KEEPING CAMPUS RUNNING
Bonnie Huckaby
Bonnie Huckaby has been an area coordinator for Indiana State University’s Office of Residential Life for three years, specifically focusing on the educational experience of students who live on campus. Because a number of students continue to live at University Apartments, service continues to be provided by staff across campus, including assistant hall directors, hall coordinators, maintenance, custodians and others. Huckaby continues to process express checkouts from residents. Assistant hall directors and students staff participate in duty rounds, which are nightly safety checks, and the maintenance and custodial team respond to any physical building needs. University Apartments headstaff team includes Huckaby, Chazz Johnson, hall coordinator, and DeShawn Pickens, assistant hall director, offer remote engagement opportunities for residents.
POWERING THROUGH THE PANDEMIC
Harley Smithson
Harley Smithson, assistant central heating plant manager who has been employed at State for 36 years, his supervisor, Jim Gregg, along with four steam plant operators and three steam plant mechanics are responsible for Indiana State’s Central Heating Plant. The plant operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and supplies the high pressure steam to the campus for building heat, domestic hot water, kitchens and other essential functions. The team oversees day-to-day operations and maintenance of the Central Heating Plant, which supplies the compressed air to the campus for use with HVAC controls, including thermostats and pneumatic valve operators, along with compressed air for the technology building and science buildings for classes. There are four people in plant operations that work 12-hour shifts to ensure the safe operation of the plant and all associated equipment. Three employees are also tasked with taking care of the plant maintenance and steam distribution system, which consist of 2.25 miles of distribution piping around the campus.
QUIET HALLS
Kaela Harris
Kaela Harris has served as a hall coordinator for the Office of Residential Life at Indiana State University for a little over nine months, which involves overseeing Reeve and Lincoln Quad residence halls. Although students aren’t on campus for the remainder of the academic school year, Residential Life professional staff team have been steadily developing an online presence to be able to support students from a distance. In addition to hosting Zoom calls/emailing students to check in with them, Harris has also been tasked to help with several committees to support the overall goals of our department. Additionally, she works alongside several head staff members to deliver content for the SAHE 31U course for prospective student staff members and students with an interest in building leadership skills. She has been specifically working alongside the head staff team for Reeve and Lincoln Quad to address the needs within our communities, which includes Area Coordinator Alex Whitmore and Assistant Hall Director Robert Suttle.
NOR SNOW, NOR RAIN ...
Sheri Hughes
You can add “global pandemic” to the list of things that won’t stop Postal Service workers, including those in Indiana State’s mail services, from their work. Sheri Hughes, manager for Mail Services, and two mail service assistants, Lisa Harrison and Deb Turner, have continued to sort the mail from USPS, UPS and FedEx for students, staff and faculty members on campus. They help unload the UPS and FedEx trucks every day and sort the packages by departments. Then, Hughes e-mails or calls each department to notify them of items they can pick up. Hughes and Harrison have been with State for 15 years and Turner has been on staff for nearly seven years.
PROTECT AND SERVE
Sgt. Jeff Bucklin
Jeff Bucklin is a patrol sergeant for Indiana State University Public Safety and has a total of 15 years of law enforcement experience, including at ISU where he started in 2013. Public Safety continues to provide safety and security for campus and the surrounding area, which includes vehicle and foot patrols. Public Safety continues operating 24/7 but is trying to take reports via phone, if at all possible, to keep students, faculty and staff healthy.
KEEPING CAMPUS CLEAN AND SAFE
Karen Smith
Responsible for providing a clean and safe environment for essential employees still on campus, Karen Smith oversees custodial services to ensure a clean, orderly and attractive environment for students, staff and faculty in all academic buildings on campus and all sports facilities off campus. This includes cleaning restrooms and facilities that are part of the essential services on campus. Smith also disinfects areas of concern with an electrostatic sprayer. She has worked at Indiana State for 16 years, including half as a custodian and half as a supervisor. In October, Smith was promoted to her position as senior custodial supervisor.
WE'LL KEEP THE LIGHTS ON
David Thompson
There are three employees in the mechanical trades department, including David Thompson, State’s senior maintenance mechanic who has been with the university since July 2018. The department, according to Thompson, is like the Motel 6 motto: "We Keep the Lights On." It is their responsibility to keep all lights working in all buildings on campus, including all outside lighting, lighting to offsite campus facilities and the parking garage.
