"My thumb got me into this!" declares the new APPA President Mary Vosevich when asked how she entered the field of educational facilities management. It was 1984, and Vosevich, a Midwest native, was working at Monsanto in St. Louis as a research biologist, having earned her B.S. in horticulture/agriculture from the University of…

For facilities managers, deferred capital renewal (DCR) is the issue that, in many ways, can play the role of spoiler for other programs and initiatives are that important to their campuses. In particular, operations and maintenance programs, campus growth strategies, and even sustainability programs can suffer setbacks caused by the unplanned…

Some days seem like bouts in an endless game of tug-of-war. At one end of the rope, facilities professionals must do more--tackle deferred maintenance, develop a climate strategy, and meet the energy and operational needs for a complex mix of building types and stakeholders. Tugging on the other end are the obstacles of less money, staff, and…

Being environmentally responsible is a hot topic and critical issue. Many in the scientific community estimate we are slowly destroying the Earth's climate and landscape as we know it today. However, not all scientists agree with this theory, as a significant number of people have been environmentally responsible for a long time, recognizing…

Founded in 1889, Slippery Rock University (SRU) is a state university with 8,500 students and 400 faculty. Facilities and planning (F&P) employs 178 staff, of which 50 are custodians. F&P is responsible for the maintenance of 560 acres and 60 major buildings that comprise approximately 2.3 million gross square feet. Currently work is…