In a typical year, the College Park area experiences an average of five to six snow or ice events with an average seasonal snowfall of around 13 inches. If forecasts are correct, this year could look significantly different. With strong El Niño conditions in the Pacific, forecasters are predicting 13 to 30 inches of snow. Long before the first snowflakes fall, the Facilities Management (FM) landscape/snow removal team begins winter weather preparation and whatever winter brings, FM is prepared. 

If the thought of vacuuming your living room floor or cleaning your bathroom fills you with dread, consider, for a moment, the work facing Facilities Management’s (FM) Building Services team: Keeping nine million square feet in 100 campus buildings clean and healthy, from top to bottom, every single day. What does it take? How do they do it – day after day? 

As we plan for the upcoming winter break, Facilities Management asks for your assistance with preparing campus buildings. With expected overnight lows in the freezing range, these actions will help conserve energy, maintain comfortable temperatures inside buildings, and protect building systems, pipes, and equipment. Please help us by taking the following steps:

At 4:47 a.m. on Monday, October 23, an alarm alerted Facilities Management (FM) staff to a drop in water pressure at two campus buildings. That alarm was the first signal of a major water main break that would impact more than 60 buildings. 

The UMD Arboretum has reinstituted tours for mothers and infants that were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new organization has launched at UMD: the Latinx/a/o/e Employee Association (LEA). Its goal is to bring visibility to the diverse Latinx/o/a/e community on campus and advocate for relevant needs and interests. The group also aims to strengthen the sense of community among Latinx/o/a/e employees, increase the recruitment and retention of Latinx/a/o/e students, staff, and faculty, support professional development, and engage in outreach and mentoring initiatives.