Ouachita’s unsung heroes: facilities management

BY JULIA SHANDS Editor-in-Chief

They remain in the background, fixing showers, leaky faucets, broken thermostats, and a lot of the time, students’ attitudes, but when you’re in the industry, you’re in it for a lifetime. Ouachita’s unsung heroes, maintenance and facilities management, dedicate their lives to service behind the scenes. Most would joke that it’s best to be left unseen because when they’re in the limelight, something has gone terribly wrong. Meanwhile, they could be doing the same work while making more money, but they choose to be here. They choose early mornings picking up trash and late-night calls for dorm floods. The maintenance staff is the backbone of what makes the Ouachita difference.

A step into Director of Facilities Management Jonathan Hughes’s office reveals the work of the maintenance staff. Here, their livelihood doesn’t stay behind the scenes. A bulletin board full of projects of the past and of the future is attached to the left side of his four walls. The Ouachita lamppost blueprint stays pinned here, showing the craftsmanship that went into the design of a small detail that has become a Ouachita emblem for many. Right behind his black swivel chair lays a punch-list folder of work orders from the newly built Terrace apartments. The folder rises about four inches tall, and it tells the tale of hard work. With one repair after another, the folder continues to grow.

Through the steady influx of complaints, students don’t realize the breadth of what facilities management covers. From hanging lights at homecoming to putting doors back on their hinges, they are the beaming definition of a jack of all trades.

“We like to say we fix anything that needs to be repaired from plumbing and heat and air to cleaning the buildings and taking out the trash,” Hughes said. “We also set up for special events. Whether it’s at Walker on campus or a football game, we do all that setup.”

They’ve got a well-oiled machine. No broken anything of any sort goes unseen with the system they have in place. The facilities management umbrella houses and experience a quick change in routine, they don’t. They keep the white vans with a shining purple Ouachita logo on the side, making circles to ensure the campus doesn’t crumble for our return.

“The university doesn’t sit quietly in the summer,” Hughes said. “We have groups that come in, so taking care of them and then turning around getting ready for y’all to come back, it’s pretty stressful. We’re used to it, but that’s our with another company, but when they know where their day will be spent, and what time they’re going to be done for the day, we’ve got all of the benefits of retirement, insurance and time off, so that’s a plus.”

If money is thin in one area, there’s a good chance it’s thin in another. Ouachita’s maintenance staff are overworked with a shortage of staff and underpaid with the funds available. They would do plus years of laborious work, many retire. This is the problem that facilities management is currently facing. It’s difficult to replace those that have found passion in work that, most of the time, goes unnoticed.

“A guy that we have contracted out in this company we use - this is the last job that he will do,” Hughes said. “He will retire as soon as he’s done. He’s been in the business for 50 years. He’s worked for the university for 15 years, so he’s trying to finish up his last job.” grounds, landscaping, building services, carpentry, electrical and a “shop guy” to maintain all travel vans and university vehicles. They have a work order system where they receive emails, and they have an extra system where work orders can be sent in for student housing. Every crack and crevice of Ouachita’s campus is shielded by the men and women of OBU maintenance.

Luckily, the hands that help OBU function are loyal and dedicated and appreciated by the masses. While you hope someone in this role gets thanked for their contribution, you also hope that they enjoy their work. When OBU’s maintenance men pull up the gravel lot in the morning, they don’t need to be motivated to do a job well done. They find value in their day-to-day.

Waking up in the morning and putting on their grey button-up with an embroidered name tag sewn on like a badge of honor, those on staff are well adjusted to a routine. They arrive to work at an early hour, check their work orders and make their rounds. While students get to go home for breaks busy, busy time. Just making sure everything’s ready for when y’all come back.”

It’s no secret that you get paid less at a private institution. Professors and faculty members have confessed to this, and it’s no different for facilities management. So, what keeps them here? Why would they continue to choose Ouachita when they could independently work on HVAC systems and take home a much larger profit?

“You know what your schedule is, and you know where you’re going to be,” Hughes said. “The university really can’t compete with anybody or any of the trades. We can’t compete at what price they will make at their own company or a lot more if they could, but they have a tight budget. Not to mention, inflation is cursing everyone and everything and maintenance feels the pressure of it just as the normal person’s wallet does. When something unexpectedly breaks and needs repair, it comes out of their budget to buy the needed materials.

“What we spend on some program supplies, salaries, all different things, new equipment, it’s not enough,” Hughes said. “I mean, but we know that it’s always been that way. Especially right now with inflation. You just go through it a lot faster.”

When you’re in the industry, you’re in it for a lifetime. After 40-

“The university treats them well, but they like what they do,” Hughes added, “They really do. The people that are here now, most of them have been here for a while. I’ve been here 18 years but most of them have been here much longer. They like being here. They stay here. It’s not hard to motivate and keep them going. They love making sure that you’re comfortable and that you have nothing to worry about while you’re going to school here. That’s what we want to do.”

They live a life of service behind the scenes, and they choose Ouachita every day. Not because they have to but because they want to. The maintenance trucks are driven with pride, and their grey uniforms are put on with purpose. And most importantly, students’ attitudes are fixed just like the leaky faucet. Facilities management is not only the backbone of Ouachita’s campus, but they’re also the heart as they look to serve others with no reward in sight.