Getting to Know: Maintenance
EDITOR’S NOTE: College Relations is publishing a monthly series of news articles, features and Q&A interviews highlighting various departments on campus in an effort to assist the faculty and staff in gaining an increased awareness about and understanding of each other’s roles and responsibilities.
The August Q&A is with Todd Baumann, maintenance supervisor.
Q: What are your duties as maintenance supervisor at Chadron State College?
To oversee and organize staff that works under me to provide a clean, safe, working and living environment for our students, faculty, and staff. We are also responsible for event set-up and coverage of events that take place on campus.
Q: How many buildings are you and your staff responsible for maintaining?
I have a total of 31 people on my staff and we are responsible for cleaning and maintaining 26 buildings, along with the football and softball concession stands.
Q: What is the most challenging part of maintaining buildings at Chadron State College? Are some buildings more difficult to maintain than others?
Different buildings have different challenges. Residence halls require more upkeep due to the fact you have students living in them 24 hours a day. Our Student Center is a very high traffic building and the hub of campus. It’s where our students congregate to eat, socialize and relax. We have many events either college related or community oriented in that building. Our athletic buildings provide their own challenges, as well. We support very large athletic events on campus such as large track meets, the Chadron High wrestling invite, and the Hoop Shoot youth basketball tournament.
Q: There are several new buildings on campus recently; what are the differences in maintaining new buildings compared to older ones?
All of our buildings follow the basic standards of cleaning. Our new buildings have larger windows to utilize more natural light. Instead of rolled carpet we use carpet squares; that way if the carpet is damaged we can replace the carpet square instead of replacing the carpet in the entire room. In the Chicoine Center we have sealed concrete instead of floor tile.
Q: How do you utilize the times when students aren’t present on campus (i.e. summer, holiday and midterm breaks) for maintenance work?
This is the time we take on projects like cleaning carpets, stripping and waxing floors and deep cleaning in areas that are difficult to get to while school is progress. After spring graduation all of the staff comes together and we work in teams to deep clean all of the 600-plus residence hall rooms on campus. We also double-bunk rooms for the month of June when we host a variety of athletic camps. The beginning of August is the time for us to put the finishing touches on projects so we are ready to welcome the students back.
Q: How has the work of the Maintenance Department changed since you started working at CSC?
The biggest thing is the amount of square footage the new buildings have added on campus. More events on campus also keep things hopping during the school year. Chadron State is making a conscious effort to be more environmentally friendly. The custodial department is looking into the future with chemicals that are more environmentally friendly but still meet the sanitary requirements we have set on campus.
Q: What do you like best about working at CSC?
What I enjoy the most is there is something new that comes up almost every day.
The most satisfying part of the job is the custodial department doing our part to give the students a pleasurable college experience.
Category: Campus News