Nearly a decade ago, campus leaders at UC Davis decided to invest in a small team of employees to reduce energy by optimizing building controls and systems. The concept was that UC Davis could fund such a team, if it could curb high utility bills — essentially having the team pay for itself with energy savings.
by Scout Mata and Katie Hetrick, FOA Communications
Tucked away on the west side of campus, UC Davis’ READ facility receives 20 tons of food waste per day from customers including local grocery stores and our own campus dining commons. With the improvements a recent $4.77M CalRecycle grant provides, the READ facility becomes an important part of UC Davis’ strategy to eliminate the use of fossil fuels from its operations and fight climate change.
by Scout Mata and Katie Hetrick, FOA Communications
Since taking ownership in 2017, UC Davis Facilities Management has dedicated itself to revitalizing the READ facility, working with academic and industry experts to find creative solutions including the development of an ammonia extraction system that processes the ammonia-rich digestate, separating it into nearly ammonia-free digestate and concentrated ammonia. The ammonia-free digestate can be processed at the campus’s wastewater treatment plant, or by other means, locally without adding excess nutrients to inland waters. The concentrated ammonia product has now become a valuable commodity purchased by California Safe Soil as an ingredient in the formulation of a certified organic fertilizer.
Allen Tollefson’s remarkable 25-year journey at UC Davis Facilities Management began when he joined as an assistant superintendent in 1999. He retires on July 1, 2024, as the Facilities leader of the largest UC campus in terms of acreage, keeping our 5,300 acres and 14.6 million square feet of campus facilities safe, clean and operable through severe winter storms, wildfire smoke events, COVID, Picnic Day, and many perfect spring days.
Clint is eager to contribute to the campus’s ongoing success, and particularly excited about UC Davis’ commitment to sustainability, notably the Big Shift. For the close to 700 staff in UC Davis Facilities Management and campus stakeholders, his approach to leadership is about providing support and improving potential.
Since the Arboretum and Public Garden department joined Facilities Management in November 2023, we have welcomed many wonderful staff members to the team! One exceptional team member is Kathleen Socolofsky, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. We sat down with Kathleen to learn more about her role and the 26 years she has spent at UC Davis.
Our sheet metal, weld, and machine shop team at Facilities Management works diligently to maintain, build, and install all HVAC systems on campus. These systems are integral to ensuring suitable temperatures for vital research and academics, making their work incredibly important to our campus community. The team has over 250 years of combined experience and is made up of 9 members, listed below:
Supervisor: Al Bacchini
Sheet metal shop: Manuel Preciado, Greg Turben, Ryan Montoya, Chris Meyer, John Eldeen
This month, we are highlighting our newest Facilities Management (FM) communications and marketing intern, Alma Culverwell! Alma is a second-year political science major with a global studies minor and has been working as a communications and marketing intern for FM since the end of April.
Prior to starting at FM, Alma had experience working for UC Davis at the city news desk of the California Aggie Newspaper. She began working at the Cal Aggie in March 2023 and still holds her position as a staff writer.
This quarter, we are excited to highlight Linda Limon Alvarez, one of our exceptional business partners at Facilities Management! Linda serves as a Financial Assistant for Finance, Operations, and Administration (FOA) and has been with Facilities Management (FM) for almost two years. We had the pleasure of sitting down with her to learn more about her role and why she enjoys working here.
In 2016, UC Davis embarked on an ambitious project to enhance the Arboretum Waterway. Following the successful completion of
the first phase, additional funding was secured to continue the improvements. Construction resumed in March 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2026. This massive undertaking aims to significantly enhance campus sustainability, research opportunities, and aesthetics. We sat down with landscape architect Andrew Fulks, who played a major role in launching this project, to learn more about the innovative changes taking place.
