Douglas “Doug” Pollard, facilities manager for the Health Sciences Learning Center (HSLC) and UW Medical Foundation Centennial Building (MFCB), died unexpectedly on Thursday, Jan. 26, at the age of 59. Doug was a member of the School of Medicine and Public Health community for more than 12 years and will be remembered as a thoughtful, warm, and kind colleague.
Doug was a steady and well-known presence at HSLC and MFCB. In his role as facilities manager, Doug oversaw the security, custodial, grounds, recycling, repairs, maintenance, and utility services of these buildings, ensuring they were safe and productive spaces for faculty, staff, and students to work and learn. These busy facilities have hundreds of offices and conference rooms. HSLC has heavily used instructional spaces and is home to Ebling Library for the Health Sciences.
“Our hearts are broken by the loss of our friend and teammate,” says Mark Wells, SMPH facilities director. “Just a few days ago he was updating me on his work projects and restoring a 260z. Blessings go out to his loved ones. I will miss you, Doug.”
An obituary for Doug can be found on the Gunderson Funeral Home website. A visitation will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Gunderson Funeral Home on Monona Drive in Madison, with a memorial service beginning at 1 p.m. A reception will be held at the McFarland American Legion immediately following the service.
During his daily rounds to respond to a wide spectrum of requests from building occupants, he would often pop by a cubicle, classroom, or office to check in to see if people needed anything. It was characteristic for him to pause for a brief hallway chat, his cell phone beeping every few seconds as new requests came in. Doug always also kept in mind the needs of building visitors who attended events and activities in HSLC or passed through on their way to University Hospital, the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, or other locations on the health sciences complex on west campus.
Doug handled the complexity and fast pace of his role with a can-do attitude and aplomb. On any given day, his tasks ranged from making sure that the HSLC Atrium was set up for a blood drive to ensuring that new employees had their workspace and Wiscard badge access set up, to reconfiguring cubicles and arranging for building repairs. Through this work, he never hesitated to use humor and kind words to brighten the day of his colleagues.
“Doug was such a wonderful member of the SMPH family,” says SMPH Dean Robert N. Golden, MD. “His smile warmed up the HSLC on the coldest days. He will be sorely missed.”
Doug contributed to initiatives critical to the success of the school, including the extensive renovations that took place in the Health Sciences Learning Center in 2017-18 to make the working and learning environments more useful and collaborative.
“Doug Pollard was a wonderful member of our SMPH community who truly embraced and always lived our values,” says Elizabeth Petty, MD, the school’s senior associate dean for academic affairs who often worked with Doug. “He advanced our mission and vision by consistently providing exemplary service and support. His thoughtfulness, responsiveness, kindness, integrity, creativity, and positivity was evident in all he did. It is incredibly hard and sad to imagine SMPH without Doug. My heartfelt condolences to all in our community who knew treasured Doug.”
The SMPH Facilities team is grateful for your support during this time. Should you have requests relating to HSLC or MFCB Facility Manager or maintenance issues, please contact Jess Hisel or complete a work order request.
If you would like to talk to someone confidentially about grief resources that are available, please call the Employee Assistance Office at (608) 263-2987 or visit www.eao.wisc.edu.
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