News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.
After seven years at UP, physical plant director Andre Hutchinson is leaving for a new position as assistant vice president for facilities management at the University of San Diego. Andre’s colleagues will be gathering in the Pilot house on Friday, March 29, from 4 to 6 p.m., to thank him for his service on The Bluff and wish him well as he begins this new chapter. All are invited to attend.
For more information contact Jim Ravelli, University operations, at landtise@up.edu.
The University of Portland has once again been recognized for its environmental impact commitment by virtue of participation in the Portland General Electric Clean Wind program, according to André Hutchinson, physical plant. A certificate was presented to UP representatives on Wednesday, February 28. Every year, UP self-directs the maximum percentage of public purpose charge toward renewable power in the form of clean wind, thus offsetting carbon production with clean wind production. The University’s 2017 participation included more than 1.6 million kWh of renewable power purchased, significantly reducing our carbon footprint by avoiding the emittance of more than 2.5 million pounds of CO2 into the environment. That amount is the equivalent of more than 2.8 million vehicle miles not driven, or planting more than 300 trees. The PGE Electric Clean Wind program is just one of many sustainability and strategic energy management initiatives undertaken within the physical plant throughout the course of any given year.
For more information contact Hutchinson at hutchina@up.edu.
The 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.
The 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.
The 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.
Physical 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.
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.
Nathan Hale has been hired to serve in the newly created position of senior grounds manager, according to Andre Hutchinson, physical plant. The care and maintenance of the campus grounds is of paramount importance as the physical appearance of campus often forms visitors’ first impressions. With the development of the River Campus, the grounds staff has been spread increasingly thin. Nathan is a registered landscape architect with more than 30 years of commercial landscaping experience and brings incredible design and leadership capability to the UP grounds team. Please welcome him as he takes on his new duties.
Portland General Electric has presented the University of Portland with a certificate stating, “Portland General Electric recognizes University of Portland for making a positive impact on our environment through your purchase of Clean Wind renewable power,” according to physical plant director and Presidential Advisory Committee on Sustainability member André Hutchinson. Every year, UP self-directs the maximum amount of its public purpose charge toward the purchase of Clean Wind power. In 2014, UP purchased 1,727,587 kWh of Clean Wind power, resulting in a reduction of 2,315,554 pounds of CO2, which equates roughly to 3,464,068 miles not driven or 276 trees planted annually.
For more information contact Hutchinson at 7306 or hutchinsa@up.edu.
Physical plant director André Hutchinson has announced the hiring of a second locksmith, Matt Nantz, to work in the University locksmith shop. Nantz and his wife recently relocated to Portland from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Matt worked in the locksmith trade for approximately 10 years, including work experience at the University of Michigan. He joins UP locksmith Dave Bachman and will help to reduce backlog and wait-times while the physical plant continues to improve building access controls and overall campus security. Please welcome him to the UP team.
For more information contact Hutchinson at 7306 or hutchina@up.edu.