About Facilities
Facilities Management keeps roughly 1.9 million square feet running, from the 1912 Founders Hall to the residence halls and the central heating plant. The department has 118 full-time staff in six shops and is led by Duane Kolsrud, director since 1998, who reports to the vice chancellor for finance and operations and holds the only complete set of keys to every building on campus, including two that no longer exist.
| Shop | Covers |
|---|---|
| Maintenance & Trades | Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry, painting |
| Custodial Services | Academic buildings nightly; residence hall common areas daily |
| Grounds | Mowing, trees, the Riverfront Trail edge, snow and ice |
| Lock Shop & Access Control | Keys, card readers, door hardware |
| Energy & Central Plant | Steam, chilled water, the solar array, metering |
| Capital Planning & Construction | Renovations, new buildings, the master plan |
Requesting a repair
Everything starts as a work order in the maintenance request system. Residents report room problems the same way. The system assigns a priority:
- Emergency (flooding, no heat, gas smell, a stuck elevator, anything unsafe): call (715) 555–0145 during business hours or Campus Safety at (715) 555–0191 after hours. Response within one hour, around the clock.
- Urgent (a broken classroom projector mount, a restroom out of order): within one business day.
- Routine (a dripping faucet, a sticking door): within ten business days.
- Projects (new shelving, a moved wall, paint in a color not on the approved list): estimated and billed to the department.
Last year Facilities closed 21,400 work orders; 93 percent of routine requests were finished on time.
Snow removal priorities
Crews start when two inches have fallen or ice is forecast, usually by 3:00 a.m. Clearing goes in this order:
- Emergency access routes, the Health Sciences Center, residence hall entrances, accessible routes and accessible parking.
- Main walks between Founders Union, the library and the academic quad; Porter Loop shuttle stops.
- Faculty, staff and commuter lots, in posted order.
- Secondary walks and steps. Some exterior stairs are closed for the season and signed.
Overnight lot rules are on winter parking. Whether campus closes is not a Facilities decision — see weather closings.
Capital projects
| Project | Budget | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Founders Hall renovation (mechanical, accessibility, classroom tech), one wing per summer | $15.0 million | Design; construction summers 2027–2029 |
| Advanced manufacturing & robotics lab | $2.9 million ($2.4M federal grant + 20% match) | Groundbreaking spring 2027; opens fall 2027 |
| Kessler Hall HVAC and accessibility upgrade | $6.2 million | Bidding; construction summer 2027 |
| Halvorsen Library 24-hour study addition | $8.5 million (campaign-funded) | Schematic design |
| Steam line replacement, Founders Drive | $3.1 million | Phase 1 done; phase 2 summer 2027 |
| Halvorsen Library fourth floor | $1.9 million | Completed May 2026 |
New construction and major renovations meet a LEED Silver minimum. Construction notices, detours and lane closures on Founders Drive are posted on the Facilities page in MyPorter the Friday before work starts.
Keys and card access
Most doors now open with the Porter Card. Access is requested by a department coordinator, not by the person who wants in; the steps, deposits and what a lost key costs are on keys and card access requests. Card changes take effect within one business day. Physical keys are cut only for spaces without a reader and are picked up at the lock shop with a photo ID. A lost master key means rekeying every door on that keyway, and the department pays for it.
Building hours and after-hours access are set by Facilities and Campus Safety together — see after-hours building access.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. The work-order numbers, the plow routes, the capital budgets and the man with every key are invented; reporting a leak here will not send anyone with a wrench.