University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Rose Marie LoGrasso (in pink) is surrounded by her staff, who say she appreciates their hard work and treats them like “people instead of a number.” Photo: NANCY J. PARISI

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• “I feel a sense of value as an employee here at the residence halls, and I want my staff and others to feel the same. That is the most important thing to have at any job you work.”

  Rose Marie LoGrasso

  Supervising Janitor, Residence Halls and Apartments

By CHARLOTTE HSU

Published: May 19, 2010

Rose Marie LoGrasso knows how tough the job of a custodian is. She has emptied garbage and scrubbed bathrooms and kitchens. She remembers that when she started as a cleaner at UB 32 years ago, she would spend 12-hour shifts during closing weekends in residence halls bagging and hauling trash that students moving out had left behind.

So now, as a supervisor, LoGrasso pays special attention to showing appreciation for her staff, whether by bringing in donuts for team meetings or keeping notes when employees excel or put in extra effort on a job. (That way, she says, she won’t forget to recognize positive contributions when she is drafting annual evaluations.) LoGrasso has even established an annual tradition of taking workers out to breakfast at Amherst’s Family Tree restaurant—using her own money—to honor their accomplishments.

It’s no surprise, then, that LoGrasso got word late last month that she had received a 2010 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service.

She calls her colleagues “great people” and says they are one reason she has remained at the university for so long. And though she won’t brag about it, she is one reason that they have stayed, too. One recent afternoon, the four crew members who clean the Goodyear residence hall on the South Campus gathered, during a break, to discuss the difference LoGrasso has made in their lives at UB.

“She’s very caring. She enjoys everybody’s company and she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty to help us get anything done,” says Owen Stuart, a cleaner.

Gloria Drabik, another cleaner jumps in: “She’s very honest and dependable and reliable. You can go to her and talk to her about any kind of problem and you don’t have to be afraid that she’s going to repeat it anywhere else.”

All four Goodyear staffers—Drabik, Stuart, Zdzislawa Wasinksi and Elzbieta Kolkiewicz—also laud their boss for making the work environment fun when possible. LoGrasso has organized employee recognition events with awards that include letters and ribbons, a Halloween luncheon and a Christmas get-together at Family Tree, they say.

“She used her own money to treat us,” Kolkiewicz says, nodding.

“It means,” Drabik says, “that she appreciates us and that she cares about us.”

“We’re people instead of a number,” Stuart adds.

LoGrasso calls custodial staff one of the “hardest working groups of people” at the university. She oversees about 20 employees, conducting walk-throughs to inspect the work of the Goodyear team, as well as crews in Clement, MacDonald, Pritchard and Schoellkopf halls. She also helps to ensure that all repair and maintenance needs in her buildings are reported.

She says she can’t remember exactly when she became a supervisor—maybe 15 or 20 years ago. Today, her duties include collaborating with other managers to prepare buildings for renovation projects and summer events. For custodians, the once-dreaded closing weekend—while still busy—is now much more organized, LoGrasso says. Departing residents leave fewer items behind. Bins are available for clothing donations, and students can recycle or sell their books.

“Everything is not just tossed in the trash,” LoGrasso says. “The university became greener and better because of ideas and input shared year after year.”

“I feel a sense of value as an employee here at the residence halls, and I want my staff and others to feel the same. That is the most important thing to have at any job you work,” she says. “Otherwise, morale goes down and the atmosphere is not what it should be. High morale gives high results.