By P. KELLY SMITH
BYU employs thousands of instructors, administrators and staff to set a certain academic standard that is regarded highly through the church and the world. But what does not always get mentioned is the people who work behind the scenes in keeping the campus clean, maintained and running smoothly.
The Physical Facilities Division, which operates out of the Sam F. Brewster Building, is responsible for the remodeling of all buildings, grounds maintenance and construction on campus.
Edwin Cuzzins, assistant administrative vice president of the physical facilities division, said, “We’re the people who support the academic mission of the university. We have several shops in the Physical Planting, Business Support, Space Management and Capital Needs Analysis.”
Just under the Physical Plant itself, there is carpentry, painting, electrical and plumbing services. They have 330 full-time employees and anywhere from 500 to 1,000 students, pending on the season and availability.
“We can’t get enough students to work for us — it’s a real problem. We do have a lot of girls that work grounds, though, and they seem to enjoy it,” Cuzzins said.
The remodeling and construction of the library is under their supervision. Cuzzins said the library edition will be done by January 1, 1999, with the remodeling finished by January 1, 2000.
“There will be students who come here that will never see the campus put back together again,” Cuzzins said.
Scott Briggs, managing director of the Physical Plant said, “Many of the campus buildings are becoming computerized in their electrical systems. Our engineers have determined that if we increase the voltage in the wires, we can increase the power and capacity of the building.”
This cost-effective measure saves the engineers from tearing the building apart to rewire.
The Physical Facilities Division is strictly a maintenance organization and is in charge of everything from painting the football field before the games to controlling the heat, air conditioning and power systems on campus.
“We’re in the hot seat for anything wrong that happens on campus. And it does,” Cuzzins said. “But we have very capable, professionals who work hard and have been here a lot of years.”
The Physical Facilities Division extends beyond BYU’s campus walls into BYU Hawaii, Ricks College, LDS Business College and many of the study abroad programs, including Jerusalem.
“We have 330 employees who are very stretched and cover a lot of ground,” Cuzzins said. “Most of our work is behind the scenes and we like it that way.”
