Staff Excellence: Building Services

Each day thousands of students, faculty, staff and visitors alike join in on the hustle and bustle of campus life, going from one campus building to the next to attend class, meet friends for lunch at a dining hall, teach in a lecture hall, conduct research in a lab or simply head back to a residence hall after a long day. Each building serves as a space for the campus community to build connections, recharge, grow and learn. The Building Services department works 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure each campus building is well maintained and prepared to help play an integral part in everyday routines.

As the seasons pass and academic years come and go, the Building Services department takes on a multitude of campuswide responsibilities. Whether preparing residence halls for the start of a new year, preventing slips and falls with entryway snow removal, or assisting individuals who are locked out of a room or building, this team is ready to address needs as they arise. To help put it into perspective, the department’s custodial team handles the cleaning of 29,430 total rooms across the West Lafayette campus, College of Agriculture farm facilities and other university-leased spaces in Tippecanoe County. That’s approximately 10 million square feet of cleanable space.

Custodians assigned to residence halls work diligently to provide students with a clean and comfortable home away from home. They are often assigned to a specific territory year-round, even year after year, and can become a familiar face for students. As such, they contribute not only to the physical upkeep of the residence halls but also to the overall sense of community and care within the student living environment. 

Additionally, some of the university’s biggest events would not be possible without the work of Building Services. With each commencement ceremony the university holds, Building Services takes care of cleanup between ceremonies. During Spring Fest, the department works alongside the Grounds department to help with cleanup and restroom refreshes.

The Building Services department is part of the Administrative Operations organization, which supports the university by providing safe, reliable and transformative services. Around the clock, the Building Services department ensures campus spaces are safe, well cleaned and prepared to play an integral part in each individual’s journey at Purdue.