Water damage repairs in the Warren Madden Building (formerly Administrative Services Building) necessary from a burst interior pipe a year ago this week are nearly complete, senior vice president for operations and finance Sean Reeder told members of the Professional and Scientific Council at their Jan. 9 meeting. This work included replacing drywall as needed, new paint and carpeting and a new electric-powered panel and furniture system.
Due to the building's age (25 years) and the fact it's been vacant because of extensive damage, he said similar upgrades will be done in other areas not damaged by water and not covered by the insurance claim. He said the goal is to have both projects completed and the building occupied before fall semester.
A third project at the building, a new heating/cooling system, new roof membrane and a west addition to move the system's air handlers from the roof to an internal space, also is complete.
In a quick tour of other campus locations, Reeder said on the north side of central campus demolition of the old LeBaron Hall and excavation for its replacement are complete. The new foundation is poured, and construction will continue through 2026, he said.
Reeder also shared that Veenker golf course is adding a technology to its driving range, Toptracer, which uses sensor-equipped cameras to track how and how far range balls are hit. It helps golfers improved their game -- or simply have more fun, merging golf and video games.
He said a reorganization in facilities planning and management to create cross-functional service teams is in its second phase: posting and filling senior manager, manager and coordinator positions by the end of February. During phase 3 (March and April), the remaining team positions will be filled, with teams and their assigned areas announced in May. As envisioned, each team will feature employee expertise from all areas -- project services, facilities services, trades and building systems -- assigned to a campus service area.
"We hope to maximize what that team customer service orientation can be for our customers and improve communication with all service areas and FPM accountability for all the services we provide," he said.
He said Workday adaptive planning tools are being used this winter and spring to develop the university's next budget (fiscal year 2026).
2022-31 strategic plan update
Sophia Magill, who serves as senior advisor to the president and coordinates work on the university's 2022-31 strategic plan, told council members the strategic plan is a shared responsibility. Its structure encourages "grass root" participation, and all members of the university community may propose projects and seek funding. Interdisciplinary proposals are one of the strengths of that process, she said.
Magill encouraged employees to connect their own work and their departmental efforts to the strategic plan goals.
"We're one university, and that alignment is important. That's what will help us be successful," she said.
Following an initial investment (2022) in nine projects, 19 projects received funding for fiscal year 2024, 12 of which were renewed for the current fiscal year. She said the next call for proposals will be shared this semester for FY2026 implementation. The intent of strategic plan funds is to help launch new initiatives, not support them long-term, she said. Funded teams should expect to identify sustainable revenue streams for their projects.
She noted that communicators across campus are sharing the impact and outcomes of those investments. Her team also is working with staff from institutional research and information technology services to build a metrics dashboard of real-time project data.
Magill said the three regent universities have reviewed the language of their respective strategic plans for compliance with the new state law (taking effect July 1) that restricts programming and positions that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Proposed changes will be on the regents' February meeting agenda. Regents approved changes to the board's strategic plan this week.
Announcements
In other council business:
- Council president Jason Follett said council member Paul Easker has been representing the council on a work group about P&S term appointments. The council's perspective is that P&S term appointments should have parameters and departments need guidelines on appropriate uses of term positions for consistency across the university. He said an explanation and formal process, applied consistently, for how and why to convert a P&S term position to a continuous position also would be useful.
- The council-hosted annual professional development conference is Thursday, Feb. 27 (7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Gateway Hotel and Conference Center). Early registration ($130) ends Feb. 2, and regular registration ($150) closes Feb. 19.
- The council's awards committee has selected recipients of this year's P&S CYtation Awards, who will be notified by next week. They'll be honored at a breakfast celebration in March.
- The next council meeting is Thursday, Feb. 6 (2:10 p.m., 4250 Student Innovation Center and via Microsoft Teams).
