FOR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, A NEW ERA

In September, The Frederick Gunn School welcomed Rob Daly as the new Director of Facilities. Daly’s arrival followed the retirement of Mark Showalter, who was with the school for 38 years, and followed in the footsteps of his father, Dave Showalter, who was Head of Maintenance for 22 years until his retirement in 2000. For a time, father and son worked side by side. In fact, school opened this year without a Showalter on campus for the first time in 44 years.

Since the fall, Daly has been settling in and working quietly behind the scenes to make improvements, such as a new, computerized work order system, and enhance The Frederick Gunn School’s image and brand on everything from school vehicles to facilities to new uniforms for the Housekeeping, Maintenance, and Building and Grounds staff. He brings to his role a wealth of experience, having served as a Facilities Manager at Yale University for over 21 years. In March, we asked Daly how that experience has influenced the way he approaches his role here, and what the future holds for facilities management at Gunn.

“Similar to The Frederick Gunn School, the Yale campus has a lot of older buildings, so it gives me familiarity with the challenges involved with doing renovations or upgrading, or just with the mechanical systems in place. While I didn’t necessarily have direct oversight of the mechanical systems in my role at Yale, certainly I worked hand in hand with the physical plant managers who were responsible for those systems,” said Daly, who brings to Gunn experience in building management, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems, grounds maintenance, special projects, staffing, and software.

“The staff have been absolutely great since I arrived. They strive to do their jobs well and in a courteous and professional manner every day. I am very lucky to have such a wonderful team. Everyone here at Gunn has been very supportive since I arrived on campus,” he said.

This summer, Daly plans to replace all of the gas-powered golf carts that are primarily utilized by the housekeeping staff with battery-operated golf carts as part of a sustainability initiative. This improvement is also part of a larger plan to upgrade the school’s fleet of maintenance vehicles, which will help to improve efficiency and enhance the school’s brand on and off campus. One new truck and one new passenger vehicle have already been added to the fleet.

The school hired one new staff member in Buildings and Grounds and Maintenance as well as a new mailroom associate, and Daly plans to implement a new computerized package tracking system in the mailroom. This summer, his team will be making improvements in the dorms as well as faculty housing. One of the most exciting projects on the horizon will be maintaining the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Center for Innovation and Active Citizenship, after it opens in January 2024. Daly has been monitoring the progress of the construction closely. “It’s very exciting to have that, especially on the heels of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center, which is a beautiful building,” he said.