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September 10, 2021
It’s been roughly 19 months since the University of Washington led the nation to pivot to learning and working online as the COVID-19 pandemic set in.
Although campus operations never came to a complete halt, many UW students and staff were based elsewhere, studying and working remotely.
Now, with the fall term starting at the end of this month and many UW staff starting their return to work on campus on September 13, officials are making final preparations.
“We can’t wait for everyone to come back,” said Lou Cariello, vice president of UW facilities. “People are going to come back to a campus, and the buildings on that campus, which have never looked so clean, never so beautiful and shiny.”
Throughout the pandemic, heating, ventilation and cooling engineers have worked to ensure that air is circulating properly in buildings and classrooms. Filters are changed more frequently, airflow machines run longer, and air purifiers have been added in many places.
“Our facilities team has been on campus every day, throughout the pandemic,” Cariello said. “We really didn’t skip a beat.”
Window cleaners, plumbers, electricians, caretakers, power plant operators, gardeners and many more worked to maintain the buildings and the 634-acre grounds. Facilities teams worked with experts from across the university to determine the best way to accommodate and keep the campus safe. They thoroughly cleaned floors and carpets, dusted even in hard-to-reach places, electrically washed and scrubbed the toilets.
“We make sure the systems are running efficiently,” Cariello said. “We are listening to what the guidelines are on what will keep people safe. And we do the cleaning and disinfection. We make sure that our ventilation systems work as well as possible. “
Also getting a lot of attention: doorknobs, handrails, elevator buttons – the places people come in contact with the most.
“These surfaces with high contact points are being cleaned more frequently than before the pandemic,” he said. “This is the result of mitigating our risks to the safety and health of people on campus.”
Housing on campus is expected to return to full capacity this year, said Pam Schreiber, assistant vice president of student life and executive director of Housing & Food Services.
“For many of our students this is going to sound like a whole new experience,” she said. “We can’t wait for our students to come back. We’re waiting impatiently. We know the power of the residential experience and how much it adds to the student’s time at UW.
About 10,000 students are expected to move into the residences this year. This includes freshmen and returning second and even third year students whose campus life experience has been cut short by the pandemic. The demand for campus housing was so great that Haggett Hall, which closed in 2019, was reopened. And seclusion rooms are reserved in all residences to provide a safe space, should a student need to self-quarantine.
The teams plan to make life safe and easy for students elsewhere on campus. Many dining rooms offer ready-to-go meals, and authorities are expanding the use of Dub Grub, an online and mobile food ordering system.
More importantly, the accommodation and catering teams recognize that they provide much more than a service, said Schreiber; they create a welcoming space where students can feel at home.
“We recognize that they will need a lot of support, a lot of help, guidance, they will have a lot of questions. We have to be very patient to support them and make sure they really get the most out of their campus experience, ”she said. “We’re so much more than just buildings and serving food, we’re really here to create this community for the students and to help them connect with UW, and have this really great college experience.”
Cariello said he can’t wait to see the campus come alive again.
“We’re going to come back to it, and it’s going to be great,” he said.
Still, he stresses that everyone has a role to play in keeping UW safe by heeding appeals from public health officials and complying with vaccination and masking requirements.
“The most important thing we can do to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading is to get vaccinated, to hide indoors and to always practice good hygiene,” Cariello said. “You just have to wash your hands a lot. “
Days): YOUR installations • UW Accommodation and Food Services
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