Skees Has Enjoyed a “Great Ride” in School of Computer Science
By Bruce Gerson
As his email signature states, Jim Skees has been “keeping geeks happy for over 30 years.”
Director of facilities for the School of Computer Science (SCS) since 1984, Skees and his small team handle a wide variety of requests from SCS faculty, staff and students in 11 buildings on campus — from the Gates Center for Computer Science and Hillman Center for Future Generation Technologies to Newell-Simon, Wean and Smith halls, the Collaborative Innovation Center and locations on Forbes Avenue, and Craig and Henry streets.
Skees and his colleagues handle the distribution of room keys and access cards; they facilitate telephone requests and furniture purchases; and they coordinate building repairs, renovations, office and laboratory moves, cleaning services and security requests.
“We work with other stakeholders on campus, such as Facilities Management and Campus Services, Campus Design and Facility Development, and Campus Police to get the job done,” said Skees, who also is trained to conduct ergonomic evaluations for SCS personnel.
Skees said he enjoys his job because he likes helping people.
“My job provides me with many opportunities to help people make their CMU lives better,” he said. “This includes helping people adjust their postures and furniture so they are more comfortable, and designing new spaces and new buildings so they are optimized for people doing computer-based research."
Skees played a key role in the design of the Gates and Hillman centers, working with the architect, faculty representative Guy Blelloch and CDFD project manager Andrew Reilly. The buildings opened in August 2009.
“Gates Hillman was my capstone project,” he said. “When we designed the building, I took everything I learned from previous renovation projects in Wean, Newell-Simon and Smith halls, and applied them to Gates Hillman.”
With another major building project on the horizon — SCS will occupy several floors of TCS Hall — Skees said “it’s time to turn the page.” He plans to retire on Nov. 30.
“I’m going to pass that project on to my successor, Paul Stockhausen,” he said. “By the end of November, we’ll have most of the design done and the dirt’s going to fly soon.”
Skees has no definitive plans after retirement, but said he will keep busy with his hobbies. He enjoys reading science fiction novels, listening to jazz and exercising.
What will he miss most about CMU?
“I’ll miss the people. SCS and CMU have been wonderful places to work. It’s been a very good ride,” he said.
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