Facilities Management semester plans, new AVP adjusting to CMU


Working as associate vice presi­­dent of Facilities Management reminds Jonathan Webb of working in the Air Force.

Webb took over the position in September after Steve Lawrence retired. Webb was previously facility operations and maintenance site manager for Boeing Service Company in Virginia, preceded by 26 years of service in the Air Force.

Operating out of the Central Energy Facility located on East Campus, CMU’s Facilities Management keeps the university running smoothly.

"Our mission here in Facilities Management is to maintain, operate, improve and construct CMU's grounds and infrastructure," he said. "It's practically identical to what I did in the Air Force. Those military installations consisted of dining facilities, residence halls, laboratories and academic buildings. Pretty much everything we see at CMU is what a military installation is like."

Central Michigan Life met with Webb to discuss how the organization handles winter weather and what's planned for this semester. 

CM LIFE: How have you settled into your new position?

WEBB: Being here has been very rewarding. We have an absolutely great team of professionals here in Facilities Management. One of the things I've seen is that everyone is truly committed to the university and its infrastructure, when it comes to taking care of the campus. We've got a vision that's very clear — to support student success. We at facilities do that by having a campus and facilities that are welcoming, safe and functional. That's what everyone on the team strives to do everyday.

What kind of things does facilities management do over winter break?

Facilities management runs 24/7 (year-round) so we had people at all times over break monitoring operations and overseeing the energy plant. We also had most of our craft personnel in throughout the holiday season monitoring building systems. Our grounds personnel were out conducting snow and ice control operations, so when we got calls from Central Michigan University Police Department or the athletics department, our teams were out 24/7 to support as needed.

What are some of the plans to maintain campus during the spring semester?

The biggest thing right now is just to get through winter. We want to make sure we continue to support the students, faculty and staff here at CMU, despite whatever weather (is thrown) at us.

Our snow and ice control teams did a great job at the beginning of the winter, and we just want to keep up with that (to) make sure people are able to get around safely.

What about after the snow melts?

W e don’t look at the year in terms of semesters as much as we do when construction season is (May to August). When the weather gets better we can do more, and when the semester ends we really gear up for our construction season in August. There’s a lot of preparatory work, like getting supplies, materials and contracts to make sure we can be as efficient as possible throughout the construction season.

What’s the budget for construction season?

We get $5.7 million each year because of deferred maintenance. What we do is develop requirements within that budget threshold that we’re given. We work through the university staff to identifying the most pressing requirements from a deferred maintenance standpoint, and then we work those up through the cabinet to the board of trustees to get them approved.

What’s planned for this construction season?

Just last month, the university board of trustees approved this year’s deferred maintenance program, so we’ll need to get all those contracts and activities ready to execute. We’re also working on the new Integrative Health Studies project, which will be the university’s next major construction project.

Along with many other entities across campus, we put in a lot of effort to support the summer programs, like the Special Olympics.

How involved is Facilities Management in summer programs?

A major portion of it is custodial. We have people going in and out of the residence halls, so we have to sanitize and clean those facilities every time new people come in. It’s much different than having students, where the same people are staying in those rooms semester-long.

Share: