The Bulletin

Tammy Banks is the Custodial Crew Leader at Indiana University's Indiana Memorial Union.

What are some of the latest advances or improvements in your facility or operations? 

We recently had some new furnishings in our public areas and that helps our department because it creates pride for the place where we work. And it often, hopefully, means the items are easier to keep clean.  

What are the challenges in maintaining a dynamic, versatile, and appealing built environment that meets the needs of a diverse population? 

Trying to get into certain areas. Rooms are rented at certain times and trying to get into those rooms to clean chairs, clean tables, and do what we need to do can be difficult.  

Can you think of an event that you never could have imagined occurring at your facility? 

Some of the people who visit the building. We get some pretty big names in here. When the Dalai Lama was here, they brought the dogs in and sniffed all around the union to check out the space. The second time he was here, he had Steven Seagal with him. That was pretty neat. 

If you were handed an unexpected increase in your budget, what would you spend that money on?

We’re changing things all the time, and we are always redoing certain areas with new carpet, new furniture. Right now, we have a plan to add new technology in our meeting rooms, and I think that would help bring more people into our building.