Ohio State has been without a university engineer for more than a year, and no one is slated to take over the position, according to OSU officials.
“We haven’t been able to find the right candidate yet,” said Terri Stankiewicz, assistant vice president of physical facilities.
The position has been vacant since August 2000. A firm has been hired to aid in finding a new university engineer, Stankiewicz said.
“We are looking for someone who is a team player, collaborative and very skilled,” Stankiewicz said. “(University engineers) are the keeper of the standards. This person resolves engineering problems for the university. They are also the director of the engineer’s office and are responsible for designing (new) and existing projects.”
During the vacancy, other staff members have been picking up the workload.
“Various duties have been covered by different engineers,” Stankiewicz said.
The absence of a university engineer has effected the office by delaying everyday processes.
“It has slowed things up a bit. It takes longer to get approval (for projects),” said senior engineer Jerry Bender.
For example, existing equipment that needs replacing will take longer to get approval, Bender said.
Stuart Brace, a senior engineer responsible for some construction projects, said he now oversees more construction projects because of the lack of a university engineer.
Brace said none of the construction projects have been hampered because of the absence of a university engineer.
Though it has been vacant for a lengthy period of time, staff members in the engineer’s office said the position needs to be filled.
“It is another resource to use,” Brace said.
The absence of a university engineer has not hindered OSU students.
“The average person probably would not notice any difference,” Bender said.
