Facilities Celebrates Women in Construction

Facilities hosted a variety of events to celebrate Women in Construction week March 4-8. 

The week began with a kick-off event presented in partnership with Professional Women in Construction of New Jersey and Philadelphia. Frist Campus Center was buzzing with nearly 300 participants from all over the tri-state area. 

The event began with a welcome from Katie Callow-Wright, Executive Vice President. Attendees received a lesson on intentional networking from best-selling author and inspirational speaker Erika Rothenburger as the key-note event. Members of the ES + SEAS project team from Whiting-Turner spoke about the project’s joint venture partnership and the unique and sustainable attributes. The team gave an overview of the new TIGER plant, geo-exchange and hot water system. Merilee Meacock, partner at KSS Architects, presented a talk titled Designing Spaces that Strengthen the Social Fabric. 

“The Princeton / PWC event was a wonderful, engaging, and motivational kickoff that set the tone for a great week,” said Karen Fanning, Project Communications Manager and committee leader for the week’s events. Many attendees noted that the event was “energetic,” “inspiring,” and “empowering.”

Facilities hosted multiple tours of design and construction sites throughout the week. Many Facilities team members braved the wind and rain to learn about the different projects. 

On Tuesday, staff had the opportunity to see the new TIGER plant in a presentation and tour led by David Weis, Energy Plant Controls Engineer, Barbara Nemcheck, Construction Manager, Catherine Altadonna, Senior Project Manager for East Campus, and Megan Mikrut, Project Manager for Whiting-Turner. Later that day, Ethel Chan, Senior Project Manager for Campus Development, led a group of 20 to see the new Meadows Campus. The group visited the new parking garage for a bird’s eye view of the site and then saw the CUB, the Graduate Apartments, and the Racquet and Recreation Center. 

Saurabhi Mishra is the new Business Intelligence Manager in Engineering & Campus Energy. She was surprised to learn about the scope and size of the projects while on the tours.

“The tours were great to understand how Princeton University is beautifully expanding the campus while keeping in mind the long-term goals of sustainability and carbon neutrality,” she said. “My favorite part was hearing from the women on the projects speak passionately about their work and see the pride on their faces as they explained various aspects of these projects.” 

Later in the week an intrepid group visited four sites on Central Campus, led by Sara Cicerone, Director of Construction, and Laura Carlson, Construction Manager. The group visited the Art Museum, the Class of 1986 Fitness and Wellness Center, Frist Health Center, and Hobson College to learn about the sustainable technology used in each project. 

To close out the week’s events, Natalie Shivers, Associate University Architect, and Emily Goldman, Senior Associate Director for Planning & Land Use Affairs, gave a tour of East Campus and the stormwater management infrastructure that has been planned and implemented in the area. Tour-goers got a broad view of the area from the top of Stadium Drive Garage before walking to Streicker Bridge to look down at the Washington Road Stream restoration project. The walk, which passed many landscaped bioretention areas, ended at the practice soccer field where a large-scale infiltration system was installed under state-of-the-art artificial turf. 

Princeton celebrated the accomplishments of its own women in construction by asking Facilities staff to share a bit about themselves, including their advice for others considering a job in the construction field—read what they said here. 

The week’s programming and celebration campaign were organized by a committee of Facilities staff from various departments. “I am so grateful for the work that the Women In Construction planning committee and subcommittees did this year to facilitate such a wonderful WIC week,” Fanning said.  

“The planning and resulting events provided a great opportunity for us to familiarize ourselves with and celebrate the good work we are doing as a Facilities organization,” she said. “It deepens our One Facilities culture.” 

Celebrated the first week in March each year, Women in Construction Week is a week of recognition started by the National Association of Women in Construction in 1998.