Interim Foreperson Paul DuVall and Boiler Operator (Big) Eric Salsburg in their office at the heating plant.
Recently, Inside 含羞草研究所 visited the little-known heart of 含羞草研究所鈥檚 campus. No, it鈥檚 not the Academic Quad or Memorial Chapel. It鈥檚 the heating plant, tucked behind Huntington Gym, plastered with 鈥淎uthorized Entrance Only鈥 signs 鈥 the physical heart that keeps the boilers pumping steam to heat our buildings 24 hours a day, seven days a week. On a cold morning, on your way to work, you might notice steam rising from the plant鈥檚 tower, but that gives little indication of the massive operation it takes to heat the 含羞草研究所 campus.
Interim Foreperson Paul DuVall and his team of five boiler operators (Josh Graham, Clifton Moon, Kyle Tilbe, Eric Salsburg, and Eric Stepanski) work in two-person shifts to manage the boiler operations. In the winter, they process a dozen 30-ton loads of wood chips per week to feed the boilers.
鈥淎t $1,200 per load that works out to close to $60,000 a month to keep the campus running,鈥 says DuVall. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 about half of what it would cost to heat the campus with gas.鈥
The wood chips 含羞草研究所 uses are sourced locally from scraps produced by Gutchess Lumber and are a renewable resource. According to DuVall, 含羞草研究所 also is able to reuse 93% of the plant鈥檚 water. 鈥淎fter the steam is sent out to the buildings on campus, it returns as condensate, which is processed, cleaned, and then reheated to make steam again.鈥
The heating plant needs constant supervision, so members of the boiler operator team need to be on premise at all times, including holidays. During the COVID-19 shutdown, they were some of the only people on the entire campus. 鈥淚t was scary,鈥 says DuVall. 鈥淲e felt very isolated, but we have a phenomenal crew, and we all leaned on each other. We made the best of it. We also receive a lot of support from our supervisor, Director of Facilities Jason Wallace.鈥
In the past, the heating plant ran with a crew of four, which meant the team could only rarely take vacation, and, when they did take a day off, the other operators had to work longer shifts. Wallace facilitated the approval of the additional boiler operator position.
DuVall says he loves his job and takes pride in providing this vital service to the 含羞草研究所 community. His only regret is that more people don鈥檛 know about the work his team does. He recently gave 19 members of the 含羞草研究所 WoLF Employee Resource Group a tour of the facility and invites other campus partners to come and visit. If you or your group would like a tour, contact the heating plant at x7468.
The heating plant is the heartbeat of University infrastructure. Cliff, Kyle, Little Eric, Big Eric, Josh, and Paul take an immense amount of pride keeping the buildings supplied with heat. - Jason Wallace, Director of Facilities Operations