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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

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

Container List