Â鶹´«Ã½

Facilities Perspectives: Jeremy Schenk, Student Affairs

Jeremy Schenk is the Associate Vice President for Operations and Services in the Division of Student Affairs at Â鶹´«Ã½. He is committed to ensuring students' success and well-being during their time at Â鶹´«Ã½. He partners with Facilities to help create environments that allow students to thrive. He reflected more about the partnership between Facilities and Student Affairs, and their shared mission, in this interview: 

 
How has Facilities helped you achieve your goals? 
Within my portfolio, I get to work with Facilities on both new construction projects, like Luna's Pub, and more localized building projects that support our division. I also work with many of the shops and trades teams on ongoing building needs and support-related projects. 

Facilities has been an important partner in helping us accomplish our objectives. Students need spaces where they can step back, be in community, recharge, and simply enjoy their time together. These spaces should be calming, welcoming, and provide opportunities for connection and belonging. 

 
How have students responded to the spaces created or improved with Facilities? 

Shortly after Luna's opened, students were sitting at a table looking out the windows and one of them said, “Wow, what an amazing view.” The funny thing is that that view had always been there. What the project did was frame it differently and create a space that welcomed students into that experience in a new way. 

We hear students talk a lot about the beauty of campus. Of course, new buildings and gathering spaces are important. But sometimes it's as simple as a bench tucked among the trees somewhere on campus. It's knowing that after a heavy snowfall, students can safely get from their residence halls to class because Facilities staff were out early making sure pathways were clear. This work is incredibly important and deeply felt. 

 
How do physical spaces influence student well-being? 

Students need to feel safe where they live, where they eat, and in the spaces they occupy every day. If they don't feel safe or don't have a place they can call home outside of the classroom, it's going to be much harder for them to succeed academically. 

The more we can create spaces that make them feel welcomed, safe, connected, and like they belong, the more it allows them to be their best selves. Those spaces help students navigate the pressures of classes, research, extracurricular activities, and all the anxieties that come with being a college student. 

 
Are there any unexpected benefits that have come from working with Facilities? 

Facilities is responsible for supporting two campuses, a vast number of buildings, and countless staff and operational needs. 

I've developed a real respect for both the work Facilities does and the thoughtful, intentional decision-making that happens behind the scenes. 

The care and upkeep of campus spaces matter. You hear it during campus tours, and you hear it from parents when they move their students in. They'll walk across campus and comment on how beautiful it is. The beauty of Â鶹´«Ã½ isn't just the lake—it's the campus itself. That beauty is created through countless details and the efforts of many people working every day to maintain and improve it. 

 
Thinking about innovation, how has Facilities helped you be innovative? 

The Facilities team truly wants to be a great partner. They're committed to helping you succeed in the work you're trying to do. They want to be in it with you. That doesn't always mean you're going to get everything you want, but it does mean they're going to do everything they can to help. 

They care deeply about providing a positive campus experience through the buildings, residence halls, dining spaces, laboratories, and research facilities they support. I trust my Facilities colleagues, value their expertise, and appreciate their partnership.