Peter Radecki might not have an official teaching job at Drury University, but his projects as vice president of campus operations offer students a firsthand view of living and working sustainably.
"We are teaching our students by doing," Radecki says.
Appointed to the newly created position in March 2008, after having served as vice president of institutional advancement, Radecki is responsible for buildings and grounds, all maintenance and construction projects, and working with the campus sustainability committee to reduce energy consumption and costs on Drury's 1.1-million-square-foot, 124-acre campus.
"My job is to try to figure out and implement new ideas," Radecki says.
Drury has since instituted a new recycling program, and the university is currently developing a campus bike path. Radecki's approach is multifaceted: "You really have to have a big-picture perspective for what we are trying to achieve, but you also have to stay within the budget; the devil is in the details."
With bike paths, for example, the school is considering a route that won't conflict with pedestrian walkways and also placing bike racks to secure the bikes.
"The university has an important role in the overall fabric of our community," Radecki adds. "Our goal is to make sure that the plans we put in place meet the needs of the users but also conserve our resources."
A major project is the O'Reilly Family Event Center, which should be complete by August 2010 and will seat 3,100 for basketball and volleyball games and up to 3,600 for concerts and special events. The building aims to be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold-certified arena in the country due to a $600,000 gift from the Pitt family of Springfield.
In addition, Radecki is working on the redevelopment of the former Tindle Mills industrial complex and the first phase of an overhaul of campus energy management systems. Drury also has installed a prototype roof-mounted solar panel system that will turn sunlight into energy that can be used for hot water and electricity.
"I want to surround our students with examples of what they should be thinking about as they move into their careers, things like more efficient systems and their impact on the environment," Radecki says.
In some ways, Radecki says his career has come full circle. His early work included a job as a research and production engineer with Shell Development Co. For six years, he ran Valley Fence Co., an El Paso, Texas-based security fence and barrier company. At Michigan
Technological University, he helped develop clean technologies, process design tools and waste-treatment optimization.
In 2006, he moved to Drury, where he managed university development, alumni relations, communications, marketing and Web services. "During this assignment, I reorganized and refocused the combined staff in anticipation of the silent phase launch of a $100 million campaign," Radecki says.[[In-content Ad]]
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