By Larry Urish, contributing writer
When Francisco Gonzalez of Santiago Canyon College is asked a simple question — “Is there anything of a material nature on campus that isn’t ultimately your responsibility?” — his answer is even simpler: “No.”
As SCC’s new director of Physical Plant and Facilities, Gonzalez oversees all of the college’s buildings, teaching spaces and ancillary rooms, furniture, equipment and land (sports fields, gardens, trees, roads, pathways and the like). In other words, everything on campus.
“We’re also responsible for all of the utilities that serve the college,” Gonzalez said. “The generators and back-up generators, the ‘chiller plants’ for the air conditioning systems, all of that.”
It’s no accident that, when referring to his position, Gonzalez chooses words such as “we,” “us,” and “our.” While his job-specific qualifications are impressive — he has nearly 30 years of experience managing facilities, maintenance, design and construction projects ranging from small to huge school-campus developments —
Gonzalez is committed to fostering an empowering, team-oriented environment.
Gonzalez said three key departments fall under his supervision: maintenance (HVAC, electrical, plumbing and general building repairs), groundskeeping and custodial services, which includes event setups. His team consists of some 30 employees; given the broad nature of his responsibilities, it’s a smaller-than-expected group. “We’re a very busy bunch,” he said.
Gonzalez’s path to Santiago Canyon College began when he earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He worked in architecture for 10 years, primarily for clients in education, designing buildings and entire campus developments. He later transitioned to a builder and construction manager, working with some 10 school districts, including K-12 schools, colleges and universities. One of these districts, the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, later hired him to serve as Cuyamaca College’s facilities director. He’s been at SCC since Nov. 4.
While problems can arise from any number of sources, Gonzalez was clear about his most significant challenge. “Any time we have a power outage, whether it involves Southern California Edison or something on campus, it’s a big deal. We have to get all the equipment back up and running. It involves resetting the equipment: chillers, boilers, elevators, all the IT. All communication is lost, and to get everything back up takes some work. It affects everything on campus.”
As for the SCC campus, “Buildings A and B are showing a lot of wear and tear, and that needs to be addressed,” Gonzalez said. “It’s something that the college is looking into. We’re also looking at decommissioning the portable buildings (a collection he calls the ‘U Village’). Most departments that were there have been relocated to other spaces on campus.” A back garden area, once an example of sustainability, has essentially been abandoned, he said.
Gonzalez has noticed that “the college puts a lot of time, energy and resources into sustainability. It’s a big deal that involves our irrigation and lighting systems.” From a broader perspective, “it also involves designing ‘green buildings,’ constructed with sustainable materials.”
For now, Gonzalez is currently going through his “analysis and observation phase,” getting the general lay of the land … and everything else on campus. Team building, he repeatedly stressed, is paramount. “I’m getting to know everyone here, fostering a sense of community. It’s important that everyone feels supported and empowered as employees, that they understand ‘the why’ behind what we do.
“A well-maintained campus is essential. Everyone here should feel important, because they are. If our facilities team isn’t here, the campus shuts down. Hopefully, very soon we’ll be a very strong facilities family, and we hope to bring a lot of value to this campus.”
One of Gonzalez’s most unique challenges involved fire mitigation at Cuyamaca College. “I solicited quotes from landscaping firms, and it would’ve cost $250,000 to $500,000.”
So he hired goats. Actually, he hired a goat service, for $70,000. “College friends and co-workers would joke with me. ‘You went to Cal Poly and have an architecture degree. You’ve built massive buildings … and now you manage goats.’ But last spring we received a sustainability award for bringing them in.”
When he’s not on the job, the Escondido resident, married with two daughters (both of whom recently finished college), serves on the board of Encuentros Leadership. The North San Diego County nonprofit supports and mentors middle school and high school Latino boys, inspiring them to stay in school.
“We bring in as many Latino professionals —doctors, educators, lawyers — to hold workshops and share their educational journey. We also work with parents to help them get more involved, as well.”
Involvement. Empowerment. Teamwork. That’s what Gonzalez is all about.
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