Maintaining the Mission
On the Front Lines:
UMB Champions of Excellence
Pamela Crowe, MS
Facilities and Laboratory Services, School of Pharmacy
How does one go about managing a professional school鈥檚 on-site facilities and research needs during a pandemic while mostly working from home? Pamela Crowe, MS, knows it鈥檚 not easy but also not impossible.
In her role as director of facilities and laboratory services at the 网红爆料 School of Pharmacy (UMSOP), Crowe is responsible for building maintenance and security, environmental services, construction project management, laboratory safety, scientific equipment maintenance, sustainability, and supply procurement.
鈥淧am balanced telework with being on campus to ensure the continued operation of buildings such as Pharmacy Hall, Pharmacy Learning Center, and the school鈥檚 areas in Health Sciences Research Facility II [HSFII] and the Saratoga Building, home of the Maryland Poison Center,鈥� UMSOP Dean Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, FCP, wrote in her 网红爆料, Baltimore (UMB) Champions of Excellence nomination.
Crowe facilitated the continued delivery of packages and supplies; coordinated the pickup of critical items hastily left in offices and lockers in March by faculty, staff, and students; and ensured the continuity of renovation and maintenance projects, but her work doesn鈥檛 end there.
She also is a member of UMSOP鈥檚 Administrative Board, which meets virtually each week to manage the COVID-19 pandemic鈥檚 impact on the school and its mission areas of education, practice, research, and community service. She is a member of the UMB Recovery Task Force鈥檚 Campus Operations group, which meets virtually every other week, and served on the Incident Management Team that coordinated the University鈥檚 initial emergency response to the pandemic.
When Phase 1 of UMB鈥檚 return to research was announced in July, Crowe ensured that scientific laboratories and other spaces in Pharmacy Hall and HSFII were prepared and safe for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. She also worked with UMB鈥檚 Office of Communications and Public Affairs to produce signs reminding faculty, staff, and students about guidelines for social distancing, face coverings, and frequent hand washing, as well as capacity limits for bathrooms, elevators, and common areas. She personally installed all of the signs on UMSOP鈥檚 research floors in HSFII, as well as on the first floor of Pharmacy Hall, in advance of the researchers鈥� return.
Crowe said she visits campus weekly so she can check on things firsthand.
鈥淚 like to walk around the buildings and labs to see if everything is OK. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be as comfortable if I was exclusively at home. I love my job 鈥� it鈥檚 fun and interesting,鈥� said Crowe, who doesn鈥檛 like being the center of attention and reacted with humility upon learning of her Champions of Excellence honor.
鈥淚鈥檓 doing what my counterparts are doing. I just happened to be the one called out for it,鈥� she said, citing her facilities colleagues at the other UMB professional schools. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all doing the same thing essentially, making sure that things continue to run, that we communicate with facilities management, and that we coordinate the needs of the occupants in the buildings.鈥�
- Mary Therese Phelan
