We’ve had a little snow here in DC.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was visiting our Doha campus during the Snowzilla event. With closed DC airports, I was able to return only on Tuesday afternoon, much later than I had planned.
I arrived to see piles of snow outside the airport, and streets and sidewalks still covered. It was a mess.
When I arrived at the Georgetown campus on Tuesday afternoon, I saw completely clear sidewalks and walkways throughout the campus. Every walk had been salted, entrances to buildings were completely clear. Yes, there were piles of snow everywhere, but there were no impediments to working on campus.
When I caught up with colleagues, I learned even more. Workers at the eating-places on campus and in the maintenance areas had slept on campus in cots during the blizzard. This allowed them to give ongoing service to our faculty and students.
I learned that the campus crews had cleaned up the campus in record time, especially given the large accumulations. I saw an email from a parent of an undergraduate thanking the facilities and food service staff for their dedication and care during the snowstorm.
Most of the time of a provost is spent on academic affairs, attempting to help the university attract and retain the best faculty and students, and supporting innovation in education and research. However, none of this matters very much if we don’t have a physical environment that permits faculty, administrators, and students to do their joint work.
In most publicity that we distribute from Georgetown, faculty and students are highlighted routinely, for their scholarly, athletic, and academic achievements. Staff that keep the physical environment and provide direct services to students are less often featured.
It’s at moments like a gigantic snowstorm that we are reminded of the utter dependence of academic activities on the dedicated university staff who keeps the campus functioning. That we have staff who give up their time with their own families to stay on campus solely to serve students is sufficient evidence of a deep commitment to the mission of the university.
We owe them thanks.
Great recognition for our loyal staff who keep everything running here on campus. Thank you!
As one who lives on campus, I witnessed the all-out and efficient effort, despite the odds. For example, I watched on crew start at the top of the three-flight concrete stairs, shoveling to keep one side open, all the way down to the bottom and then back up to the top again, as snow continued to accumulate.
I witnessed a whole crew of workers brought in and given brand new shovels. In my mind’s eye, I can see the orange handles against the fields of white snow.
Our colleagues who worked around the clock and moved in for the duration had their own families–and, presumably, mounds of snow around their own dwellings. But they focused on Georgetown. It’s humbling to benefit from how hard some people work on behalf of the rest of us.
And I bet there is much truth in the claim that the most navigable roads in the region right now are on our campus.
Yes indeed. Give the GU workers — professional and wage earners appreciation– but do so everyday. Say hello/ chat with Isabel and Jose who take care of ICC. Ask about their families. Shoot the breeze with Budd and Anthony who patrol the campus. I do not eat at the cafeterias but some of the staff have been there since my own children attended soccer camps. Next time their union contract comes up– offer them support. Talk about the Dallas/ Wash. football rivalries with the fellows who take care of the campus grounds. So many to thank. Garpue and Carlos at Go Card. Cynthia and Getu in Transportation. Linda at the bookstore. Jim and Randy and the crew at Yates. Chas and Jose at McDonough. Appreciate those who run our departments like DJ,
Jan and Carolina in the history dept. Thank Michelle and Pete who make sure our classroom technology works and Chris and Telsa who fix our computers. These are the backbone of our school.
A fellow worker.
Maurice Jackson/History Dept.
Provost Groves, I share your appreciation for our facilities workers. It is this appreciation that compels me to point out that many of the facilities workers you praise ended up sleeping on floors and benches, sometimes in unheated buildings, because no provision was made for them. I hope your kind words here translate into some real action to prevent this from happening again.
http://georgetownvoice.com/2016/01/26/80299/
I agree 100% The groundkeepers at Georgetown do an extraordinary job! In heat and in snow. The beauty of the campus makes working here all the more enjoyable. It’s a campus that makes one proud!
Important observation. Well said. These dedicated Hoyas are the cogs that keep the engine of learning going. I hope we all will show our appreciation to them. Even if just with a smile and a hello. Simple human gestures of appreciation. You spoke of connection in past blogs. These are ways to connect with some in our community who may not always be recognized or appreciated. I was really moved when a few years ago a woman came up to me at Georgetown to remind me she had cleaned my office in Kober Kogan many years ago. I did remember her and what a good job she did and how pleasant she was. Then I felt really good that she told me she remembered me also very well because I always spoke to her and thanked her for her good work. Those everyday connections and interactions in little things are really what Connections are about in education, in work, and in life.
And this is yet another example of what makes Georgetown exceptional! Thank you!
Yes, we do. And they did it. Thank you!
Amen!