Dollars & Common Sense

At nearly 300,000 square feet, the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) building is the largest academic building on TU’s campus, and preparing it to open this August was no small feat. More than 200 faculty and staff had to be moved into the building in the midst of construction—an endeavor completed this June after almost a year of planning.

The job was managed internally by Materiel Management, who, despite having only 13 full-time employees, completed the move in less than seven days. They did it by carefully planning the effort months ahead of time, instructing faculty and staff on how to pack and label boxes appropriately, then organizing internal resources and coordinating move schedules in order to ensure a smooth transition. According to Materiel Management Director Phil Butler, constant communication with CLA administrators during the planning stages helped pave the way for the move.

“The acting Dean of CLA, Dr. Irena Makarushka, helped to keep everything and everyone organized and progressing, which was instrumental to the success of the move,” Phil said.

When it came time to actually complete the move, Materiel Management hired and trained 20 temporary staff to assist in loading and unloading materials. Together, they moved boxes and furniture from faculty and departmental offices in three campus buildings—Linthicum, Psychology and Administration—and relocated them to new offices in CLA. In total, they moved approximately 3,500 boxes and 100 bins of equipment over a period of eight days.

“It took the hard work of 30 staff members each day and 15 full truckloads to complete the move,” Phil said. “It was tough, but the cooperation and determination of all employees got the job done in a timely manner.”

The move was the largest Materiel Management has done to date. Yet, by handling it internally versus hiring an outside contractor, the university saved tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention the hassle of working with a contractor unfamiliar to campus.

“In any of our moves, we want to use the least disruptive and most cost efficient method,” Assistant Materiel Manager Bob Childs said. “We have a great deal of experience and success with moving projects, but it takes careful packing and preparation and a substantial amount of organization. So far, we have received nothing but positive feedback from all departments.”

For photos of the CLA building, go to https://www.facebook.com/towsonuniversity.