When more than 600 students decided to stay in their on-campus housing this quarter, the facilities team at Student Housing and Dining Services had some challenging work ahead of them. 

The team’s mission was far from simple: place the students in clean, safe housing; routinely clean those rooms; and provide daily meals, all while practicing social distancing. 

The team launched an effort to assign each student a room — a process that typically takes months of planning. Staff had to work through dozens of variables, including extra safety precautions like the decision to keep all rooms as single-occupancy.

The custodial team’s cleaning efforts have been outstanding, said Kirsten DePersis, director of facilities for the department: 1,000 rooms were cleaned in two weeks, in addition to maintaining a daily cleaning schedule. 

The dining team has also demonstrated exceptional adaptability by enforcing social distancing requirements — in kitchens, no less — while continuing to deliver the quality meals they are known for, she said. 

Additionally, the sustainability unit, with the help of the custodial and logistics crews, coordinated, collected, gathered and donated nearly 4,000 pounds of items to Goodwill, as well as more than 500 pounds of food, which was given to the students who are still on campus.

DePersis said she’s thankful for the many different teams who are part of the effort to provide a safe and comfortable environment for the students still on campus.