Pictured above: Judy Kendrick, assistant director for building services, congratulates Pablo Gomez, the 2016 Altruistic Award winner. Gomez was identified by staff for his unselfish concern for and devotion to the welfare of others. | Photo by University Housing

Contributed by Jeff Vinger
Residential Facilities Director

University Housing’s institutional service assistants, or ISAs, work hard every day keeping our facilities clean and healthy for students and staff.

Often I take the cleanliness of my office for granted and fail to think about the labor involved in keeping the Housing Office clean.

As you know, there are many more people living in the residence halls. So just imagine how much hard work it takes to provide a clean and healthy environment outside our office walls!

We had a great time Sept. 15 recognizing the ISA staff for the great work they do.

Flo and the team of directors voiced their appreciation to the ISA staff and together we shared a cook out.

The afternoon was enjoyed by 64 Housing staff!

Did you know Housing’s Service Assistants are responsible for the cleanliness of over 1.8 million square feet of living space?

This doesn’t include all the millions of square feet of other cleanable surface areas they must touch every day like walls, tables, counters, windows, doors and even ceilings at times.

Here are some of the statistics about what they do.

  • Daily 294 bathrooms are cleaned.
    • Does not include an additional 470 bathrooms cleaned during blitz and breaks or the countless times they clean bathrooms throughout the summer conference season.
  • Daily 772 toilets are scrubbed.
    • Sometimes twice if there’s an issue to address.
  • Daily 1,009 sinks are scrubbed of toothpaste, food and hair.
  • Daily 586 showers scrubbed of scum and hair.
  • Daily 294 mirrors shined.
  • Daily 29 elevators are sanitized.
  • Daily 39 laundry rooms cleaned and sanitized.
  • Daily trash removed from 615 trash cans multiple times generating tons of trash and recyclables.
  • Twice weekly all the glass windows and counters in 40 entryways and countless study areas, lounges and kitchens wiped clean.
  • Weekly dusting of thousands of pieces of furniture and ledges.
  • Weekly mopping of 273 stairwells and landings.

Scenes From the Picnic