Facilities management was dealt yet another blow this year as the University continues to deal with budget cuts. Although the cuts have not been handed down every year, they have received budgetary reductions over the majority of the past six years. Given inflation, the University also has a yearly built-in reduction due to the falling value of money.

Facilities management took losses in particular areas.

“A number of maintenance positions, including building maintenance, housekeeping and grounds, were lost. And then we lost a lot of budget that normally would have gone for replacement of materials and supplies,” Jack Colby, assistant vice chancellor for facilities operations, said.

All of the positions lost were unfilled, though.

“All told there have probably been 45 positions or so that have been attributed to the cuts,” Colby said. “All of those were either vacancies or positions that had not been year.”

“I have seen more deadlines recently. There are projects that have to be done in a certain amount of time. I believe it has something to do with all of the construction going on around campus, but it could be due to budget cuts,” Strickland said.

Facilities operations is also responsible for maintaining air temperature across campus, according to Strickland. Besides checking thermostats, she spends her time painting rooms in the student center.

“I haven’t noticed anything in particular that would indicate we have a smaller budget. We keep a record of how much we spend,” Strickland said.

Strickland said she does not usually keep track of spending herself, and therefore could not comment on how much spending goes into Witherspoon in particular.