Staff Spotlight: John Schollmeier

BY KARINA RAJTAR
Editor in Chief

John Schollmeier, director of physical plant, is in charge of maintenance concerns for “everything on campus that you see.”

This includes grounds, plumbing, buildings, heating, cooling and landscaping, which go through the maintenance office at some point. Plumbing, heating and cooling in particular go directly through Schollmeier.

Schollmeier is in his 30th year working in higher education and will begin his 11th year at Saint Mary’s University next month. Schollmeier said one difference he notices at SMU that he does not see at every institution is that the Maintenance Department is student-driven.

“We take what (students) say very, very seriously,” Schollmeier said. He said the maintenance staff “really likes students and faculty” and wants things to work, and he encourages students to contact his office with immediate maintenance concerns. He said that students tend to not want to bother anybody and often wait too long to seek assistance.

“If you have an issue, please notify somebody right away,” Schollmeier said. He added that students should not hesitate to contact maintenance again if a problem has not been resolved. “Please, please call again,” Schollmeier said. “That’s our job.”

The Maintenance Department works closely with Residence Life, Schollmeier said, so students should contact their Resident Assistants or Hall Director if a problem occurs in a dorm and does not require immediate attention. “It’s very important to us that the hall staff knows what’s going on in their dorm,” Schollmeier said. However, “If your toilet’s overflowing, we just want you to call,” he said.

Maintenance calls can be taken in the Maintenance Department from 6 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Ext. 1436. After that, students should call Switchboard, and the second shift will be notified of the concern.