Suzanne Healy, E. Lander Medlin, and Beth Clark
Personal and professional development are staples of a continuous improvement regimen that can propel us in our leadership within our organizations, or detract from our progress if we fail to nurture the knowledge that we and our staffs need to thrive. The three sections that follow can be read on their own or as a […]
Joe Whitefield
When I think about the COVID-19 pandemic today, the one thing of which I am sure is that I am tired of thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic. I have heard many colleagues and friends describe similar thoughts about mental and emotional fatigue that increases with every month that the pandemic continues. Because it affects every […]
K.J. Jacobs
Every capital construction project presents a unique set of challenges and variables, regardless of its size. Whatever the difficulty may be—stakeholder disagreements, material delivery delays, project coordination problems, or issues within the onsite workforce—snafus are bound to arise. Whether you are a K-12 or higher education facilities manager who regularly oversees construction projects, or whether […]
Steve Glazner
Insurrection is not a word we thought we’d be using in regular conversation, but the January 6 violent intrusion and destruction within the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., changed all that. Defined as a violent uprising against a government, insurrection is certainly what occurred when thousands of rioters attempted to upend U.S. democracy with their […]
Tiffany M. Grant
Author and civil rights leader Howard Thurman once said, “Community cannot for long feed on itself; it can only flourish with the coming of others from beyond, their unknown and undiscovered brothers.” A community must be intentional about being inclusive. While a community may be founded on certain beliefs and values, it must also be […]
Mehdi Khalvati, Ph.D.
The call for amplified health and safety measures across schools and workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic has revolutionized the role of the facility manager. Prior to the pandemic, facilities management functioned as an invisible operation—one that was often viewed as a reactive cost center rather than a proactive leadership arm of an organization. But the […]
Kevin Folsom, CEFP, CEP
As the chair of the APPA Standards and Codes Council, I see firsthand how the work of this council supports educational institutions. Most of the time, the work involves microsurgery of the intellectual, philosophical, scientific, and engineering narrative of the lessons we have learned, while we strive for perfection in addressing the health, safety, and […]
Steve Smith
Facilities managers at schools, colleges, and universities must deal with a variety of ongoing issues, but none can be as cumbersome—or expensive—as replacing a roof. Preventive maintenance is the key to both a healthy roof and a stable budget. The goal is to stop problems before they arise in order to avoid costly repairs and […]
Joseph Bocchiaro III, Ph.D., CStd, CTS-D, CTS-I, ISF-C
Much has been discussed recently about the need for academia to respond after the time when COVID-19 has been eradicated. Facilities managers need not wait until that time to begin to implement changes to their campus assets. Here are some of the upgrades building technology experts are discussing that can be implemented to prepare for […]
