Date: August 9, 2023
Each year immediately following Commencement students begin to leave VTS for the summer and the facilities department ramps up to prepare the campus for the upcoming academic year. During this time when rooms and apartments are vacant, the facilities team springs into action. We must make the campus ready for summer programs, returning students, and new students and families joining the VTS community in August. As soon as buildings become available, we perform scheduled preventive maintenance, capital repair projects, and deep and thorough housekeeping.
Capital projects range from small in-house projects to larger contracted projects. Williams Professional Painting has been working diligently to refurbish and paint Aspinwall Tower. CertaPro Painting has completed exterior painting of our 4 dormitories, 4 guest houses, and Sparrow Hall. This summer we prepared a faculty apartment, renovated a faculty home, turned over 17 student apartments and 59 dorm rooms in advance of the arrival of our students and families who started to arrive last week.
Prior to all of that, facilities technicians and our internal housekeeping staff successfully managed a huge undertaking and prepared housing accommodations for 3 summer programs that spanned from the end of May to the first week of July – Deep Calls to Deep, Thriving in Ministry and the Doctoral programs. Every dorm room and guest room had to be prepped for each program with only the weekend between each to prepare for the next group’s arrival. It was an extraordinary team effort, and I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of the facilities team who rose to the occasion. After all the summer program guests left campus, the team had three weeks to prepare and make ready 59 dorm rooms to receive our incoming and returning students. It has been an extraordinary summer.
Everyone raves over the grounds at VTS. Our new grounds contractor Ruppert Landscaping has been busy improving and maintaining the campus grounds. They completed the paving and curbing of Aspinwall Lane, beautified the Quaker Lane entrance, and redesigned the Aspinwall courtyard. There is beauty all around us with new plantings throughout the campus.
Our summer work excites us as we look forward to a new academic year and welcoming new friends to Virginia Theological Seminary. When you see a member of the Facilities team, I hope you will offer them a word of thanks for all that they do to keep the campus beautiful.
John Erbe
Director of Facilities Operations