Standard Eight: Physical and Technological Resources

Overview

In 2003, Wesleyan completed a Strategic Facility Masterplan that outlined the next decade of campus improvements. Since then, approximately $267 million has been invested into Wesleyan’s facilities, including the restoration of historic buildings such as Downey House and Allbritton Center, new buildings such as the Usdan University Center, the expansion of the Freeman Athletic Center, the Schoenberg Dance Studio, the Center for Film Studies, and the construction of student housing facilities for 340 students. At the same time, significant strides were made in the area of major maintenance, utilities infrastructure, fire safety, and code compliance.

Renovations were recently completed for the adaptive reuse of the McKim, Meade and White building at the heart of campus formerly used for Squash. The new academic building houses the College of Letters, Art History, and the Career Center. Spaces in the Butterfield Residence Hall, where the College of Letters and the Career Center used to reside, will be renovated into new student housing. Plans are being developed for expanded facilities for dance, theater and art, and the long-term plan to upgrade and replace science and student-housing facilities continues.

Description

Wesleyan University is situated on 316 acres in the center of Middletown, Connecticut, overlooking the Connecticut River. The campus includes a 160-acre parcel purchased from the State of Connecticut in 2000, which is now predominantly used for recreation and open space. In 2011, Wesleyan’s 311 buildings totaled 2.85 million gross s.f. and were valued at approximately $1.1 billion. Approximately 43% of the space is assigned for residential use, 40% for academic and administrative uses, 9% for athletics, 5% for student life, and 3% for support services.

Wesleyan’s academic portfolio includes 169 classrooms comprising approximately 94,000 s.f. of space and 57,000 s.f. of laboratories for teaching and research. The renovation age of Wesleyan buildings is relatively old (compared to peers) but is improving.ⁱ

The Facilities Department is responsible for maintaining the physical plant and for overseeing environmental health and safety, sustainability, and construction services. The Associate Vice President for Facilities reports to the Vice President for Finance and Administration. The Facilities Department has 136 full-time equivalent positions: 73 full-time employees and 63 contract employees. Its annual operating budget is $14.2 million. This includes compensation, service contracts, materials, and minor equipment repair/replacement and $8.2 million in utilities.

The Facilities Departments:

• Physical Plant Department has 121 full-time positions. Of these, 58 are in-house positions providing energy management, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, heating, ventilation, cooling, refrigeration, power plant maintenance, limited custodial, moving, event set-up, and lock shop. The remaining 63 positions are contracted staff providing most of the custodial services and all grounds maintenance.
• Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability (a staff of 3 full-time professionals) supports fire safety, radiation safety, laser safety, lab safety, chemical hygiene, and hazardous materials testing and management services. This group also provides the leadership for sustainability programs at Wesleyan.
• Construction Services (a staff of 6 full-time professionals) plans and manages renovations, new construction, major maintenance projects, real estate, and space assignments. The team is supplemented by contracted engineers, architects, and builders for each project through a competitive bidding process.
• Administrative staff (5 full time) support all facilities departments and manage approximately 30,000 work orders annually, administer all service contracts, manage rental properties, and provide financial management for the facilities operation.

 

Appraisal

Facilities Planning

In 2002, the University created a set of committees to include broader community participation in the planning process. A masterplan executive committee was formed to provide the leadership for planning and implementing strategy. Committee membership included the President, Cabinet, and the three academic deans. The committee was chaired by the Director of Facilities. For each strategic project (athletics, housing, film, dining, humanities, sciences, etc.), a sub-committee was formed and chaired by one member of the masterplan committee. This kept the lines of communication open in the Wesleyan community.

In 2003, Wesleyan engaged the services of Ayers, Saint, Gross planners and architects and undertook a yearlong effort to develop a Strategic Facility Masterplan. The masterplan provided a road map for the development of campus over the succeeding 10 years.ⁱⁱ> The masterplan puts a premium on adapting and reusing existing spaces. Individual projects are sequenced so that renovations in one place free space for adaptation in another. Timing of projects is also determined by their order in the sequence and by the success of fund-raising. All of the strategic priorities identified in the masterplan have been addressed or completed in the last decade. More than 100 classrooms and non-traditional teaching spaces, such as those serving dance and theater, have been renovated, and technology upgrades were completed. An annual major maintenance fund ensures that each teaching space is assessed annually and renewed as required. The historic Memorial Chapel and ’92 Theater were renovated and expanded to include handicap accessibility and state of the art mechanical systems. Student housing improvements include the complete restoration of Clark Hall (built in 1916), fire safety upgrades in student housing to include fire alarms and fire sprinklers, the new construction of 270 beds at the Fauver Housing complex, and new wood-framed housing for 69 senior students. A Center for Film Studies was constructed in two phases, athletic facilities were consolidated into an expanded Freeman Athletic Center, and the Humanities District historic buildings were renovated. The newly constructed Usdan University Center provides a critical focal point for activity at the heart of campus.

In 2009, the masterplan executive committee and various other committees were reconstituted as the Facilities Planning Committee.ⁱⁱⁱ The scope of responsibilities now includes planning and approval for capital projects, space assignments, ADA projects, major maintenance, and a review of real estate proposals for acquisition and disposition.

A committee of facilities and residential life staff has developed a plan to coordinate student housing with enrollment targets. Buildings with excessive gross square footage per bed have been evaluated and renovated each summer since 2009 to optimize the occupancy. To date, a net of 58 new beds have been added to campus by renovating and optimizing existing buildings at an average cost of $7,600/bed—a return on investment of less than one year. These renovations occur during the summer and are based on the following year’s enrollment projections. This program has allowed the University to divest of beds in less desirable locations or in poor condition, primarily wood-frame houses. A reduction in operating costs is the natural outcome of this optimization.

In 2011, the University engaged the services of a traffic and parking consultant to evaluate the effectiveness of existing facilities. A parking survey was completed in April 2011, which indicated that an adequate parking supply exists. The report included a number of recommendations related to monitoring and regulating parking,^iv and the University will be implementing them shortly.

In January 2012, Wesleyan celebrated the opening of the former squash building—renovated and expanded to meet LEED Gold standards for sustainability—as an academic building and home to the Career Center.

Classrooms

The classroom committee was resurrected in 2006 by the Registrar’s office to address faculty needs.^v An electronic classroom request form in the electronic portfolio allows faculty to submit classroom requests that will enhance their teaching. These requests are reviewed quarterly by the classroom committee. There are more than 169 classrooms on campus, and faculty requests vary greatly: from improvements in technology—to finishes, furnishing, electrical, lighting, and shades—to full renovation.

Sciences

In December 2006, the University engaged the services of Payette Associates to design a new Molecular and Life Sciences Building (at an estimated cost of $160 million), but this project was canceled in 2008 (to the dismay of some faculty) in favor of upgrades to the existing Hall-Atwater and Shanklin Laboratory facilities (at a more affordable rate of approximately $2 million per year). The major elements of the plan include: updating Hall Atwater and Shanklin life safety systems including fire sprinklers and alarm systems; improving indoor air quality in Hall Atwater; renovating all teaching labs in Hall Atwater original to the building; creating new shared research and teaching equipment and work zones; and renovating new and existing faculty research labs that are original to the building.

Each year the dean of Division III meets with the designated project manager to review the list of impending projects and to develop the scope of work for the subsequent year. Once funding is approved by senior administration, a committee of affected faculty becomes engaged in the design process.  

Since 2009, $8 million of capital improvements have been made to the Hall Atwater and Shanklin buildings. Renovated classrooms and laboratories look as good as any new building and have allowed spaces to be reconfigured to meet the current needs of the sciences. An additional $2 million of fire sprinklers and fire alarms were installed in 2010. This action was prompted by a fire in a Hall Atwater chemistry lab in April 2009 that caused $1 million of damage. Following the fire, the corridors throughout Hall Atwater were renovated and new ceilings, flooring, and lighting were installed—changes that have also made a significant impact on the aesthetics of the building.

Major Maintenance

In 1989, the University established a major maintenance fund to upgrade and maintain all campus buildings at current, competitive standards. The original fund was budgeted at 2% of the replacement value of the buildings. Due to the age of Wesleyan’s building portfolio, deferred maintenance is a significant, ongoing challenge, and the budget has not kept pace with the replacement value of the campus. In FY12 the University has budgeted approximately $6.8 million for major maintenance projects. Sightlines, a collaborative of colleges and universities that share performance data, estimates that approximately $42 million of major maintenance has been deferred over the last 10 years, and the gap between available major maintenance funding and the annual need grew to $6 million in FY11. Each year faculty, staff, and students are invited to submit proposed major maintenance projects. The list, which generally includes more than 300 proposals, is reviewed and voted on by the facilities management staff and a student representative. Finally, a list of projects in priority order, along with estimated costs for each item, is submitted to the Facilities Planning Committee for review and approval. The final list is posted on the University web site.

During the summer of 2011, 108 major maintenance projects were completed, which is typical of any given year. The process has evolved over the last few years and now includes three years of projects in priority order. This enables the University to anticipate maintenance work that might impact summer programs as far ahead as three years.

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

In 1995 the University commissioned an independent study to determine the status of accessibility on campus. The project team was chaired by an alumnus, Chris Palamas, who is disabled and traversed the hilly campus in a wheel chair. The final report, completed in 1997, identified a number of proposed improvements. Progress was initially slow. Limited funding, steep topography, and numerous historic buildings challenged the University’s ability to satisfy accessibility needs without compromising the historic character of the campus. In FY03, the University established an annual capital budget for ADA projects, which began with $217,000 and has increased annually.

In addition to major projects, the University has taken specific actions to improve accessibility in buildings not scheduled for renovation. Since the ADA budget was established in FY03, the University has spent approximately $2 million to improve accessibility, and has developed an accessible route map added to Wesleyan’s web page.

In the summer of 2012, approximately 30,000 square feet of the Butterfield Residence Hall complex (hitherto not accessible) will undergo a renovation to provide 92 accessible beds. 

Sustainability and Energy Conservation

Sustainability is a community effort at Wesleyan. The Sustainability Advisory Group for Environmental Stewardship (SAGES)—a committee of students, faculty, and staff chaired by the director of EHSS—is responsible for developing a Campus Climate Action Plan. This plan describes the actions, policies, programs, and measures that Wesleyan will take to meet specified greenhouse gas reduction targets and timetables as well as identify other ways to achieve carbon neutrality. The committee looks at all aspects of campus activity—including energy consumption, procurement, transportation, construction and renovations, recycling and waste, grounds management, and dining—and recommends ways for all of them to become more environmentally sustainable.

In 2007, President Roth signed the American College and University’s Climate Commitment Pledge (ACUCCP) with a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. In the last five years, Wesleyan reduced its total carbon emissions by 25 percent and the University is on track to reach the 2050 goal. In 2007, Wesleyan offered all faculty, staff and students a challenge to sign a personal Wesleyan Community Climate Commitment. Signers commit to at least five sustainable actions such as not buying bottled water, replacing light bulbs with CFL bulbs, and reducing gasoline use by driving slowly or by walking. Wesleyan’s first greenhouse gas emission inventory was conducted in 2008, and the results were published in January 2009. In May 2010, Wesleyan published the Wesleyan University Climate Action Plan. The University participates in the annual RecycleMania contest with peer schools administered by the College and University Recycling Coalition.

Transportation initiatives include The Ride, free student transportation, two Zip Cars sponsored by the Wesleyan Student Assembly, airport shuttles available to students, a ride board for faculty, staff and student carpooling, a student bike rental program with 200 bicycles in use, and electric and hybrid vehicles used by the University and vendors. A new faculty and staff garden is adjacent to a student-run farm to further promote sustainability. A student group, WILD Wes (Working for Intelligent Landscape Design) is developing a permaculture project in the central campus area. In 2010, students founded the Green Fund, a student-managed fund for sustainability that is financed through a $15 opt-out student fee, independent of the University’s budget. It supports initiatives that decrease the carbon footprint of the University, decrease waste, increase the University’s use of energy from renewable resources, and increase the visibility of environmentally responsible practices on campus. The Green Fund’s total budget for the 2010-11 academic year was $79,755. Approved projects included a composting project that encouraged 1,000 students to compost food for the student garden and prizes given to the 2011 first annual Dorm Energy Competition (April Energy Fest).

Since 2005, Wesleyan has completed nearly $30 million in energy conservation projects (with $5.4 million in grants and incentives) that should save $2.6 million in annual energy costs. The installation of solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of the Admission building, for example, was facilitated by a power purchase agreement with a company owned by two recent Wesleyan alumni. The output of the panels is monitored via the web. The panels, completed in 2009, are expected to offset 72,000 pounds of CO2 in a lifetime. Another notable example is a new 200-kilowatt solar PV array completed in January 2012 at the Freeman Athletic Center.

Utility Infrastructure

The University has maintained a long-term view and near-term plan of its investment in campus wide utility infrastructure, including its Central Power Plant (CPP), Vine Street Electrical Substation, and the systems that distribute utilities from these facilities. Currently, its entire utilities infrastructure is in fair to very good condition with plans in place to improve its efficiency and reach.

Maintenance and expansion of utilities infrastructure is supported directly by major maintenance and coincident funding of capital when appropriate. This approach has allowed us to take advantage of incentives and grants that have become available through the statewide deregulation of utilities.

Highlights of energy use improvements include

• A 2.4 mega-Watt cogeneration system was installed in 2010 to generate approximately 85 percent of the University’s electrical consumption and 19 percent of connected loads thermal energy requirement. The work cost approximately $3.4 million and received over $1.3 million in grants and incentives.
• Beginning in 2007, the central chilled water system underwent a complete redesign and capacity expansion. This effort, for which Wesleyan received over $600,000 in grants and incentives, will be completed in 2012 with the introduction of “Free-Cooling.” The total cost will be approximately $2 million.
• In 2007 we began the introduction of new 15 kV electrical switchgear at the Vine Street Substation to allow for the progressive upgrade of the campus electrical grid to 15 kV and the ultimate decommissioning of the existing 5 kV transformers.
• In 2010, we installed energy meters to record electrical, steam, and chilled water consumption of large student residences connected to central distribution systems.

Real Estate Portfolio Management

While the overall campus size (2.85 million s.f.) has remained relatively stable since 2002, the total number of buildings has decreased from 375 to 311. Wesleyan still owns approximately 150 more buildings/1 million gross s.f. than our peer average, according to an independent report by Sightlines. This is in large part due to the inefficiency of the undergraduate student housing portfolio, which includes more than 100 single family houses owned by the University. The high percentage of residential space also reflects the portfolio of 160 rental property units available to faculty, staff, and graduate students and their families.

Wesleyan is reducing its real estate portfolio through the Advanced Purchase Program (APP), initiated in 2002 to divest of unneeded housing stock and to encourage home ownership near campus by faculty and staff. The University has sold 49 homes with net sales proceeds of $8 million through the APP, and the proceeds have been reinvested into new student housing and renovation projects. Approximately two-thirds of the homes have been purchased by faculty and staff. Eligible faculty and staff may use a Wesleyan mortgage incentive program that provides 5% of the mortgage (up to a mortgage limit of $300,000) to be applied toward the purchase of any local home. A new Sustainable Campus program introduced in the 2011 provides faculty and staff with an added $10,000 incentive to buy a home from Wesleyan.

Environmental Health and Safety

Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability (EHSS)^vi ensures safety and regulatory compliance across campus. The department offers occupational safety courses, environmental and fire safety inspections, and ergonomic assessments to maintain compliance with local, state, and federal regulations. The EHSS coordinates and implements fire drills (working closely with the City of Middletown’s Fire Marshal office) in all residential buildings each semester.

The EHSS Director is a Certified Radiation Safety Officer who oversees the implementation of safety policies and guidelines in our science research facility and supports the Laser Safety Officer in regular inspections of our laser facilities. Wesleyan has been inspected by the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRC) three times in the last 15 years and has always maintained a compliant program with no violations. Wesleyan has been inspected by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for Hazardous Waste operations and also received no fines. Currently, five of Wesleyan’s professional facilities staff are licensed lead inspectors including one State-certified lead and asbestos professional. All Physical Plant, Construction Services, and EHSS staff are OSHA certified and receive annual training as required by law. The Director participates in the development and management of the Chemical Hygiene Committee and Plan, the Animal Care and Use Committee per IACUC, and the Employee Safety Committee as required by State Commission on Workers Comp.

The EHSS staff are all recognized professionals in their area of expertise and attend annual professional development/refresher training to ensure the highest level of service to the Wesleyan community.

Facilities Management Performance

Wesleyan continues to benchmark the performance of the facilities organization with peers with the assistance of Sightlines. Since 2002, Sightlines has collected Wesleyan data relative to facilities staffing, operating costs, material spending, capital investments in facilities, utilities consumption, and the condition of buildings, equipment, and grounds. This data is used each year to guide the investment of resources into the campus and to gauge the effectiveness of those investments. See the full FY10 report.

Wesleyan has struggled for years to improve upon quality scores for grounds maintenance. A special effort was made to address this issue with the development of performance standards and daily inspections of the grounds. In 2009, perennial wild flower fields were planted in strategic locations, and 40 planters were added throughout the campus to add curb appeal. The result has been remarkable. Wesleyan’s grounds inspection scores increased from 2.4 in 2008 to 4.2 in 2011, higher than the peer average of 3.9. (Scores are on a 5-point scale.) This effort was accomplished within existing financial resources by rebidding the grounds service contract.^vii 

A two-year project focused on improving curb appeal resulted in Sightlines general repair inspection scores improving from 2.7 in 2008 to 4.3 in 2011. This score exceeded the peer average of 3.7 in 2011. To achieve these results, in the summer of 2008, a project titled “First Impressions” improved all of Wesleyan’s historic buildings leading from the edge of campus to the admission office. A total of 15 buildings received complete exterior makeovers as part of a $453,000 major maintenance project. Later in 2008, another project called “Lasting Impressions” improved the Wesleyan buildings that visitors would pass as they left the campus. A total of 14 buildings, mostly faculty rental houses, received $300,000 of complete exterior makeovers. This focus on major maintenance in a concentrated location allowed the University to achieve the greatest impact for dollars spent. More important, the project did not compromise other major maintenance priorities on campus.

Custodial performance has received significant attention in the last few years. In 2008, Wesleyan’s Sightlines inspection score for custodial was equal to the peer average of 3.2. That same year the staffing level and supervision was at the peer average. To improve this performance, a new performance-based contract was developed and competitively bid in 2008. Approximately 75% of Wesleyan’s custodial workforce was outsourced at that time. In 2011, Wesleyan’s custodial inspection scores improved to 4.3 vs. the peer average of 3.8. In December 2010, the custodial team lost 9 FTEs as part of a voluntary separation program. This represented approximately 10 percent of the custodial work force. To balance the reduced staffing levels, custodial services were revised and remaining staff were redistributed accordingly. The new standards require faculty and staff to hand-carry personal trash and recycling to containers in the corridors, and office cleaning has been reduced to one day per week from five days per week. Public spaces continue to be cleaned daily. In 2012 Wesleyan is rebidding the contract with the hopes of improved custodial services and clearer expectations under a new set of specifications.

While recent attention seems to have focused on the qualitative aspects of campus facilities, it should be noted that Wesleyan has been highly attentive to the financial aspects as well. In FY10, Wesleyan’s spending on facilities operations was $4.23/ gross s.f., which is 12 percent below our peer average of $4.80/gross s.f. Much of the savings can be attributed to rigorous budget management strategies. For example, overtime paid to physical plant staff has been reduced by $500,000/year since 2004. Since 2007, annual savings of more than $389,000/year were achieved through rebidding service contracts for custodial, sanitation, sewer, elevator, pest control, alarm monitoring and testing, equipment maintenance, and grounds. Reorganizing property management services for rental properties has saved another $345,000/year.

Projection

Elements of a short-term masterplan plan will include the next phase of the science masterplan renovations to existing facilities including, but not limited to: updating Hall Atwater and Shanklin life safety systems, building mechanical and envelope improvements, renovating all teaching labs in Hall Atwater that are original to the building, creating shared research and teaching equipment zones, renovating research labs for new and existing faculty. Under development is a new masterplan for academic spaces in the arts—including dance, theater, student art workshops, and musical instrument storage. Center for the Arts buildings are 38 years old with major maintenance needs that exceed available funding.

The Facilities Planning Committee will also update the plan for the disposition of vacant buildings, continue a project to optimize the existing real estate portfolio and implement student housing projects to accommodate increased enrollment projections (particularly regarding the class of 2015, which is larger than anticipated).

Institutional Effectiveness

The Facilities Planning Committee oversees the planning and approval of capital and major maintenance projects consistent with Wesleyan’s needs and mission. The Committee’s goals include evaluating the effectiveness and funding level of the annual major maintenance program and developing a short-term plan for facilities that reflects current financial constraints. The University maintains a three-year list of projects in priority order as a basis for realistic planning and budget allocation. Capital projects are supported through fundraising (e.g., the renovation of the Squash Building, now 41 Wyllys Avenue).

 

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