Did you Know? Q&A – meet a different faculty/staff member each month (to familiarize internal audiences with our various programs). This month: interview with Nick Hooper, Director, Facilities and Studio Services.

1. How does your department stand out from others?

Facilities and Studio Services is a pretty broad umbrella department that administers academic needs for the studios and infrastructure and operational needs for the buildings. In most universities, the academic and the facilities sides of the house are very separate. 

2. Why is your department important to OCAD U?

We look after all kinds of things that people rely on, but don’t generally want to worry about – garbage removal, room setups, snow clearing, health and safety in the studios, heating and cooling… it’s a long list.

3. What is the biggest misconception about your department?

I think because we function behind-the-scenes as much as possible, it’s not apparent what kind of effort and planning goes into all of the operational needs of the university facilities. We’re most successful when we’re the least noticeable, so it’s hard for people to know exactly what we do.

4. What are some of the important issues you are currently facing?

There are some very important big picture issues we’re trying to address with the resources we have. Sustainability is very important – reducing landfill through diversion to recycling and composting; reducing energy consumption through scheduling of heating and cooling and upgrading of equipment; encouraging as much re-use of materials in the studios as possible.

On a more operational level, we’re working on making our communications with the OCAD U community clearer, allowing for better understanding of everyone’s requirements for curriculum, events, projects, etc. OCAD U is a very dynamic place and communicating is the key for us all working together!

5. What are you reading these days?

I always have a few things on the go… I’m reading Charles Perrow’s Normal Accidents, which is an amazing and sometimes disturbing analysis of how complicated technological systems (like 3 Mile Island or Chernobyl) can fail.

Also, my wife Lauren and I are reading Zona by Geoff Dyer which is an in-depth study (with lots of digressions) of Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker – one of the most intense post-apocalyptic-existential films ever made about nothing happening. This one definitely requires at least two minds and lots of discussion.

Nick Hooper

Poster: 
nick hooper
Date: 
Thursday, February 27, 2020 - 11:15am
Display Location: 
Image: 
easels
Constituency: 
Keywords: 
easels
Did you Know? Q&A
Thursday February 27th, 2020

Did you Know? Q&A – meet a different faculty/staff member each month (to familiarize internal audiences with our various programs). This month: interview with Nick Hooper, Director, Facilities and Studio Services.

1. How does your department stand out from others?

Facilities and Studio Services is a pretty broad umbrella department that administers academic needs for the studios and infrastructure and operational needs for the buildings. In most universities, the academic and the facilities sides of the house are very separate. 

2. Why is your department important to OCAD U?

We look after all kinds of things that people rely on, but don’t generally want to worry about – garbage removal, room setups, snow clearing, health and safety in the studios, heating and cooling… it’s a long list.

3. What is the biggest misconception about your department?

I think because we function behind-the-scenes as much as possible, it’s not apparent what kind of effort and planning goes into all of the operational needs of the university facilities. We’re most successful when we’re the least noticeable, so it’s hard for people to know exactly what we do.

4. What are some of the important issues you are currently facing?

There are some very important big picture issues we’re trying to address with the resources we have. Sustainability is very important – reducing landfill through diversion to recycling and composting; reducing energy consumption through scheduling of heating and cooling and upgrading of equipment; encouraging as much re-use of materials in the studios as possible.

On a more operational level, we’re working on making our communications with the OCAD U community clearer, allowing for better understanding of everyone’s requirements for curriculum, events, projects, etc. OCAD U is a very dynamic place and communicating is the key for us all working together!

5. What are you reading these days?

I always have a few things on the go… I’m reading Charles Perrow’s Normal Accidents, which is an amazing and sometimes disturbing analysis of how complicated technological systems (like 3 Mile Island or Chernobyl) can fail.

Also, my wife Lauren and I are reading Zona by Geoff Dyer which is an in-depth study (with lots of digressions) of Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker – one of the most intense post-apocalyptic-existential films ever made about nothing happening. This one definitely requires at least two minds and lots of discussion.

Nick Hooper

OCAD University
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