Chancellor Ponder (left) and Board of Trustees Chair Janice Brumit (right) join Helen Millar in the ribbon cutting ceremony of the Sam Millar Facilities Management Complex

Ireland native Sam Millar brought his Celtic charm to UNC Asheville in 1971, and the campus hasn't been the same since.

Millar, who died in 1998, served as University Engineer for 15 years overseeing all of the campus facilities. When not spearheading institutional improvements, Millar was busy founding and coaching the University's first intercollegiate men's soccer team. On Thursday, Sept. 20, UNC Asheville formally dedicated the new Facilities Management Complex in his honor. It is the first campus building named for an employee.

The Sam Millar Facilities Management Complex is a $6.5 million project funded by the 2000 Higher Education Bond Referendum. Construction began in 2005 and was completed earlier this year. The 27,660-square-foot complex, made up of three buildings, is home to some 115 employees working in 18 trade fields, including grounds, housekeeping, plumbing and mail services.

"Sam Millar was the first director of our facilities staff. When he was appointed in 1971, the size of our former Physical Plant may well have been perfectly adequate. But the campus has grown tremendously since then and so, of course, has the size of the staff to support it," said Janice Brumit, UNC Asheville Board of Trustees chair. "The Facilities Management staff is well known to be a close-knit group, and not only because they were in such small quarters! It is a joy and honor to provide them with this wonderful new space, where I know they will continue to do a stellar job of supporting the vital infrastructure of our great campus."

Georgena Millar thanks the University for honoring her late father with the naming of the Sam Millar Facilities Management Complex

Like the emerald hills of Millar's homeland, the complex bearing his name is also "green." The Sam Millar Facilities Management Complex incorporates a number of environmentally sustainable design features. In fact, the complex is so green that the University is pursuing LEED Silver Certification. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. Certification is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council to projects that demonstrate a high level of environmental sustainability in design and operation.

The Sam Millar Facilities Complex features solar panels, a gray water cistern, bioretention ponds, recycled cotton batt insulation and pervious pavements. The complex is also equipped with geothermal heating and cooling. This new technology, also known as a ground-source heat pump system, operates by continuously circulating liquid through a system of 12 pipes bored 450 feet into the ground. The earth’s constant 58-degree temperature is used to warm the building in winter and cool it in the summer. In winter, a series of heat pumps extract warmth from the circulating liquid to warm the air. During the summer, heat is extracted from the air and carried underground through the closed loop system.

Maintenance Mechanic James Wise (right) explains the geothermal heat pumps to guests at the Sam Millar Facilities Management Complex dedication ceremony

Millar's wife and children took a tour of the facility before the dedication ceremony and got a chance to see some of the green features and meet the employees who work at the complex.

"Dad would especially be happy that this is a green building. That would have really sparked his love for it," said daughter Georgena Millar.

She said that if Millar were alive he would have shared the honor with his employees. "He would say, 'This honor is bestowed not on me but is bestowed on every one of the staff members – past and present – who worked here and make this University the great institution that it is.'"

Born in Belfast, Ireland, Millar served in the Civil Defense during World War II. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1946 and was stationed at posts around the world. While in the RAF, he was commissioned as a lay preacher in the English Methodist Church. In the late 1950s, Millar immigrated to the United States with his family and was employed at Warren Wilson College until joining the staff at UNC Asheville. Millar played soccer internationally and brought his love of the game to Western North Carolina. He founded soccer programs at Warren Wilson College and UNC Asheville, as well pioneering programs at area high schools. Additionally, Millar was an active member and elder of Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church.

Solar panels on the side of the Sam Millar Facilities Management Complex soak up the sun during the dedication ceremony

The Sam Millar Facilities Management Complex designer is Brown & Jones Architects of Raleigh. General contractor is Buncombe Construction Company Inc. of Asheville; mechanical and plumbing contractor is Industrial Maintenance Overflow Corporation of Fletcher; and electrical contractor is Emory Electric Inc. of Asheville. 

 

 

Sidebar:

In 2000, North Carolina voters approved a $3.1 billion Higher Education Bond Referendum, securing funds for capital construction projects on the 16 campuses of The University of North Carolina, the 59 community colleges and UNC-TV. UNC Asheville received $49.9 million for projects, including technology infrastructure expansion, completed in November 2002; upgrades to the campus electric systems, completed in January 2003; Highsmith University Union, completed in August 2004; New Hall, completed in January 2006; Zageir Hall renovations, completed in May 2007; and the Zeis Science and Multimedia Building which is slated for completion next year.