Cal State San Bernardino's Facilities Services Department honored with national award

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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - When the vast campus lawns are lush, green and manicured to perfection, and the trees neatly trimmed; when the walkways are spotless and hallways are spick and span; when indoor air circulation is just the right temperature; and when windows sparkle, light bulbs shine, hot water flows and classrooms are tidy - when things look good and work the way they are supposed to work - it's easy to take for granted how well the people who care for the facilities at a large establishment do their jobs.

But APPA (formerly the Association of Physical Plant Administrators, but known now by its acronym) knows of the hard work involved in maintaining a massive institution such as a university, and this year has awarded Cal State San Bernardino's Facilities Services staff the Award of Excellence in Facilities Management for its work. It is the highest such honor given by the APPA.

On Monday, July 16, a delegation from Cal State San Bernardino formally accepted the award at APPA's annual convention in Baltimore, Md. CSUSB was represented by Tony Simpson, senior director of Facilities Services; David DeMauro, vice president of administration and finance; Kevin Doyle, associate director of Facilities Services; Simmie Jones, lead groundsworker; Michael Gormandy, buidling service engineer; Blake Brookes, carpenter; Ruth Maddi, administrative assistant; Deidre Kobziff, administrative assistant.

"We all felt so proud to work for California State University, San Bernardino and to be recognized by our peers for the great work our staff do in maintaining a quality campus environment," Simpson said of receiving the national recognition.

"There is no greater satisfaction than being recognized by your colleagues," said DeMauro. "When fellow professionals judge the San Bernardino campus' accomplishments to be worthy of a rating of 'excellent,' that says a lot about the exceptional performance of our campus staff."

Cal State San Bernardino's Award of Excellence marks only the second time that a California State University campus has received the prestigious award since the awards were established in 1988, joining Sacramento State, which was honored in 1989.

According to APPA President Chris Ahoy, associate vice president for facilities at Iowa State University, the CSUSB facilities office exemplifies excellence in all of the areas necessary to achieve the award: leadership; strategic and operational planning; customer focus; information and analysis; development and management of human resources; process management; and performance results.

“California State University, San Bernardino has an exceptional campus, not only in terms of its beauty and location, but inclusive of the entire staff of the facilities office.” Ahoy said. “The Office of Facilities Services works to meet the increasing demands of a rapidly changing environment and provide services in a proactive, responsive, cost effective, and service-oriented manner that parallels and supports the University’s strategic plan.”

CSUSB's Facilities Services Department has been consistently involved with the CSU system-wide Quality Improvement program using tools such as Performance Measurement, Process Improvement and The Balanced Scorecard, designed for strategic planning of the department's goals. These tools aid the staff in determining whether standards are being met or exceeded.

APPA was founded in 1914 in Chicago by representatives of 14 Midwest institutions. Over the past 25 years, membership has grown exponentially from 100 in 1970 to more than 2,000 in 1980 and more than 3,700 by 1990, to the current membership levels, which exceed 4,700.

Association name changes have reflected the expanding responsibilities of facilities management departments. Organized originally as the Association of Superintendents of Buildings and Grounds, it lat

A delegation from Cal State San Bernardino received the APPA's Award of Excellence in Facilities Management on Monday, July 16, at the organization's national convention in Baltimore, Md.