Facilities Management

"Journey to Excellence"

ASU Facilities Management was awarded the 2010 APPA: Leadership in Educational Facilities Award for Excellence, the premier award for facilities management.  Al Stoverink, assistant vice chancellor for Facilities Management stated, "This is truly an extraordinary achievement in the history of ASU.  We want to recognize all the staff from Facilities Management with this award." 

Originally the Association of Physical Plant Administrators, APPA adopted its new name to reflect the increased higher education-based campus responsibilities of its members, some 5,200 individuals in approximately 1,500 institutions of higher education.

The APPA Award for Excellence is designed to recognize and advance excellence in the field of educational facilities. Originally established in 1988, the Award for Excellence is APPA's highest institutional honor and provides educational institutions the opportunity for national and international recognition for their outstanding achievements in facilities management. The award is designed to highlight the essential role of facilities operations in the overall institutional mission and vision.

Award for Excellence nominations are evaluated using the same criteria applied through the Facilities Management Evaluation Program (FMEP) in the areas of leadership, strategic and operational planning, customer focus, information and analysis, development and management of human resources, process management, and performance results. Nominated institutions also submit to a site review conducted by an awards evaluation team.  The Award for Excellence designation is valid for a period of five years.

Arkansas State began work on this continuous improvement effort in 2003.  Some of the process had actually began as far back as 1999 when Jennus Burton, former vice president for the ASU System, requested a facilities management evaluation, with APPA professionals evaluating the operations of the department.  Stoverink said some of the implemented changes were made in physical plant operations after Gerald Fielder was hired and some of those changes were critical to A-State receiving the award.  ASU System interim President Dr. Robert Potts was credited with raising the level of expectations in landscape maintenance and interim ASU-Jonesboro chancellor, Dr. Dan Howard, was acknowledged for his ideas and knowledge in the areas of space management and safety.

Once the seven major goals and 57 criteria, on which the award was based, were set, then the "Journey to Excellence" began.  The initiative progressed over five years and was edited, reviewed and edited even more, Stoverink said.  He said that one of the most important parts of the process was for the staff to challenge what had been written and to make changes where necessary.

In January, the "Journey to Excellence" was finished and submitted.  The site visit was conducted in March of this year, representing the final step of the seven-year process. Site reviewers were highly complementary of ASU, and granted the institution the Award for Excellence.  Stoverink said he was told that ASU's submitted document was one of the best seen in 10 years of reviews.

Only 42 of APPA's 1,500 member institutions have received this award throughout the 22 years of the award's existence. This year, only ASU and the University of Nevada Las Vegas received this coveted award. The award was presented at the APPA’s annual conference banquet on July 17 in Boston, Massachusetts.  A short video promoting the Facilities Management Program was shown at the Boston event.  The video was produced by Dr. Mary Jackson Pitts, professor of Radio-TV in the College of Communications and some of her students.  You may click here to view the video.

Facilities Management hosted a luncheon on Monday, July 26, at 11:30 a.m. in Centennial Hall to recognize the 196 employees for this prestigious achievement.  The luncheon included the viewing of the video presented at the APPA Award Banquet in Boston.  Stoverink said he was proud the recognition fell within Arkansas State's celebration of the institution's first 100 years.  His comment was highlighted by the viewing of a video produced by the Centennial Celebration Commission that detailed ASU's history which included the first facility managment employees which consisted of a husband and wife team. 

A week long celebration for Facilities Management employees included the luncheon on Monday, a treasure hunt and groundbreaking of the "Journey to Excellence" Entry Plaza on Tuesday, T-shirt giveaway and ice cream treats on Wednesday, an open forum that included the retirement of Emily Bailey and the announcement of the treasure hunt winner on Thursday and on Friday morning the festivities ended with a breakfast for the employees. The employees enjoyed and appreciated the activities.

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