to their concerns, such as keeping Bulla from connecting directly to campus.

The extension of Napoleon, which used to dead-end at Eddy, has just been opened to State Road 23, and Twyckenham, now cut off between 23 and Edison, will be opened when the state completes its widening of 23 and reconfiguration of Five Points.

And development won’t stop there. Eddy Street Commons is slated for expansion.

“Phase 2 will be the next two blocks south on Eddy Street,” Hakanen says. “We’ll get market feedback based on Phase 1. That will play into the planning for Phase 2.”

“From Old 2 Gold” sale May 23 to benefit local charities

2009-05-07T10:37:00-04:00

As students prepare to leave campus for the summer, the University of Notre Dame is planning its fifth “From Old 2 Gold” year-end campus yard sale to benefit participating local charities.

The event will be held from 7 to 11 a.m. May 23 (Saturday) in Notre Dame Stadium and will feature items left behind and donated by students, including electronics, clothing, computers, carpeting, furniture, appliances and sports equipment.

The sale is open to the public and admission is free between 9 and 11 a.m. A $5 “early bird” admission will be charged for those over 12 years of age wishing to shop in the stadium between 7 and 9 a.m. There is no charge for children 12 and under. To alleviate “camping out” around the stadium, shoppers will be permitted to wait in line no earlier than 5 a.m.

This year’s goal is to again raise $70,000. Last year, 38 local charities shared more than $70,000 raised during the sale, which attracted some 5,700 shoppers. In addition, more than 3,900 pounds of food were donated to the Food Bank of Northern Indiana, and an estimated 84 tons of items were diverted from area landfills. Since 2005, the sale has raised more than $184,000 for local charities and diverted more than 300 tons from landfills.
Students will donate items in serviceable condition to be collected, organized, priced and sold. All net revenues, as well as any unsold items, will be donated to the participating charities.

The project is co-chaired this year by Frank Parker, associate director of warehouse and delivery, and Jack Woolley, manager of surplus property. Additional information is available at http://old2gold.nd.edu.

Each year, numerous Notre Dame departments offer support and resources for the program. This year’s sponsors include Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, Martin’s Supermarkets, Graphie-Tees, Waste Management, Midwest Waste Solutions and Catering by Design.

Contact: Frank Parker, 574-631-7026, parker.4@nd.edu

From: Shannon Chapla, assistant director of news and information

From decorating to plumbing, property managers handle it all

2009-04-23T10:39:00-04:00

By Carol C. Bradley

The fun part of her job is the shopping, says Nancy Gillespie, manager of visiting faculty housing.

Gillespie manages 40 fully-furnished on-campus apartments for visiting faculty—24 at Fisher Graduate Apartments and 16 at the Hesburgh Center—and typically refurbishes four apartments per year. That means shopping for new furniture such as sofas and chairs, bedding, towels and silverware.

It’s a great draw for the University to be able to offer on-campus living accommodations to visiting faculty, Gillespie says. International visitors don’t have to worry about finding a place to live or bringing along household items. When visitors arrive, Gillespie says, “All they need to do is pick up a key.”

Managing visiting faculty apartments is just one aspect of Gillespie’s job with the Office of Asset Management. Gillespie also handles third-party commercial leasing for entities such as Anthony Travel and the Notre Dame Federal Credit Union. And her responsibilities are only one aspect of the Office of Asset Management.

The department’s most visible projects may be overseeing the development of new housing along Notre Dame Avenue and acting as the University’s liaison to Kite Realty Group, the developer of Eddy Street Commons. But they’re equally involved in managing more than 30 rental houses in the neighborhoods immediately south and east of campus.

Those properties are managed by Jeri DeCola, who joined the University in February.

“It’s one of those little-known secrets,” says DeCola. “People say, ‘There are houses? You rent them out?’”

The houses are rented only to full-time faculty and staff, she notes. And the housing is popular. “Currently, I have a 21-person waiting list,” she adds.

The most frequent question she gets, DeCola says, is “Where am I on the waiting list?” But that’s something of a misconception—there really is no “place on the list” per se. That’s because the size and location of the houses vary so much, and those on the list range from individuals to families. “It just depends on the house that’s available. It’s the luck of the draw.”

As the Universities’ landladies, so to speak, Gillespie and DeCola deal with all the day-to-day headaches of property management.

“Plumbing is probably my biggest problem,” Gillespie says. “Backed-up sinks. Backed-up toilets.”

But it’s a little easier than for the average homeowner. Two staffers—Sherri Flick and Chris Schramm—handle all the hands-on property maintenance for the rental houses, including preparing them for occupancy, doing repairs and fixing plumbing.

“We’re lucky that we have a lot of campus entities that support us,” Gillespie says. Housekeeping staffers provide weekly cleaning for the visiting faculty apartments. “Facilities staffers are available to take care of things like electrical, furnace and air conditioning repairs and cabinet making in both our on- and off-campus housing..”

DeCola, who has a background in real estate, also is responsible for maintenance of the vacant lots the University owns, and handles the occasional demolition of houses on property the University has purchased in the neighborhood. “Some are in bad shape, or it’s too dangerous to keep them up,” she says. “When that’s the case, we take them down.”

Both love their jobs, because of the variety and the people they get to meet—visitors have included ambassadors of countries and other distinguished guests, says Gillespie.

DeCola thrives on the people contact as well, but what she really loves is houses. “I love houses, going in them and seeing them. It’s cool that I get to do that and get a paycheck at the same time.”

Seeking front-line eco soldiers, office by office

2009-02-26T09:21:00-05:00

Seeking front-line eco soldiers, office by office
ND Works staff writer

The Office of Sustainability is offering a training program for office personnel that will walk them through steps to save energy, reduce waste, offer environmentally friendly hospitality and purchase environmentally friendly products. Ultimately, all techniques will also help the University realize cost savings.

The first session will be from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, March 27. Sign up is being accepted at endeavor.nd.edu. Lunch—an environmentally friendly lunch presented by Catering by Design—will be included. Based on the number who want to take the class, subsequent sessions may be offered, says Rachel Novick, sustainability education and outreach coordinator.

Besides trying to attract frontline office support staff, Novick and student workers took the concept to the University’s business managers, who are likely to appreciate the cost-saving aspect. Their support, she notes, is important in empowering a small number of staff to educate and involve their colleagues.

“Office policies that support sustainability have not been developed in many departments,” says Novick. “Tens of thousands of dollars a year are wasted as a result.”

Workshop topics will address

• How to set computer and printing defaults to maximize efficiency
• How to cater an environmentally friendly lunch and save money
• How to create online forms that save time and reduce paper use
• How to use teleconferencing software to reduce travel costs

What kinds of savings are possible?

“The paper you buy makes a difference,” says Novick. The University’s copy paper purchases totaled $293,000 last year. “Of this, $45,000 could have been saved,” she said. Among tricks: Buy generic with some recycled content, and buy in bulk. Ultrabright paper, she adds, is whitened with extra chlorine, a source of pollution.

Savings when one switches from water bottles to water coolers are even more impressive. The University purchased $95,000 worth of water bottles last year; it could have saved $70,000 by using coolers and washable glasses and mugs.

Before each training session, program participants will be asked to inventory their hospitality practices, the way they order supplies and office colleagues’ conservation practices. Following the workshop, sustainability representatives will follow up with each program participant to evaluate the implementation of practices and help estimate the dollar savings they have realized.

Campus warehouse and delivery services consolidated

2009-02-05T09:40:00-05:00

Campus warehouse and delivery services consolidated
By Carol C. Bradley

A re-organization of the University’s warehouse and distribution services—and a new 15,000-square-foot addition to the Mason Services Center Building—will result in coordinated and considerably more efficient delivery services across campus, says Daniel E. Skendzel, director of administrative services.

In an administrative restructuring last year, the Warehouse and Delivery Group was created by combining General Services, the Building Services warehouse, Central Receiving (including recycling), Mail Distribution and ND Surplus under associate director Frank Parker.

Individual departments shouldn’t notice much change, Skendzel says. “They will still get the products they’ve ordered. But it will greatly improve the efficiency of delivery.”

Previously, three different departments managed three different warehouses on campus, with four different departments handling deliveries.

The result was that one truck might be delivering boxes of office supplies to a building, at the same time another was delivering custodial supplies.

With the new system, all deliveries other than mail will arrive on one truck. For the time being, mail will continue to be delivered by staffers on golf carts, but the department is looking at ways to integrate mail services with other deliveries.

“The efficiencies will be huge,” says Frank Parker says. “We’re really going to save on the number of vehicles going to buildings.”

The 15,000-square-foot warehouse addition to the Mason Services Center, scheduled to be completed in June, will allow all outside warehouse space to be moved onto campus. Previously, the University had rented storage space on Grape Road.

When changes are complete, the current warehouse facility in the Maintenance Building on Douglas Road will be known as Central Receiving South. That facility will handle both receipt and delivery of large freight, as well as storage of departmental supplies—animal bedding for the Freimann Life Science Center, for example—tables and chairs for campus events, and “attic storage,” the University’s stock of ceiling tiles, floor tile, carpeting and the like.

Upon completion, the Mason Services warehouse addition, which will be known as Central Receiving North, will receive and deliver small parcels, and store and deliver all custodial supplies.

Having all warehouse storage on campus “is going to be great,” says David L. Czajkowski, manager of General Services. With items such as tables and chairs for events stored off campus, driving and loading a truck could easily take 45 minutes to an hour or more, at each end of the trip. Now, Czajkowski says, “The items will be right here. It will greatly improve our turnaround time on deliveries.”

More efficient delivery systems will save on fuel, adds Skendzel, but the real impact will be in increased productivity. “We’ll be able to do more with less effort.”

Contact General Services at 631-8327 or visit bizops.nd.edu for more information and contact numbers for various departments. General Services work orders should still be submitted with a facilities requisition, which can be found on inside.nd.edu under the “administrative tools” tab.

Shop ND from home-in your pajamas

2009-02-05T09:33:00-05:00

Shop ND from home—in your pajamas
By Carol C. Bradley

Registration for RecSports spring classes opened at 7:30 a.m. on January 15—and before noon, more than 1,000 classes had been purchased online through RecRegister.

Until recently, registering for a class meant walking across campus to Rolfs Sports Recreation Center to stand in line and pay with cash or check.
RecSports has joined other campus departments in offering online registration and secure credit card payment through ND Marketplace (marketplace.nd.edu) the University’s centralized e-commerce service. Established in 2003, the ND Marketplace staff helps campus “merchants” improve and develop sites that range from selling items to booking registrations.

As with the RecSports registration program, the result often is convenient for the campus community. Of the new RecSports registration system, Sally Derengoski, director of RecSports, notes that of 1,400 class registrations for spring programs, only 17 people registered in person. The system also saved time for staff, who used to handle in-person registration.

Besides meeting the shopper experience expectations set by Amazon.com or EBay, says manager Jeff Simko, ND Marketplace staff solutions satisfy online shopper concerns about credit card security.

Through ND Marketplace’s online “stores,” you can purchase Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) publications, subscribe to the Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, register for Career Center events, or (with a FOAPAL number) order office refreshments through Notre Dame Vending.

Students use the site to purchase Domer Dollars, sign up for St. Michael’s Laundry service and register for Senior Week activities. The Student Shop offers CDs of music by the Folk Choir, Bagpipe Band and Liturgical Choir, as well as logo apparel for the Squash Club, Women’s Ice Hockey or ND Rugby teams.

With these stores existing online, says Simko, ND Marketplace solutions allow groups to expand their customer base from on-campus to around the world.

Simko says he believes that ND Marketplace solutions could be serving a far broader base of campus constituents, “whether it’s donation acceptance, registration for conferences or merchandise sales.”

ND Marketplace staff provides initial planning, store site development, design and marketing. The staff is paid for its work by receiving a quarterly fee and 1 percent of revenue. Smaller clients pay a larger percentage of revenues but not the quarterly fee. The staff even has identified an option for merchants to purchase paid Google advertising.

For information on developing an ND Marketplace store, contact Simko at 631-2639 or jsimko1@nd.edu.

Taking an active role in his community

2008-11-20T09:44:00-05:00

Taking an active role in his community
By Carol C. Bradley

When people hear that Mike McCauslin has two full-time jobs—assistant director of risk management and safety, and mayor of Niles, Mich.—the first question they ask is how he does it. The second question is why he’d want to.

But McCauslin, who’s lived in Niles for 26 years, feels it’s important to be involved in his community. He started out serving on the zoning board, and later became chairman. When an opening came up on the city council, he got his name on the ballot and was elected. After eight years as a city council member, he was encouraged to run for mayor. Now in his third term, he’s been mayor for nine years.

What makes it possible for him to manage both jobs is the unusual structure of Niles city government. The mayor and city council set policy, but Niles has a full-time, non-partisan city administrator. The council is also non-partisan, “which eliminates the Democrat-Republican squabbles a lot of cities have,” McCauslin says. “When you eliminate that, they only thing left is the issues.”

Being mayor, he says, has made him a better employee for the University. “And working for the University has helped me to be a good mayor. Each position demands certain skills—both technical and people skills.”

Working in risk management, McCauslin handles property insurance, claims investigation, worker’s compensation and emergency preparedness issues.

As mayor, he manages a general budget of $6 million and a utilities budget of $32 million. Citizens come to him with complaints and concerns. The general needs of the city have to be met, such as plowing roads in winter and repairing roads in summer, while staying within the budget. “Which is becoming very challenging,” he says.

McCauslin is also involved in planning the city’s future needs for improvements and infrastructure, as well as encouraging and promoting new and existing businesses. “We make it easy for businesses to locate and thrive,” he says.

And his efforts have paid off—for the second year, Niles—a city of 13,000—made the Forbes list of top 100 business-friendly communities for a city of its size.

It’s a challenge fitting it all in. In addition to regular city council and committee meetings, he conducts city business in the evenings and on weekends. His children kid him that in their lifetimes, they’ve never seen him on a Monday—that’s council and committee meeting night.

Community involvement is something McCauslin says he learned from his father, a long-time school board member. And it’s one of the ideals of the University, he notes, participating in an activity that benefits the community outside campus.

“I’ve always believed in giving back,” he says. “I believe you should volunteer—be part of the solution, not part of the problem. If you’re not willing to work and do things to improve the community, you can’t sit on the sidelines and complain about it.”

More than just a fire fighter

2008-11-20T09:42:00-05:00

More than just a fire fighter
By Shannon Chapla

After serving as interim chief since June, William Farhat has been appointed chief of the University Fire Department and assistant director of Notre Dame’s Department of Risk Management and Safety.

Farhat came to Notre Dame as an on-call firefighter in 2006 and has served as assistant chief since 2007. He replaces John Antonucci, who was Notre Dame’s fire chief for 14 years.

“Bill was selected because of his excellent leadership and management skills, as well as his progressive vision for the fire department’s future,” said Robert Zerr, director of risk management and safety.

Bringing 19 years of public safety experience to his new position, Farhat’s service includes law enforcement, as well as fire and emergency medical service. He is certified as a firefighter and investigator, police officer, paramedic, hazardous materials technician, confined space technician and as a diver. His training also includes weapons of mass destruction responder operations, juvenile fire-setter intervention and child death investigation.

“I hope to be able to build on the department’s proud history of service by enhancing public education, expanding fire department training and striving to be a leader in campus fire safety,” Farhat said.

Previously, Farhat served as a road patrol deputy, fire investigator and hazardous materials response team member for the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department. He also worked for the Chikaming Township Police and Fire Departments in Harbert, Mich. There, he divided his time as a police officer and paramedic for the township’s ambulance service and, at the same time, served as a battalion chief for the fire department. He remains a paid, on-call firefighter for Chikaming Township.

Farhat was graduated from Siena Heights University in Adrian, Mich., and the Law Enforcement Academy at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colo., where he also served as a police officer and paramedic.

A woman in the trades

2008-10-16T10:00:00-04:00

A woman in the trades
By Carol C. Bradley

It’s a challenge for women working in the trades, says Valerie RiChard, Notre Dame’s new director of facilities operations.

“The women who went before me blazed the trail, so I could come along and have an easier time,” she says. “And I blazed a trail for those who come after me. But yeah, there’s a challenge,” she says. “You understand that you’re a woman, or a minority. But you have to present yourself as the individual with the specific types of skills to get the job done. You can only build relationships as an individual.”

RiChard, whose parents both worked as supervisors for Ford Motor Co., graduated from high school in Detroit, and then completed a degree in advertising design. But she couldn’t find a job.

It’s a story she still likes to tell—how one day she saw an ad in the paper for an apprenticeship program for stationary engineers.

Stationary engineers operate and maintain heating and cooling equipment, “from a home furnace to a power plant to powering an entire city,” RiChard says. The term “stationary” came from the days when a lot of steam equipment moved around on locomotives. Stationary equipment was equipment that stayed in place.

The job description, she recalls, was awful. “It said you had to be able to lift 50 pounds, shovel coal and work high off the ground. But when I got to the point where they talked about the pay … I decided to take the test. Because the pay was good, even in the apprenticeship program.”

RiChard was accepted into the four-year program and started learning about boilers and pumps, electricity and blueprint reading. First she obtained her high-pressure boiler operator’s license, then a third-class refrigeration license, and finally, her first-class stationary engineer’s license.

She was hired by Wayne State University in Detroit as a stationary engineer and became the first woman at the university ever to be promoted into a supervising engineer position. A few years later, she became the first woman at Wayne State ever to be taken out of a trades position and put into a directorship.

As director of facility operations, she was in charge of the physical plant, operations and engineering for the medical school campus during the day, and the entire campus at night.

“Which meant I got calls 24 hours a day,” she says. “A fire, a leak, a smell of smoke .… I’d get my coffee, get my little book and start calling to see who I could get to come in.”

That proved to be one of the times it was tricky to be a woman in a man’s field, she says—when she had to call a man’s house at two in the morning. “Their wives would say, ‘Who are you, and what do you want with my husband?’” RiChard says. “I learned, even before I said hello, to say ‘This is Wayne State University calling.’”

RiChard left Wayne State after 17 years for a short stint at the University of Iowa. At Notre Dame she oversees nearly 300 employees in landscape services, building services, locksmith services, the sign shop and the work control center.

As a leader, she sees her job as team building.

“The people who come to work every day make Notre Dame a better place by the work they do,” she says. “My work is not more important than their work. If I can’t provide them with the resources to get the job done—if I can’t provide them with an environment where they feel comfortable coming to work and meeting the mission of the University—then I’m not doing my job.”

Smoking policy tackles second-hand smoke problem

2008-09-18T13:19:01-04:00

Gail Hinchion Mancini

The University’s newly revised smoking policy, which prohibits smoking within 25 feet of the outside of any building, addresses one of the more troublesome challenges for nonsmokers and for the Department of Risk Management, which oversees the policy.

The University began eliminating smoking options with its first campus-wide smoking policy in 1992, and banned smoking inside buildings in 2006. But it had been difficult to identify a satisfactory coexistence between smokers stepping outside to light up, and those who continued to experience their secondhand smoke, explains Mike McCauslin, assistant director of risk management and safety.

Smokers had been discouraged from smoking near open windows or near ventilation. But often in moving to eliminate one problem, another would develop, he explained.

“In Grace Hall, for example, smokers would stand near the ventilation intakes, and the smoke would enter through there. They were asked to move, and did. But there are so many windows and doors, the smoke still came in,” he says. “There was no workable outdoor smoking area near Grace Hall.”

Similarly, staff who stepped out to smoke on service docks often were smoking directly under the ventilation system.

The new policy now is more closely aligned with St. Joseph County’s smoking ban. The University officers approved the updated policy Aug. 26 to incorporate Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification requirements.

Other features of the revised policy ban tobacco advertisements and the sale of cigarettes on campus. The entire policy is posted online at the Office of Human Resources Web site, hr.nd.edu.

Presidential Team Irish Award - Old2Gold

2008-09-18T13:15:01-04:00

ND Works September 18, 2008

In the four years since the From Old2Gold sale launched, the effort has recycled some 300 tons of donated student and University items into the hands and homes of thousands of local residents, instead of into area landfills.

As such, the sale meets the dual goals of the original organizers—to support environmental sustainability and to give back to the community.

Last May, the leadership of the From Old2Gold committee changed hands with the departure of its founder, Alan Bigger, former director of building services. The 2008 committee, directed by Frank Parker, surpassed all previous records by selling some 83.5 tons of donated items and raising $70,335 for local charities. To achieve this, the team coordinated the efforts of 219 volunteers from the University and local non-profit organizations. University employees themselves contributed more than 2,300 volunteer hours.

Their work is being honored with a Presidential Team Irish Award, which was presented during the upcoming football game against the University of Michigan. The award program has been designed to provide a special and unique opportunity to publicly recognize staff teams that exemplify the University’s core values on behalf of their department and the University.

Older buildings gain energy efficiencies

2008-09-18T13:12:01-04:00

ND Works staff writer

From the stadium to the Snite, the academic warhorses O’Shaughnessy, Nieuwland and Hesburgh Library, and twins Grace and Flanner Halls, the University is improving lighting and some heating and air conditioning in 24 older buildings during the current academic year. These renovations, costing about $4 million, will reduce the University’s carbon emissions by over 4,000 metric tons a year.

“I don’t think in my career here at the University we’ve ever gone and done a renovation specifically aimed at energy conservation before,” says Paul Kempf, director of the Department of Utilities. “When we do an overall renovation, we include the efficiency upgrades, but these older buildings would have waited up to 25 years for an overall renovation. There will be a six- to seven-year payback for this project, but we’re not doing it strictly for the economics. We’ll be reducing our carbon footprint.”

One feature that will be helpful to faculty and staff: Many of the changes involve sensors that will adjust the temperature and air intake and turn off lights when the buildings are unoccupied.

The renovations are one of several ongoing efforts being spearheaded by the Office of Sustainability, which opened its doors last spring and whose activities are conducted by three full-time staff and four student interns. The office Web site green.nd.edu will provide updates about broad-sweeping University initiatives. It also will serve as a resource for individuals—students, faculty, staff or alumni—who want to commit to the community’s sustainability program.

For staff, for example, the site reminds users to recycle, set computers to “stand by” or “hibernate” when not in use; photocopy on two sides of recycled copy paper and give up bottled water in favor of a sip from a good, old-fashioned water cooler.

Several events planned during September have been designed to build momentum for supporting an ecologically aware campus, including the annual ND Forum at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24 in the Joyce Center, featuring a dialogue among a panel representing the sustainability views of business, government and nonprofits.

The Notre Dame Energy Center and Student Advisory Board, which is sponsoring a number of student-centered events this month, is encouraging the entire campus to turn its lights off concurrent with the forum. Their goal is a “lights out” from 2 to 5 p.m. Sept. 24.

From Old2Gold raises record $70,355

2008-06-19T10:24:00-04:00

Thirty-eight participating local charities will share a record $70,355 raised at the fourth annual From Old 2 Gold sale May 24 in Notre Dame Stadium.

The event, which featured student-donated items such as electronics, clothing, computers, carpeting, furniture, appliances and sports equipment, exceeded the sales goal by $20,000 and raised 63 percent more than last year. It attracted a record 5,703 shoppers (47 percent more than last year); some 3,970 pounds of food were donated to the Food Bank of Northern Indiana, and an estimated 83.5 tons of items were diverted from area landfills.

“The huge success of this year’s program was due to a wonderful volunteer base, a generous student body and a caring community,” said project organizer Daniel Skendzel, director of administrative services for the Office of Business Operations. “Project organizer Frank Parker did a fantastic job of bringing these three elements together to make From Old 2 Gold a smashing success.”

University support included $30,100 in expenses and some $40,000 in departmental labor; neither was deducted no expenses from the total revenue. In four years, the sale has raised more than $184,000 for local charities and diverted some 300 tons of items from landfills.

Sustainability chief starts shaping program

2008-06-19T10:20:00-04:00

By Gail Hinchion Mancini

“I won’t bore you with the details.” It’s a line Jim Mazurek, sustainability director, uses during the many campus presentations he’s made since arriving in early May.

As it happens, Mazurek seems in no danger of boring people. But he could bury them, for all the data he’s absorbed in a few short weeks about the University’s annual environmental impact: the 80,000 tons of coal, the 275 tons of copy paper, the 8,900 printer cartridges, the 12,000 tons of garbage.

Is it really possible we consume 900 million gallons of water a year? Some numbers are smaller, yet worrisome: We consume enough electricity a year to power more than 15,000 residential homes. Although our “carbon footprint” has not been precisely defined, Mazurek expects it to range between 150,000 and 200,000 metric tons.

By the end of his first 100 days, Mazurek’s is likely to be a household name and a familiar face. Showing up at 5 a.m. to volunteer for Old2Gold, as he did, will help you make friends quickly. Also by the end of those first few months, Mazurek will have begun to forge the above details into a structure for sustainability activities that leans heavily on measurements and accountability.

These early steps will be necessary before Mazurek can propose the method and methodology for attracting proposals for the $2 million in loan money the University has set aside to encourage sustainability initiatives. Hiring Mazurek, whose office will host three full-time staff and about a half-dozen student workers, and the loan program are just two signs of the University’s determined foray into sustainability. Change has been swift enough that the national College Sustainability Report Card 2008 identified Notre Dame as among the most improved over the past year.

Mazurek, an engineering undergraduate, had not foreseen a future in sustainability in 1991 when he graduated from Notre Dame, having attended to issues of ecology and energy efficiency no more or less than the average student, he says.

Today, he is a hybrid-driving parent whose family recycles so assiduously, they could use the trash barrel for recycling and the recycling bin for trash. Whatever strong messages he ultimately delivers about needed change on campus, he promises to always be more tactful than his two young children, who proselytize about recycling with sometimes embarrassing zeal.

In between graduation and this new job, Mazurek consulted for a firm that eventually became a leader in helping global businesses negotiate a world increasingly conscious of the environment. Simply put, his work often helped corporations understand that being green could be an asset. Notre Dame’s Catholic mission implies an additional obligation.

Mazurek’s background has given him a firm grasp of “the levers to pull for sustainability.” Recycling is an obvious area to address, but there are so many: Should we address our commuting habits? Use only vendors who have green practices? Invest our endowment only in “green” corporations? Build and renovate buildings by stringent, and expensive, “green” standards?

And a really hard question: how to marry a sincere wish to reduce our impact to our growing research profile, which will require more energy to support? “The key is, how do we ‘grow smartly.’ Our total energy consumption on campus has more than doubled in the last 20 years,” he says. “Over the same period, energy usage per square foot has grown by 44 percent.”

As he puts methodologies into place during the summer months, he looks forward to taking a more human measure: how to leverage the energies of an enthusiastic student body and faculty.

In-house employee education program to launch in August

2008-06-19T10:17:00-04:00

By Gail Hinchion Mancini

The University will launch a new era in employee development in August as it premiers the Learning at Work Academy. The program will provide free, on-site education for employees for whom high school or college degrees and language competency could prove crucial in advancing their careers.

“The employee survey, ND Voice, provided clear indication that many dedicated staff want to continue to serve Notre Dame, and would welcome the opportunity to do so in more challenging positions,” says John Affleck-Graves, executive vice president. “The enthusiasm and commitment of these employees are tremendous assets for the University. Their positive attitudes and work efforts benefit everyone who lives, works and studies at Notre Dame. I am delighted that the Learning at Work Academy will create new opportunities and open doors for these individuals, who are our most loyal and dedicated employees.”

Learning at Work Academy will launch with courses in English as a Second Language, and GED-preparation classes provided by the South Bend School Corp. In partnership with Ivy Tech, the University will offer a two-year associate degree program in business.

An information session at 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 14 in Room 200, Main Building will introduce potential students to the details of the program and the community providers of the programming. The Office of Human Resources will manage the academy and asks that those who want to attend the session register by calling askHR at 631-5900 by July 9. Supervisors are invited to a meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, July 14, also in Room 200, Main Building, to see a preview of the program.

Up to 20 students can be accommodated in the Ivy Tech program, but no limits have been set for GED and ESL students, says Tamara Freeman, associate director of talent management who is coordinating the academy.

Before classes begin, those interested in the Ivy Tech program will take a personal assessment of skills and interests. Ivy Tech is prepared to offer degree-preparation programs for those who wish to enroll but need to brush up on fundamental skills, she says.

The GED and ESL classes are expected to meet one day a week. Ivy Tech is prescribing a specific curriculum that will move students toward a certificate degree after the first year and an associate degree after the second. Students will take two classes a week, each lasting three hours an evening, probably from 4 to 7 p.m, Freeman says. Students of the Ivy Tech program should expect an additional six hours of work each week to complete program assignments.

Learning at Work Academy responds to dual calls. At the officer level, administrators expressed a determination to develop programming that would help qualify staff for promotions. In addition to the call for professional development that was identified in the ND Voice survey, employee length-of-service and average-age statistics suggest that a substantial number of employees will retire in the coming years and could be replaced by existing staff with appropriate credentials.

The call for more educational opportunities also could be heard at the grass roots level, explains Freeman. Personnel from the Office of Human Resources who work with employee groups frequently reported a staff interest in continuing education. “Employees were telling us they look at our job postings and know they can do the job, but they don’t meet the educational requirements,” she says.

Members of the Business Operations staff, which include food service workers and various maintenance, ground and landscaping crews, are the most obvious benefactors of academy programming. Discussions with supervisors across the University have been enthusiastic, and most are prepared to support participation by assisting with the scheduling of those who want to commit to an academy class, Freeman says.

The associate degree program offers students introductory business courses and an overview of general management, marketing, law, financial accounting, human resources management and business writing.

While the programs generally respond to the educational needs of non-exempt employees, they are open to all, Freeman says.

In the past year, since ND Voice survey results demonstrated a need for educational opportunities, the University has introduced a variety of new programs.

Business Operations, in conjunction with the Mendoza College of Business Executive Education program, has introduced a custom-designed certificate program for its supervisors and managers.

The Office of Human Resources has offered “Supervising with Impact” as well as revamping its development classes.

Last month, HR announced a new partnership with Indiana University South Bend’s School of Education to offer a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration. Information on that program, which also will be offered on campus, is available by contacting Freeman at 631-5190.

Discontinuing iLearn

The University will temporarily suspend online registration for employee training and professional development courses during the summer as it replaces its current system, iLearn, with a new system called Endeavor.

Employees are asked to register for upcoming courses by calling askHR at 631-5900. The transition is expected to take place during July. iLearn supports registration for programs run by the Office of Information Technologies, the Office of Human Resources and Procurement Services.

Excellence awards honor faculty, administrators, and priests

2008-05-22T10:08:00-04:00

Seven University employees have been honored as the first winners of two new awards to honor individual staff excellence. The award recipients were announced Monday at the annual Service Recognition and Presidential Awards Dinner.

Of the two awards, the Presidential Achievement Award acknowledges significant personal achievement. The Presidential Values Award honors employees who exemplify the University’s mission and core values of integrity, accountability, teamwork, leadership in mission and leadership in excellence.

Recipients of Presidential Achievements are Michael Chapple, security professional with the Office of Information Technology; Ray Phillips, construction administrator with University Architect’s office, and Judy Kenna, department administrator for Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. Presidential Values Award winners are Pauline Alvarez, custodian with Building Services; David Harr, associate vice president, auxiliary services and facilities operations in Business Operations; Martin “Marty” Ogren, Manager of Transportation Services; and Tami Schmitz, director of RCIA and Emmaus programs for Campus Ministry. Each award carries a $1,000 cash prize.

Chapple, a 1997 graduate, has been instrumental in maintaining the safety and integrity of the University’s business information. He is responsible for updating security standards in all areas where the University accepts credit cards. He also has created and managed the University’s long-term information security advancement program. In both cases, his nominators stated, he has shown a gift for engaging the cooperation of a cross-section of University professionals. A doctoral candidate in computer science, Chapple also teaches an undergraduate course incorporating Catholic social teaching in a discussion of information security ethics. Lending his technology know-how to the community, he has served on the technology committee for the new St. Pius X School and has helped local law enforcement representatives submit a grant for a program to identify online predators.

Phillips won the undying admiration of College of Engineering faculty when he solved a ceiling leak that had plagued the basement of Fitzpatrick Hall for 29 years. Some faculty believed the persistent problem affected funding applications and faculty recruitment. The University made numerous diagnoses over the year, and tried many solutions, to no avail until Phillips stepped in. He climbed into nooks and crannies, dug investigation holes around the building’s exterior, performed a series of tests and, ultimately, pinpointed the source. He is honored both for his tenacity and for his sensitivity to the negative impact the problem has had on the University’s teaching and research agenda.

Kenna’s business acumen has established her as a key source for establishing clarity in both departmental and research budget issues. Her understanding and enthusiasm for technology allowed her to help develop an online file-sharing process for the department’s appointment and promotions committee—a useful advance, since faculty are located in three buildings. While valuing Kenna’s gifts as a departmental administrator, her colleagues also admire the contribution she has made as a University-wide resource who assists in the improvement of accounting and personnel practices across divisions and departments. As a liaison with the Controller’s Office, she helped develop the procedures that provide administrative staff and faculty with accounting information needed on a daily basis. Kenna is retiring this spring after 28 years of service to the University.

Alvarez is known for her friendly, ever-optimistic greetings among Grace Hall tenants—her primary custodial assignment. Her demeanor is living proof that excellence in leadership is often gracefully demonstrated by those who lead with their hearts. Among her fellow professionals, she is admired for her thoroughness and efficiency. These qualities have earned her a spot in the Hesburgh Library office of Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., where she has been chosen to clean three days a week. As she is one of the first to volunteer when other buildings, shifts or other supervisors need help, she is a familiar face across campus.

Harr has been a lynchpin in the planning of expansions to Cedar Grove Cemetery and the Notre Dame Hammes Bookstore. His nomination for the President’s Award acknowledges his planning and organizational skills on a volunteer project for which he is less well known: the annual United Way campaign. Two years ago, during a period when employee participation and total dollars raised had been declining, Harr joined the University’s United Way committee, immediately infusing its work with enthusiasm. He is credited with encouraging lively “grass roots” participation through projects that emphasize fun, personally organizing the logistical details of a weekend “cosmic” fundraiser featuring bowling under black lights. This year’s United Way campaign met the annual goal of $300,000 and exceeded it by $8,000. More important, those who followed Harr’s lead became more committed to the organization and a little bit closer to one another.

Ogren’s nominators explained how difficult it is to separate an understanding of his professional responsibilities, as manager of transportation services, from his “continuing spirit of giving.” Both of them have him constantly on the move. He is a mainstay of volunteer support for Catholic Charities, Compassionate Friends, Holy Cross House, the Center for the Homeless, the Salvation Army and the Kiwanis Club. Many of his most outstanding acts of kindness are done friend-to-friend, especially for the handicapped, for whom household movement or transportation can be such an issue. As the first director of the University Motor Pool, established in 2004, Ogren oversees an operation that manages some 1,000 vehicle rentals a year. This resource has allowed the University to limit the number of vehicles it buys. His safety initiatives have included a driver safety program resulting in a notable decline in damages to University vehicles.

Schmitz brings faculty, staff and students closer to their faith as she plans retreats, organizes prayer groups, and directs the education of those converting to Catholicism, touching the lives of literally hundreds each year. Her duties also call on her to assist the master of divinity lay ministry program, interview candidates for Moreau Seminary and work with the University Counseling Center on a faith-based grief counseling program. All this she achieves while serving as the very model of a collaborative team member and team leader ever-respectful of the dignity of those with whom she works. Patient, persistent and unafraid to address challenging issues, Schmitz is especially appreciated by the Office of Student Affairs for her work developing a program on sexuality and relationships for all first year students. This two-day program reflects the teaching of the Catholic Church while delivering the information in a way that is appropriate for college students and that considers the diverse beliefs of the University’s student body.

First Sustainability Director Appointed

2008-04-28T16:24:01-04:00

James M. Mazurek, a 1991 graduate, has been appointed the first director of the new Office of Sustainability. He will join the University on May 1.

Mazurek most recently served as a partner in the Chicago offices of Accenture, an international consulting firm, where he developed and implemented sustainability and business strategies for global companies in the utilities, energy and government areas. He has led major efforts where sustainability has been at the forefront—driving stakeholder value through enabling technologies, influencing end-user behaviors and considering renewable energy sources.

“As Notre Dame progresses toward becoming a more environmentally responsible campus, I am certain Jim will provide the necessary leadership and expertise as we strive to reach our goals,” says President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. “By building on current institutional initiatives, it is my hope is that he can help draw our efforts together into a coherent, synergistic program that reaches across disciplines as we develop and implement a comprehensive course of sustainability.”

Adds James J. Lyphout, vice president for business operations: “Jim’s experience, network, enthusiasm and vision for environmental initiatives will be a tremendous asset for the Office of Sustainability as Notre Dame builds its green program and aspires to be recognized as a global leader in this area.”

The Office of Sustainability, established in January, will build institutional learning capabilities in support of continual improvement in building design and operations, landscaping, procurement, energy and water conservation, waste disposal, recycling and service provision. The University has provided the office with a $2 million green loan fund for environmental improvements in campus buildings and operations, illustrating a long-term commitment to sustainability efforts.

Besides a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, he holds master’s degrees in environmental engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and in business administration from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.