This quarter, we want to highlight a team that plays a crucial yet often overlooked role in maintaining the cleanliness and sustainability of our campus, the Solid Waste Team! This team ensures that all waste, from garbage to recyclables, is efficiently collected and properly managed. While their work may not always be visible, the impact they have on campus life is undeniable.
Aggie Square represents a major expansion of the university’s footprint. With multiple buildings and a mix of campus-leased and privately occupied spaces, the project requires a uniquely tailored approach to maintenance and operations. To support this new development, FM has launched a custodial services project to ensure that Aggie Square remains a clean, efficient, and well-maintained environment for students, faculty, researchers, and industry partners.
Beginning in April 2025, Facilities Management is ending all services to offices and cubicles, including trash and recycling collection. The primary change for office and cubicle occupants is the shift to a self-service, or “pack it in, pack it out” model, for sorting their own trash and recyclables in centralized bins located in shared areas such as kitchens and hallways.
This past May, our custodial team hosted a series of employee events in honor of the International Sanitary Supply Association’s International Cleaning Week! The team showcased their spirit throughout the week by dressing up in fun themes and spending time socializing with each other. We sat down with custodial supervisor Jasmine Aranda to learn more about this celebration of team spirit!
Custodial Director Lauren Bautista joined the Facilities Management team just this past January and has already made a splash! We sat down with her to talk about her favorite parts of her new role and UC Davis as a whole.
Before starting at Facilities Management (FM) in January, Lauren was working as an operations manager at Cintas. A friend of hers who works at Student Housing and Dining Services raved about UC Davis, so when Lauren saw the job opening here she decided to apply! She says she has the “best job ever” and loves her team and the Davis campus.
We recently had the pleasure of speaking with custodial supervisor Shafeena Ali about the completion of a floor maintenance project at Academic Surge. Shafeena manages a team of 12 custodial employees, who split up into two teams of six to complete this project.
The custodial team completes floor maintenance regularly and the second floor of Academic Surge was on the project list because it was overdue for a deep cleaning. Shafeena sat down with us to share the technical aspects of this project and her team’s fantastic teamwork throughout.
Custodial Services is always looking for more efficient ways to improve our campus environment. One of these recent innovations is a new initiative that uses drone technology to clean windows on tall buildings! We had the opportunity to discuss the behind-the-scenes of this project with custodial supervisor Michael Orona.
Congratulations to UC Davis Custodial Services, the first and only UC to achieve the Cleaning Industry Management Standard Green Building with Honors, or CIMS-GB certification, from the world’s leading trade association for the cleaning industry, ISSA.
Both UC Davis custodial services teams – Facilities Management and Student Housing and Dining Services – announce that they are the esteemed recipients of the university’s Staff Assembly 2021-22 Citation of Excellence team award. The honor recognizes their exemplary work navigating the global pandemic and its impact to our campus and community.
