The campus community is invited to an open house reception celebrating the retirement of Chuck Scott, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Friday, January 31, in the Hancock Stadium Club. Remarks will begin at 3 p.m. Please join us in honoring his many achievements and over 34 years of dedicated service to Illinois State University.
After working as a regional manager for a local landscaping business, Scott joined Illinois State University (ISU) in 1985 as director of grounds maintenance and recycling, and he has been at ISU ever since.
In that role, Scott was invited to join the committee to officially establish the campus as an arboretum. Today, Fell Arboretum stretches across more than 400 acres of the campus and contains approximately 2,000 trees as well as other plants, all native to Illinois. In 2008, ISU was recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation and continues to hold the designation today. The ISU grounds continue to be one of Scott’s primary points of pride.
Over the past 34 years, Scott has gone on to hold the positions of director of Campus Services, executive director of Facilities Management, executive director of Facilities Management, Parking, and Transportation, and was appointed interim associate vice president for Facilities Management, Planning and Operations in August 2017. As he was promoted to various leadership positions, he developed many relationships with both internal and external stakeholders as well as an understanding and an appreciation for the diverse and high-quality expertise each of his staff members brought to the table. He continues to value the diverse perspectives that contribute to nearly every decision his leadership team makes.
As far as external relationships, Scott has been involved with APPA since attending his first conference in 1991. APPA is an international organization with a focus on educational facilities management. Scott said he initially liked APPA because of “their focus on professional development.”
Within the next few years, he completed APPA’s professional development and leadership programs and then became involved at the regional level, serving as regional president before joining the APPA International Board of Directors. Scott was was elected vice president for professional development and was ultimately recognized for his superior leadership skills and expertise and was elected president of APPA International, taking office in June 2016.
Scott has used the APPA resources and knowledge gained from participating in this organization in many ways here at ISU, from providing data and credibility to project or staffing requests, to bringing the Supervisor Toolkit to campus, promoting leadership and professional development for his staff.
It’s safe to say that very few people know every square inch of the ISU buildings and grounds as well as Scott. His vast institutional knowledge, along with the fact that he is always ready with the necessary information to help make administrative level decisions, will be deeply missed.
