Indiana University Physical Plant reports and newsletters, 1938-2007, bulk
1944-1981
A Guide to the Records at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Katie Morrison
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana
University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Indiana University, Bloomington.
Physical Plant
TitleIndiana University Physical Plant
reports and newsletters, 1938-2007, bulk
1944-1981
Collection No.
C679
Extent
3.8 cubic feet (5 boxes)
Language
Materials are in English
Abstract
The Indiana University Physical Plant
was the central department for university buildings and grounds upkeep from
1959-2015. Prior to 1959 the Physical Plant was part of the Department of Buildings
and Grounds. In 2015 the Physical Plant was renamed Facility Operations. This
collection includes annual reports and newsletters issued by the department from
1938-2007.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
Administrative History
In 1883 the Indiana University Board of Trustees established the Committee on
Buildings and Grounds to operate and maintain the university’s physical environment.
From 1883-1959 Buildings and Grounds used the terminology “Physical Plant” to
indicate its power and utilities plants, and other physical operations outside the
purview of Buildings and Grounds. In 1959 Buildings and Grounds was renamed the
broader Physical Plant, given its own director, and tasked with expanded functions.
The Physical Plant oversaw the construction, maintenance, and restoration of
university buildings; utility distribution on campus, including water, gas, and
electric; parking and campus roads, including paving and signage; landscaping and
grounds maintenance; campus safety; and janitorial, housekeeping, and equipment
repair duties. The Physical Plant office was originally located between the
Psychology and Geology buildings. The building was demolished in 2006 to make room
for the Multidisciplinary Science Building (Simon Hall). The Physical Plant
relocated to the Service Building on Range Road the same year.
In 1978, the Physical Plant started a cooperative project with Ivy Tech and Local 832
of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) to
establish a Department of Labor-certified apprenticeship program for employees. The
Physical Plant’s establishment of a Training and Development Office in 1985 brought
further training and apprenticeship opportunities for employees. In 2015, the
Physical Plant was renamed Facility Operations. As of 2017, Facility Operations
employs 640 people and oversees the physical management of more than 420 buildings
and 2,000 acres of grounds on the Bloomington campus.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists of annual reports submitted by the Indiana University
Physical Plant (known as the Department of Buildings and Grounds from 1938-1959) to
the offices of the university treasurer and president, dating from 1938-1975 and
1979-1981. The annual reports include recommendations from the department head for
necessary projects and allocations, departmental staffing and salaries, income and
expense reports, and written summaries of progress in all Physical Plant operational
areas. These summaries incorporate visual data, including charts and maps. The
collection also includes scattered reports from the Physical Plant of the
Indianapolis campus from 1945-1973 that were filed with the Bloomington campus
reports.
The collection also includes issues of two newsletters published by the Physical
Plant:
Physical Plant Perspective (published on a
quarterly basis with issues dating from 1994-2001) and
Physical Plant Focus (published by the plant’s Training and Development
Office on a quarterly basis and dating from 2006-2007). Both publications include
ongoing features such as employee spotlights and interviews, retirement notices,
memorials, letters from the department director, and other worker engagement pieces.
The newsletters also highlight campus buildings and grounds features, engineering
and maintenance projects, and relevant safety issues and trainings.
-
Indexing Terms
-
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
Related Material
Additional records such as newsletters, annual reports, bulletins, and publications
may be accessed in the
Archives of Institutional Memory.
Archived web sites for this Department may be included in
Archive-It.
Related photographs may be available in the
Indiana University
Archives Photograph Collection
.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accessions: 2007/074, 1200, 0272, 3034, 3035
Usage RestrictionsCopyrights for records originating with Indiana University administrative units,
departments, and other offices are held by the Trustees of Indiana University.
For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of
others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials
in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift.
Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials
rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are
responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights
holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other
statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives
are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If
you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have
questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University
Archives staff.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Indiana University Physical Plant reports and newsletters, Collection C679, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Provenance
Newsletters transferred from the Physical Plant to the University Archives, June 2007. The remaining reports were transferred
to the Archives at an unknown date, likely from the Indiana University President’s Office.
Processing InformationProcessed by Katie Morrison.
Completed in December 2017.
Container List
Series:
Indiana University Physical Plant annual reports and newsletters, 1938-2007
Annual Report,
Box 1
1938-1939
1939-1940
1940-1941
1941-1942
Job order log book, 1941-1942
Annual report, 1942-1943
Two-year report, 1942-1944
Annual report,
1943-1944
1944-1945
1945-1946
Indianapolis, 1945-1946
1946-1947
1947-1948
Indianapolis, 1947-1948
1948-1949
1949-1950
Indianapolis, 1949-1950
1950-1951
Indianapolis, 1950-1951
1951-1952
1952-1953
Indianapolis, 1952-1953
1953-1954
1954-1955
1955-1956
1956-1957
1957-1958
1958-1959
1959-1960
1960-1961
Box 2
1961-1962
1962-1963
1963-1964
1964-1965
1965-1966
1966-1967
1967-1968
1968-1969
1969-1970
Indianapolis, 1969-1970
1970-1971
Indianapolis, 1970-1971
Box 3
1971-1972
Indianapolis, 1971-1972
1972-1973
Indianapolis, 1972-1973
1973-1974
1974-1975
1979-1980
1980-1981
Box 4
Annual reports, duplicates, 1939-1960
Box 5
Physical Plant Perspective,
Fall 1994
Spring 1995
Fall 1995
Winter 1995
Spring 1996
Fall 1996
Winter 1996
Spring 1997
Fall 1997
Winter 1997
Spring 1998
Winter 1998
Spring 1999
Summer 1999
Winter 1999
Spring 2000
Summer 2000
Fall 2000
Winter 2000
Spring 2001
Winter 2001