Congratulations to custodian Evalina Taganna Romano for being one of the winners of the UW Together We Will award for 2022. She and the other winners from across the University will be honored at the 52nd annual Awards of Excellence reception at Meany Hall on Thursday, June 9. The Together We Will Awards serve as a temporary replacement for the Distinguished Staff Award (DSA) program, which will be back next year.
When the University decided last summer to install portable air cleaners, or air purifiers, in small to medium-sized UW classrooms, labs, eating and work spaces, lunchrooms and just about everywhere people gather, Rod Worden, director of Maintenance & Construction for UW Facilities (UWF), gathered his team and began to plan.
Windows and blinds so clean that they sparkle. Every upholstered seat in Meany Hall cleaned and disinfected. Stripped and waxed floors; fresh paint and new carpeting installed. These are the scenes across campus, from Architecture to Winkenwerder Halls and dozens of buildings in-between.
Patriotism. Comradery. Strength. Just some of the words that come to mind when we consider the meaning of Veterans Day. The 58 stately London plane sycamore trees that line Memorial Way to the flagpole were planted 100 years ago to honor UW students and faculty who died in World War I.
It’s been said, “If you build it, they will come.”
But what if you’re in the middle of a pandemic? How do construction projects continue safely? What if you’re constructing a building for some of the very people who are fighting that pandemic?
By now, we’ve all become pseudo-experts in understanding face coverings and personal protective equipment lingo. Masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, N95 respirators and the like have become all-too familiar yet essential subjects on a daily basis.
But what is it really like for UW’s procurement experts to secure masks and PPE and ensure that staff have the supplies they need?
