Although the maintenance and grounds staffs are relatively small, both were very productive during the summer getting campus ready for the fall semester. Renovations to buildings and grounds can be seen all over campus. The grounds crew stays extremely busy hedging and mulching in the beds near the sidewalks and buildings. John Jenkins, associate CFO for facilities said, “We are trying to keep campus well groomed and luckily we’ve been able to do all the work in house.”
Keeping campus well groomed is an arduous task considering the vast amounts of lawns and hedges that need constant attention. “It takes me and another guy three days to mow this campus, and that’s not including down by the lake,” said Karl Gibbons, one of four full-time grounds crew members. He added, “That’s us mowing seven hours a day and letting Dave(Petree) handle the playing fields.”
In addition to grooming the campus over the summer, the crew put in two new sidewalks and planted around 30 trees. Much work was done on campus and in the woods regarding the removal of dead trees, damaged by last years storm or otherwise, that might prove to be hazardous. “We are very concerned with good forest management,” said Jenkins.
In regards to the residence halls and school buildings, Mark Miller, Physical Plant Supervisor, said, “we upgraded bathrooms, painted ceilings, and replaced the doors in Bryan and fixed the heating there as well as in Shore and King.”
The maintenance crews also had the task of converting offices in Milner and Founders to dorm rooms due to the size of the freshmen class and preparing various other alternative housing facilities for incoming students such as the Campbell house.
Other improvements include an A.D.A (American Disabilities Act) upgrade in Milner and Binford as well as the installment of elevators in Duke, Founders, and New Garden.
Jenkins’ plans for the near future involves lots of painting, installment of side walks, and the planting of trees around campus.