UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Physical Plant

Virginia Asuncion Farewell Reception, May 2

Please join the physical plant staff as we say goodbye to Mehling Hall housekeeper Virginia Asuncion. Virginia has been a University of Portland staff member for 44 years, and will be missed by colleagues and residents alike. She will be honored for her contributions to the University in a farewell reception to be held in the Terrace Room on Tuesday, May 2, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. All are invited to extend their good wishes to Virginia in her retirement.

For more information, contact Erin Zarafshan, physical plant, at zarafsha@up.edu or x7306.

UP Hosting Strategic Energy Management Cohort Workshop, November 16

solar-copyThe University of Portland will host the final Strategic Energy Management (SEM) workshop, “Report Out & Celebration,” on Wednesday, November 16. UP has been participating in a two-year SEM cohort sponsored by the Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO), according to physical plant director André Hutchinson. Other participants in the cohort, which focuses on organizations with large, complex campuses, such as the Hillsboro School District and Oregon Health & Science University, will be on campus for this closing event. The UP project has been spearheaded by the Energy Team of Hutchinson, Sandy Galati, and Dirk Theisen, physical plant; Eric Barger, controller; Michelle Sunderland, information services; and Beth Sorensen, marketing and communications.

The goal of the SEM cohort is to support the University as both a responsible steward of energy resources and of financial resources. An energy policy for the campus is currently being developed which will incorporate many of the energy conservation and performance improvement strategies that have come out of the SEM project.

For more information contact Hutchinson at x7306 0r hutchina@up.edu.

UP Hosting Strategic Energy Management Cohort Workshop, Sept. 14

UPsolarpowerThe University of Portland has been participating in a two-year Strategic Energy Management (SEM) cohort sponsored by the Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO), according to physical plant director André Hutchinson. The University will host the next SEM workshop, “Sustaining Strategic Energy Management,” on Wednesday, September 14.

The University’s commitment toward strategic energy management has been spearheaded by Sandy Galati and Dirk Theisen, physical plant. Other Energy Team members include Eric Barger, controller; Michelle Sunderland, information services; and Beth Sorensen, marketing and communications.

UP has earned two milestone incentives of $1,000 each, one for creating an energy team and the other for maintaining the Energy Trust’s performance tracking tool. UP is on target to achieve two additional $1,000 incentives for successfully completing identified goals on the SEM Action Plan and the implementation of an energy policy. Cohort participants are eligible to earn $.02/KwH and $.20/therm on reduced electricity and natural gas consumption. Stay tuned for news on upcoming SEM events in November and December to which other members of the UP community will be invited. The goal of the SEM cohort is to support the University as both a responsible steward of energy resources and of financial resources.

For more information contact Hutchinson at x7306 0r hutchina@up.edu.

Fay Beeler Farewell Reception, September 8

U of Portland

Please join the physical plant staff as they say goodbye to their much loved assistant director, Fay Beeler, on the occasion of her retirement. Fay has been a University staff member for over 27 years and will be greatly missed by all. Fay will be honored for her contributions to the University of Portland in a farewell reception to be held in the Terrace Room on Thursday, September 8, 3 to 5 p.m. All are invited to extend their good wishes to Fay on her retirement.

For more information, contact Erin Zarafshan, physical plant, at zarafsha@up.edu or x7306.

Holy Cross and Teske Dining Room Closure, May 16-20

Chefs, food, dessert, cooking dreamstime_m_26006537.jpgThe Holy Cross and Teske Dining Rooms will be closed during the week of May 16, according to physical plant director Andre Hutchinson. Workers will be replacing air conditioning units and also performing other scheduled maintenance and repairs. The Holy Cross dining room will reopen on Monday, May 23.

For more information contact the physical plant at 7306 or physicalplant@up.edu.

University Honored By PGE For Sustainability

UPsolarpowerPhysical plant director André Hutchinson reports that Portland General Electric presented the University of Portland with a certificate acknowledging UP’s 2015 environmental impact. The certificate states, “You have made a positive impact on our environment through your purchase of Clean Wind renewable power. Thank you for your commitment to the environment.”

Hutchinson points out that UP self-directs the maximum amount of its public purpose charge toward the purchase of Clean Wind power each year. In 2015, the University purchased 1,681,317 kWh of Clean Wind power, resulting in 2,253,534 pounds of CO2 avoided—this equates to approximately 2,514,712 miles not driven or 268 trees planted annually.

For more information contact Hutchinson at 7306 or hutchina@up.edu.

UP Joins Energy Trust of Oregon’s Strategic Energy Management Program

UP

The University of recently joined a newly formed cohort in the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Strategic Energy Management (SEM) program, according to physical plant director André Hutchinson.

One of the initial steps in the SEM program is the Energy Management Assessment (EMA); the EMA session is not a technical audit, but rather takes a business approach to effective energy management. The EMA is a means to identify, evaluate, and prioritize critical energy-related business practices to target for improvement, and will take place Tuesday, January 5, 2016.

The meeting will be facilitated by Harold “Skip” Schick, director of business practices for the Energy Trust of Oregon. Key stakeholders and other persons with responsibilities that effect energy management have been invited to participate in the EMA. The ultimate goals of UP’s participation include the creation and implementation of a formal energy policy resulting in significant, permanent reductions in energy consumption, further resulting in significant, permanent reductions in energy costs.

To provide further incentive, UP will receive electricity savings of two cents per kilowatt hour and natural gas savings of twenty center per therm for participating in the SEM program. In addition, UP will receive a $1,000 milestone bonus if the new energy policy is created and implemented within one year of the formation of its cohort.

For more information contact Hutchinson at 7306 or physicalplant@up.edu.

Best Wishes To Carvel Cook, Oct. 30

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viet nam vets,physical facility,up

Please join the physical plant in extending best wishes to Carvel Cook, who is retiring on November 2, 2015. Carvel has been an esteemed member of the physical plant staff for 34 years, and he will be greatly missed by all. Carvel’s colleauges will honor him for his contributions to the University in a farewell reception to be held in St. Mary’s Lounge from 3 to 5 p.m., on Friday, October 30. All UP employees are invited to extend their good wishes to Carvel on his retirement.

For more information contact Erin Zarafshan, physical plant, at 7306 or zarafsha@up.edu.

Farewell Reception for Dave Doe, June 5

Dave150Please join the physical plant staff in extending best wishes to Dave Doe, who is retiring from the University of Portland on June 5, 2015. Dave has been an esteemed member of the physical plant staff for 26 years, and he will be greatly missed by all. A farewell reception for Dave will take place on Friday, June 5, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., in the Terrace Room. All faculty and staff are invited to extend their good wishes to Dave on his retirement.

For more information contact Erin Zarafshan, physical plant, at 7306 or zarafsha@up.edu.

Campus Changes: Praying Hands Memorial Trees

Kane Praying HandsThe physical plant grounds crew has been working this past week to remove five trees near the Praying Hands Memorial, after it was deemed too risky to allow them to remain in place. The trees were dead or dying due to leakage from a major (and aging) underground steam line, according to longtime UP arborist Jim Wells. For the past 67 years, since the memorial was built through the efforts of UP students to commemorate classmates who served and died in World War II, the area around the Praying Hands has slowly filled in with evergreen and magnolia trees, plus shrubbery and perennial flowers, providing a quiet, sheltered spot to remember those members of the UP community who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces. Senior grounds manager Nathan Hale is working on a new landscape design; however, replanting plans have not been finalized, so for the time being the Praying Hands Memorial will revert to its open setting, much as it looked originally in the late 1940s and early 1950s.