Two by Two

Right now I am sitting in my office at home trying to come up with a catchy line about the move back home. Truth be told I am drawing a blank. "Two by two" is all I've got because the title "I'm freaking exhausted" just wouldn't read quite so well.

Dress forms from Design Studies move home

On Monday May 21 we began the move back to 1300 Linden Drive and by Friday May 25 the first phase was complete. All the months of planning, meeting, writing and hand-wringing paid off with a smooth and swift move of occupants and functions from Sterling Hall, Tokay Boulevard, Middleton Building, Mechanical Engineering, Henry Mall and the MSC building into Nancy Nicholas Hall. I am sure I've said this before - the landing at Normandy wasn't this well planned!

The faculty and staff have been in the building nine working days and it's been pretty darned great to have everyone under the same roof. I'm not blowing any smoke, I firmly believe the School is at its best when everyone is together, bumps and all.

And we need to be linking arms because on top of the move we have been hosting candidate visits for the Dean's position. Part of me wants to curl up in the corner of my office and quietly weep (because if I made noise they would find me) and part of me says "Really, is that all you've got? You think you can break us? Bring it on!"

We finished moving from six locations on the Friday before the Memorial Day week-end but the team of Miranda Hofmann (Operations and Facilities Manager), John Hilgers (Director of Technology Services), Andy Wagner (Assitant Director of Technology Services), Julie Anderson, our student workers and Assistant Dean Bruce Hellmich made the impossible happen. At 8:00 am Tuesday morning - with only part of our furniture delivered, untested technology and unpredictable elevator service - we welcomed our first candidate. The hallways had been largely cleared of packing debris, furniture was borrowed from other spaces to fill Plenary Hall, catering arranged, restrooms stocked, card access programmed and technology for the presentations cobbled together from other locations. Two down, one more to go.

Because if you're not living on the edge you are taking up too much room.

This is Human Ecology.

It's all an illusion

Yesterday more than 400 carts and crates were delivered to the six locations where the School of Human Ecology has been living for the past three years. The packing has begun - I poked my head into the ID Resource Room this afternoon and saw a team of students busy sorting and packing material. At the elevator I ran into Professor Shep Zeldin who cheerfully said "I'm packing Zwick" - god luv ya Shep!

The illusion is about space on the carts. I know some of my colleagues are stressed thinking the carts will never hold all their material -but I am here to tell you it's all good.

This afternoon I did my final sort and toss. I've written before that over the past several years I've reduced my file storage to one five-drawer vertical, one two-drawer lateral and one two-drawer ped. Even now I am throwing out copies of sketches from design workshops and I had the pleasure - and I mean real pleasure - of tossing into the recyle bin all the plans and memos related to the first relocation. Oh my gosh I can't tell you how GREAT it feels not to have to look at the Sterling floor plans any more.

Today I packed a cart and the contents on my file cabinets fit nicely on just 2.5 shelves of a four-shelf cart. The trick is to pack them double deep - a shelf of a cart will hold much more than you think.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, five working days to go.

Keys

We know you are all anxious to get keys for your new spaces in Nancy Nicholas Hall.  In order to get your new keys, however, you need to turn in your old ones first, per campus policy.  Anyone who has lost any keys will be responsible for the $75 lost key fee prior to receiving their new keys, checks can be made payable to UW-Madison.  If you have lost a master key, there is a $75 fee per door that the master opens.

Key turn in/pick up will be in 2209 Mech Engr during these times: Thursday, May 17: 1pm – 3pm
Friday, May 18: 9am – 12pm

If you are unable to come during either of these times, you will need to contact Gloria McCord to make alternate arrangements to turn in your old keys and Miranda Hofmann to receive your new keys.  Please note that both Gloria and Miranda’s availability for key collection and distribution will be extremely limited during the week of May 21.  New keys will not be distributed prior to May 17.

We're in the home stretch everyone, we are so grateful for everyone's patience and cooperation as we round the turn for home! 

Private Office Layouts

I think I've been at this too long...I wrote the word "layout" and wanted to follow with "back handspring." My older sister was a gymnast so growing up in my house these two words are a natural pair.

But in this case I am writing about furniture layouts for private offices. The process for selecting furniture can be short or long - in the case of Human Ecology the process was long because the team felt it incredibly important for users to have a voice. For just selecting chairs we had a 2-week long "chair fair" where everyone got to test drive chairs for working, guests, lounge, for the cafe, studios, for classrooms, for the outdoor roof and so on. You get the idea. But this entry is about private office furniture.
Input
Unlike many other projects on the campus where private office furniture is simply decided, Human Ecology took the long way around - we started with a focus group to get feedback and ideas from the people who will actually be using the space. The invite went to the chair of each department or unit lead to send a representative to the April 27, 2010 focus group - the following people participated:

• Roberta Riportella (Consumer Science)
• Shannon Sparks (HDFS)
• Cynthia Jasper (Interdisciplinary Studies)
• Linda Dicks (Administration )
• Michele Mickelson (Student Academic Affairs)
• Roberto Rengel (facilitator along with Sasaki)
• Lesley Sager (Design Studies - unable to attend)
• Bonniejean Zitske (Centers - unable to attend)

The focus group discussed workflow and wrestled with questions like:

• is file storage more important than printer storage?
• is a wardrobe closet needed?
• are bookcases more important than binder storage?
• how do you like to meet with people -at your desk or at a separate table?

The design team brought small cardboard scaled models for people to move around and mix up, looking at a number of configurations. Feedback was so vital to this process. Participant comments like "I conduct a lot of small group meetings with students and it is important that they don't feel intimidated by having a desk between us" and "I prefer the surface area of the P-top desk to gather students around" were incredibly helpful. Lots of really interesting comments, opinions and ideas were offered by everyone.

Feedback and Process
Participants went back to their respective groups to get more comments, then reported back to the design team. Comments and adjustments were received until the end of May. From there the layouts were further refined and narrowed into four basic models. Those four models were offered for comment and more feedback received to determine the two basic furniture scenarios - which were then put out for bid.

Four vendors were selected to install a mock-up of an actual desk layout and an invitation to give feedback on the mock-up went to the entire School. Comments were received and two vendors were selected to bid on the project.

"L" Shape" versus P-top: Flexibility

The reason behind these 'L' layouts was actually in an effort to be more customer friendly. Offices in this configuration are also given a mobile table. In the focus group, several people preferred this option because it seemed more congenial to work with a visitor over a table rather than have a formal desk in between them. Also, don't forget these mobile tables have a drop down ledge and can abut or slide beneath the main work surface, giving these users a little more flexibility in their final layout.

Although we have located grommets to allow people to locate their computers where they wish, we have anticipated that most people will have their computers along the side wall where the hutch will be located. This is the case whether the desk is an 'L' or a 'U' shape People will not have their back directly to the door, but will be facing to the side.

Final Selection and Assignment
Last fall each department chair received a floor plan complete with furniture layouts - P-top and "L" shape. While space authority resides with the Dean, each department was asked to provide a recommendation for who would be assigned what office. The School did not prescribe a process but left the selection to each department. The only department that did not have two layout options was Interdisciplinary Studies -their faculty offices are on the north side of the existing building and the constraints on the space are enormous so we could not offer "P" top furniture.

Countdown to the move
I've been working on this project for five years but I didn't want to move into the building without taking a moment to thank you - all of you - for caring so very much. I forget just how much effort each of you has taken to participate in focus groups, test drive chairs, complete online surveys, attend work sessions and so much more. It is the nature of this School to engage students, staff and faculty and the building project is no exception. Nancy Nicholas Hall has a little bit of everyone in it.

"Live to the last moment"

Bill's amazing story

Please take a few moments to read Bill's obituary which appeared April 29, 2012.

"Love triumphs over death"

Hah-zah Bill, it sure does.

You Load 16 tons....

For anyone who has spent time around me you know I really dig interesting nuggets, factoids, and data about the building project. I know so many people who are gonna smack me if I say "this building is as long as one and a half football fields" one more time because I just can't seem to shut up about it. And yet, when people come back from even a short tour they say "wow, that's a huge building"....I KNOW!

As we end day five of loading new furniture into Nancy Nicholas Hall, let me share one more nugget with you: the good people of Emmons Business Interiors (who are handling the private office and workstation furniture) have moved in more than 75 tons of furniture into the building. They have done it cheerfully, professionally and with great care and as I learned today, members of the firm who worked on the furniture plans and design are Human Ecology grads.

"you load sixteen tons, and what do you get - another floor loaded and we ain't done yet"

My little riff - thanks Tennessee Ernie Ford.

The Journey Home: Our Friend Bill Aquilino

I have written and erased so many things trying to craft this entry.  But the truth is I am weeping. This will not be clever or pithy, not logical and certainly not well-crafted because I want to get this all down and not look back. Last night I received this note, so beautifully and gracefully written by Emeritus Professor Nadine Marks:

"Our beloved colleague and friend, Bill Aquilino, peacefully took in two long-spaced deep breaths and released his mortal frame at about 8:45 this morning in the glow of spring sunshine beaming into the east and south-facing windows of his second-floor bedroom at home. His beloved wife, Linda, was tenderly tending to him, and his beloved daughter, Zoe, was also close at hand.


Amazing all his caregivers--but at the same time, very true to his essence--Bill remained clear and lucid to the very end. Fortunately, he was not in any major pain during these last several weeks of transition. Bill continued to demonstrate great serenity and equanimity, and even spiritual/intellectual curiosity/anticipation, throughout the process of letting his body go. He was focused on the needs of his caregivers as much as his own needs throughout.
Per his wishes, Zoe opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate and toast his liberation."

When I started working for Robin on the building project I had a hard time keeping up - everyone on this team was so freaking smart. To quote my friend Maureen, I had to bring my "A" game every day.

The building committee was extremely diverse. Members included academic staff, deans and faculty with deep experience and strong opinions including Bill Aquilino. And he didn't hold back. My role was more a "wrangler" than anything thing else in those meetings.  Everyone knew we didn't have the budget or real estate (we are landlocked to the west by CALS, to the north by Washburn Observatory, and to the east by Van Hise) to build everything so the committee had to make tough choices and set clear priorities. During one particularly tough cycle I was talking to Professor Mark Nelson about how wrenching the meetings were and he said "it's like trying to decide which puppy to toss out of the lifeboat" - vivid expression of just how hard this process was going to be for everyone.

The priorities agreed to by the building committee would provide the road map for designing the physical space. The stakes were extremely high that the group get it right for the next 100 years.

I had known Bill Aquilino just by face and name as a faculty member of HDFS and I knew he was the Associate Dean of Graduate Education and Research, but that's about it. Over the course of a year working with the building committee I learned so much more. Bill is generous with his experience and intelligence, wicked funny and always one of the smartest people in the room. He is passionate about the graduate student experience. Because of his tenacity and vision the new building includes a glorious lounge exclusively for graduate students and private space for graduate students to work including a studio for design students. Bill knew the future of the School was dependent on attracting top notch graduate students but here's a twist I never saw coming...faculty recruitment.


View from the Link

Over the past months I have had the pleasure of taking faculty candidates on tours of the new building and invariably when we hit the graduate student lounge their faces light up. People have said "I never had a place like this when I was a grad student....we were shoved in the basement....we were housed in the attic....we never saw daylight..."  Bill Aquilino's fingerprints are everywhere. 
On March 14, 2012 Dean Robin Douthitt took Bill on a tour of the building and unveiled for him a Diego Rivera print installed in the Graduate Student Lounge, with the following dedication:

"This Diego Rivera print entitled,"Detroit", was presented by the School of Human Ecology in honor of Associate Dean and Emeritus Professor William (Bill) Aquilino in recognition of his abiding commitment to graduate education and the role he played in fostering a climate of mutual respect and collaboration between faculty and their proteges. Dr. Aquilino, an Emeritus Professor of Human Development and Family Studies ensured that the 2012 facilities expansion included this space for the exclusive use by all Human Ecology graduate students to build their own interdisciplinary, collaborative academic community."

With a huge smile and clasping Robin's hand in his left, Bill pumped his right fist into the air and said "YES"

 

Welcome home Bill.

 

xoxo-Zwick





Move Specifics: FAQ

Is it true we will have a shower in the building? That is so great because I ride my bike to work!

Yes, the building has (2) showers available exclusively for faculty and staff use. Contact Miranda Hofmann via email at mohofman@wisc.edu to learn more about access.

I want to host an event this summer in the new building – what should I do?

Unfortunately we are not able to host external groups, guests or special events this summer; the staff will be working hard to get processes and operations running smoothly and efficiently for the fall. That being said, of course, regular Human Ecology meetings (i.e. staff meetings, department meetings, etc.) may be held in the new building. Please send your meeting requests to roomrequest@mail.sohe.wisc.edu

Do I have to move my cruddy wastebasket?

No you won’t have to move those nasty things, new recycle and wastebaskets are provided for you as part of the project.

Will I have help packing?

Everyone is responsible for packing their own office or workstation. Please work with your department chair or unit supervisor to determine strategies for packing shared spaces such as department offices, storage rooms or reception areas.

What if I’m away and can't get packed, will someone pack for me?

If you are away it’s best to pack early or bake some really tasty cookies to get someone to help you. Everyone is responsible for their own space.

Move Specifics - mark your calendar!

The following information was presented March 26 at the all-School staff meeting:

• Packing material for offices, work areas, work stations and similar are delivered May 11

• Instructional studios will be addressed separately

Once your area is moved you are welcome - and in fact encouraged - to come in the next day to get started unpacking.

The schedule rolls like this…..(as always, subject to change!)

May 21 – let the games begin!
•Tokay Boulevard (WCWPDS)
•Third Floor Middleton
•Mechanical Engineering

May 22-23
•Sterling – all (Jacquard Loom on Friday)

May 24
•Henry Mall
•MSC
•Finish Sterling if needed

May 25
•Material from offsite storage
•Jacquard Loom