Taking the LEED
Environmental sustainability may be an elemental part of his job, but don’t call Mike Reca “green.” Rider’s new associate vice president for Facilities and Auxiliary Services is no stranger to either the Lawrenceville or Princeton campuses, having learned both inside and out during his 18 years at the University.
Reca, who assumed his new post on April 14, does have green business on his mind when he discusses the future of Rider’s infrastructure. “Once the Master Plan is formally adopted, it’s going to really infuse a new chapter in sustainability here,” he explained, explaining how the soon-to-be-built West Village Residence Halls provide a clear look into the future. “I’m impressed by how well it works across the board. Look at West Village – you can’t just look at it and tell that it’s sustainable, but it’s going to be a LEED Silver Certified building.”
It’s all part of the promise Rider made when President Mordechai Rozanski signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, which said that all further campus construction would be certified by the U.S. Green Building Councils’ Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Ratings System. The ratings system is thorough and all-inclusive, says Reca, right down to caulking. “Projects like West Village earn points toward different levels of ratings,” he explained. “They look at what types of concrete you’re using, to insulation and mechanical systems and whether or not you’re using Energy Star-rated appliances. Even things like carpets and caulk, whether they are recycled or emit off-gas, matter.”
The West Village project also earned media attention recently when it was announced that draft horses would be used to pull felled trees from the site to begin them on their journey toward Citilogs, an environmentally friendly lumber milling company in Pittstown, N.J. “Using horses instead of mechanized power earned us an extra LEED point,” Reca said. “And using Citilogs saved us money. If they can find a buyer – and it looks like they already have – our cost is almost cut in half. And even if they don’t, we have years to then use that wood for our own construction projects.”
Reca says that contracting Spiezle Architectural Group of Trenton to design the West Village residence halls was also a master stroke in efficient, green planning as well. “Spiezle is probably the foremost authority on the subject, among architectural firms,” he explained. “Jason Kliwinski, the firm’s director of Sustainable Design, helped write the LEED regulations for the state of New Jersey and his breadth and depth of knowledge on the subject have been a tremendous resource to us. He helped us secure every rebate, grant and incentive we were eligible for in pursuit of green construction.”
While sustainability and other environmental buzzwords have more recently come to the fore of public perceptions, Reca has been studying his craft on college campuses for more than 20 years. After five years as the assistant manager of Housing Operations at The College of New Jersey in nearby Ewing, he began work at Rider in January 1990 as the manager of Residence Services and Facilities and has since worked progressively through the Facilities ladder in Lawrenceville. Reca also spent two years as the manager of Facilities on the Princeton campus following Rider’s merger with Westminster Choir College in 1992. He had been Rider’s assistant vice president for Facilities Planning and Auxiliary Services since 2004 when he was promoted last month.
“Mike’s leadership and support of the campus master planning efforts, as well as his role in the effective completion of complicated renovation, improvement and environmental projects, have all supported the overall growth of the University,” said Julie Karns, vice president for Finance and Treasurer, following Reca’s appointment. “He is an effective collaborator, a strong leader and very committed to Rider’s success, and I’m confident he will be a strong contributor to Rider’s renewal.”
Reca’s familiarity with the Princeton campus is fortunate, as he is charged with oversight not only of Rider’s 280 acres in Lawrenceville, but of the 23 in Princeton as well. Still, he acknowledges that the more mature, established infrastructure at Westminster lends itself better to regular maintenance and updates than of widespread new construction. Lawrenceville, Reca says, remains fertile ground for continued upgrades, as evidenced by the West Village construction.
“The future is an opportunity for Rider to progress,” said Reca, who added that in the interest of architectural continuity, new construction will likely be based on current structures. “We like to pull the best elements of each building into the plans when we build new ones.”
In this vein, another project soon to begin is the refacing of Daly’s Dining Hall, whose façade will be rebuilt to stylistically resemble the fronts of the adjacent Alumni Gymnasium and Student Recreation Center.
At the heart of Rider’s purpose, however, is academics, and Reca said that creating an environment conducive to learning is what ultimately fuels Facilities. “Inside all our walls, we’re continuing the process of mass upgrades,” he said. “We’ve done a great deal of aesthetic work – lights, carpeting, paint, furniture and technology – you could call it an instant makeover, if you wanted. We want to create and ensure a consistency in furnishings and technology throughout our classrooms so that any teacher can walk into any classroom and teach in that space. Our goal is to eliminate distractions and have a comfortable teaching environment.”
