Throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic this summer, staff members from departments throughout Illinois State University have been working tirelessly to organize, design, and create plans to de-densify and sanitize campus according to the ever-changing standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Classrooms, dining centers, and public spaces such as Milner Library and the Bone Student Center were reset for reduced capacity; facilities teams built Plexiglas shields and teaching partitions; buildings were deep cleaned, and 3-gallon containers of sanitizing wipes were placed in approximately 250 classrooms; Heating Plant staff increased the outside air intake levels on buildings to a minimum of 40 percent outside air intake when possible; the dining centers now only use to-go containers; and face covering and physical distance signage was placed throughout campus.
This photo story gives a glimpse into the health and safety measures that have been put into place at Illinois State.
Assistant Superintendent of Building Services Lee Fox moves a new teaching partition into place in a classroom at Schroeder Hall.
Building Service Worker Foremans Brooke Tarter, left, and Cheryl Ladtkow place stickers on chairs at Schroeder Hall to identify where students should not sit for classes in order to maintain physical distance.
A sample room layout for Schroeder Hall 105 shows a 6-foot diameter distance between seats for students.
Director of Design Services Becky Franz and Moving and Hauling Services Foreman Tony Thompson use a map of a classroom to determine the correct number of open seats in a classroom in Schroeder Hall.
A 3.5-gallon container filled with 900 to 1,100 sanitizing wipes has been placed in each classroom on campus.
Facilities Management Project Development and Data Analyst Gig Supanichrattana, left, and Facilities Management Project Development and Data Administrator Mac Gao use a measuring tape to verify that each of the open chairs in a classroom are six feet apart in all directions.
Carpenter Chad Doty puts together a Plexiglas shield that will be used in an office on campus.
An example of Plexiglas shields added to an office on campus can be seen at the Carter-Harris Building.
Physical distance signs can now be found on the ground at locations where lines could form throughout campus.
Only bottle fillers will be operational on water fountains to cut down on the spread of germs.
Assistant Director of Heating Plant Daniel Kane, right, and Building Automation Technician Josh Wiechman monitor the fresh air intake levels of buildings on campus from an office at the Heating Plant on campus. The previous 10 percent outside air intake in most buildings has been upgraded to 40 percent outside air intake when possible based off of ASHREA (national organization for HVAC standards) and CDC health guidelines.
Heating Plant Foreman Jason Polin checks air filters at the Bone Student Center as Daniel Kane looks on. Illinois State uses MERV 15 for the bag filters and MERV 8 for pleated filters in all HVAC Air Handling Units that have a bag filter and pleated filter system for filtration. The Heating Plant staff are converting all HVAC Air Handling Units with pleated filter systems only from MERV 8 to MERV 13. This is all based off of ASHREA (national organization for HVAC standards) and CDC health guidelines.
Shopkeeper II Julie Guither unboxes hand sanitizer and other PPE at Stores on campus. Departments can visit the ISU COVID website to order PPE-related supplies for their employees.
Guither double-checks the sanitizer container count for the approximately 721 classrooms on campus that will be receiving the containers.
