2008 Woodie Awards
New Facility Maintenance Director here to stay
Ashley Fuquay
Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: Features
If you see a man on campus who has his tie slung over his right shoulder, it is likely to be Terry Pritchett who is the new Director of Facility Maintenance.
Pritchett formerly held the same position at Tabor College, a small university of 500-600 students, in Hillsboro, Kansas.
"A lot of the responsibilities are the same. The major difference is working within a state agency instead of a private agency," Pritchett said. "I have really enjoyed working here so far. "
He is in charge of facilities maintenance across campus.
"We have a number of different shops. We have mechanical engineering and plumbing. We've got carpentry, thing like that. All those workers got out and do the things on campus. I am essentially the person who develops a philosophy of maintenance, puts that out to everybody else so everyone understands the rules, modifies the rules and motivates people to do a good job," Pritchett said.
He explained that the maintenance department has many different situations happening every day.
"What I have discovered in the maintenance department, there isn't a whole lot that is out of the ordinary. Every day is different. We get everything from pranks to maintenance calls that are just what most people would consider wild, but it's a norm at universities and colleges. On Friday, we had a student that punched the electric meter and broke the electric meter. That is kind of out-of-the-ordinary, but on a university campus of this size you're going to have things like that happen," Pritchett said.
Pritchett said he was already very at home in Stephenville and that he loves both the town and the campus.
"The people, especially at Tarleton have been really welcoming and open and willing to help. Everyone has a smile on their face and [is] very friendly. You can feel comfortable walking around and talking to people who are strangers," he said. "Stephenville is a bigger town than the one we come from so there are a lot more places to shop and eat. The churches have been great. We have visited a few churches."
Pritchett formerly held the same position at Tabor College, a small university of 500-600 students, in Hillsboro, Kansas.
"A lot of the responsibilities are the same. The major difference is working within a state agency instead of a private agency," Pritchett said. "I have really enjoyed working here so far. "
He is in charge of facilities maintenance across campus.
"We have a number of different shops. We have mechanical engineering and plumbing. We've got carpentry, thing like that. All those workers got out and do the things on campus. I am essentially the person who develops a philosophy of maintenance, puts that out to everybody else so everyone understands the rules, modifies the rules and motivates people to do a good job," Pritchett said.
He explained that the maintenance department has many different situations happening every day.
"What I have discovered in the maintenance department, there isn't a whole lot that is out of the ordinary. Every day is different. We get everything from pranks to maintenance calls that are just what most people would consider wild, but it's a norm at universities and colleges. On Friday, we had a student that punched the electric meter and broke the electric meter. That is kind of out-of-the-ordinary, but on a university campus of this size you're going to have things like that happen," Pritchett said.
Pritchett said he was already very at home in Stephenville and that he loves both the town and the campus.
"The people, especially at Tarleton have been really welcoming and open and willing to help. Everyone has a smile on their face and [is] very friendly. You can feel comfortable walking around and talking to people who are strangers," he said. "Stephenville is a bigger town than the one we come from so there are a lot more places to shop and eat. The churches have been great. We have visited a few churches."
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