Harley Knowles, Ph.D., is president of Tennessee Wesleyan University, located in Southeast Tennessee. We recently talked to Dr. Knowles about his experience partnering with National to maintain the university’s pristine campus environment, and about the low-interest loan the school received through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative.
How long has Tennessee Wesleyan partnered with National for its facilities management?
Knowles: Tennessee Wesleyan has been working with National since before I took on the position of president six years ago. The relationship spans more than a decade. National handles our physical plant management and custodial needs, including maintenance and repairs for our 21 buildings and landscaping throughout our 40-acre campus.
What has been your experience working with National?
Knowles: It’s been excellent. I’ve been in higher education for over 30 years and have worked at five different institutions, and National is the finest facilities management provider I’ve dealt with, by far. That is exactly why I’m so willing to do an interview such as this. Their service, responsiveness and attention to detail are fantastic.
National is integrated seamlessly with our campus and personnel. We truly don’t think of them as National but as an extended part of our Tennessee Wesleyan team. They blend with our staff and maintain our campus as if it was their own. Such integration is key to the success of a relationship of this nature.
What do you think is the biggest benefit of using a company like National?
Knowles: A major part of physical plant management is finding people to fill jobs, training new hires and filling vacancies as they occur. National takes all those issues off our administration. Facilities management is solely their responsibility. With that burden removed, we can focus on other things. We don’t have to worry about staffing in that area, OSHA regulations or anything else. And while our facilities management workers are very important to the school, it’s tremendously helpful to have an expert provider managing that aspect.
We also benefit greatly from National’s extensive experience and expertise in physical plant management. Our campus looks beautiful and is well maintained.
Tennessee Wesleyan is currently making campus upgrades with the assistance of a low-interest loan from the USDA’s Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative. Can you elaborate?
Knowles: Through the USDA program, we applied for and received a low-interest loan of $20.6 million. The loans are designed to create economic stimulus in designated rural communities. They come without the high interest rates and significant collateral requirements of commercial loans.
Projects that are already completed or will be completed soon include refurbishment of a building to house our visual art and communication studies program, installation of new HVAC systems and new roofs on multiple buildings, and refurbishment of a men’s residence building. The lion’s share of the loan will be used to construct a 30,000-square-foot student life building, with remaining funds going to other campus improvements and to refinance a portion of the university’s debt.
(Note: To read our blog post on USDA Rural Development Loans, click here.)
Has National been involved in the campus projects that are a result of the USDA loan?
Knowles: Our director of facilities is actually a National employee and he has been critical to the planning, coordination and execution of projects. He was instrumental in deciding what projects would benefit the school most and has supervised the bidding and contract processes as well as the actual work. With regard to the construction of the student life building, he will also serve as the primary interface between our institution and the architect and general contractor teams.
Do you have any advice for other schools considering a similar partnership for their facilities management needs?
Knowles: Schools should consider their size when choosing a facilities management provider. Tennessee Wesleyan is a small, nonprofit institution, so our margins are naturally tighter. As a small organization itself, National understands our financial challenges. They work with us to provide the services we need while staying on budget, even if we have to “MacGyver” some things to patch them up and keep them going until tuition funds arrive in the fall. The bigger boys who handle facilities management, typically for larger institutions, just don’t have that same sensitivity.
You also have to give consideration to what kind of service culture you want for your institution. While at another university, I used a competitor of National’s. They were basically “no” people—any time they were asked for anything their first answer was no. Getting things done was difficult, because they didn’t have a positive service culture. We’ve found National to be exactly the opposite. With them, the answer is always yes. They have a positive, can-do attitude. We’ve found the entire organization is like that, from the top all the way down.
Tennessee Wesleyan University is a not-for-profit, four-year liberal arts institution associated with the Methodist Church. More than 150 years after its founding, the university has never lost its identity as an important center of learning in Southeast Tennessee. With over 30 undergraduate majors and two graduate programs, Tennessee Wesleyan provides a wide range of studies to help each student achieve his or her individual dream.