Operations
Our friendly staff take great care in keeping our campus, buildings, classrooms and restrooms clean each and every day.
Facilities Operations includes multiple groups responsible for maintaining our beautiful campus, inside and outside buildings, as well as above and below ground. Please don't hesitate to contact our Facilities Customer Service Center if you need our help, 609-258-8000.
Operations Groups
Building Services
Our staff in Building Services have a daily presence in every building on Princeton campus, and are responsible for cleaning, moving, logistical support of campus events and running the Resource Recovery program. We manage several warehouse complexes for rental equipment, document storage, resource recovery items and a few important artifacts that come out once a year. We also maintain student laundromats, campus fire extinguishers, and the University waste and recycling stream. Our teams clean over 10,000,000 square feet daily, deliver, setup and take down over 125,000 pieces of rental equipment each year, manage nearly 100,000 square feet of warehouse space, and remove over 5,000 tons of waste and recycling each year.
Campus Grounds
Our Campus Grounds staff are responsible for the maintenance, horticulture, and arboriculture needs of the entire campus; management of the University fleet, and coordination of many high-profile exterior events each year. Grounds services include mowing, landscaping, forest management and snow and ice removal. This team is also responsible for planning and executing multiple special events each year, including alumni and trustee events and reunions.
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Our Civil and Environmental engineers maintain our utility distribution systems, roads & parking lots, keep us in environmental compliance and provide rigging services to move heavy objects or specialized equipment.
Engineering and Campus Energy
Engineering and Campus Energy builds and maintains the infrastructure on, and below, the Princeton University campus. The group is responsible for the operations and maintenance of the central energy plant, the design and management of building system upgrades, the campus transformation from steam to hot water and geo-exchange, and energy management. Using best practices in the design and execution of engineering projects, we support Princeton University's Sustainability plan by reducing energy use and environmental impacts. Our staff includes plant operators, mechanical and electrical engineers, as well as building control system operators and designers. No matter what, we aim to keep the lights on and the steam flowing.
Maintenance
Our Maintenance staff are responsbile for stewardship of the buildings, labs, and special facilities on our main and Forrestal Campuses, as well as off-campus graduate housing, faculty and staff housing, and commercial properties. Our services include carpentry, masonry, painting, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, electrical & elevator work, as well as major event & reunion support. Over the course of a year, we respond to a majority of the 60,000+ service requests received by our Facilities Service Center.
Major Maintenance - Special Projects
Our Special Projects team design and oversee interior renovations, masonry repair, large scale exterior envelope repairs, maintenance and upgrades such as roof and window work.
Service Center
Our friendly Service Center representatives are your central point of contact into our large organization. Just call (609) 258-8000, submit a service request online or email us for help. The Service Center is open from 7:30am to 5pm every weekday and ready to help you get the services and resources you need. The Department of Public Safety answers the phone when the Service Center is closed and reaches out to Facilities if a situation is urgent.
Site Protection
Our staff in Site Protection test, inspect, maintain and manage the University’s Fire Protective Safety Systems (FPSS), Card Access Control System, Security Systems (CACS), Campus Video Management System (CVMS), the Keyless Locking System (KLS) and the Locksmith Shop. We oversee the design, required testing code compliances and practices as it pertains to all of these systems. Located at 306 Alexander Street we also provide a 24 hour/7 day on-site Response Team to support these systems as well as other emergency needs of the University.
Helpful links:
- List of services
- Request a service
- Sustainable practices
- Can I recycle this? (external Sustainability website)
In The News
A set of stairs on campus dead ends into a nondescript white door. Beyond the door, situated in one of the building’s towers, is a new research lab that is home to a colony of vampire bats.
Washington Road just got safer for all of us. To enhance safety and separate bikes from vehicles, delineated bike lanes are being installed on Washington Road. With safety and sustainability as two shared municipal and University priorities, the bike lanes allow a safer route for all cyclists while encouraging human-powered movement.
Following a national search, John Hannum has been selected as the new Executive Director for Engineering and Campus Energy in Facilities Operations, effective September 3, 2024. John will be promoted from his current role as Program Manager for Commissioning and Turnover in the Office of Capital Projects.
Congratulates to Tom Nyquist, recepient of the 2024 Norm Taylor Person of the Year Award!
Each year Facilities conducts a one-day complete steam system shutdown to safely perform necessary and routine maintenance. This year the steam shutdown is Thursday, May 29. Our annual steam shutdown occurs on the Thursday following commencement to minimize the impact on our campus community. Thank you for your cooperation and we…
Did You Know
The Service Center (609-258-8000) is a centralized call center for every Facilities department. They handle approximately 60,000 inquiries per year via phone, web, and email.