I am as passionate about my job and the people with whom I work today as I was in 1979.
I began working at IUPUI in 1979 as an assistant accounts payable clerk for the Physical Plant. I made $4.06/hour and parking cost $3.00 per month. I have been able to progress in my career and I am now the Senior Financial Manager for Campus Facility Services, with responsibilities for budget construction, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, and the CFS Call Center.
In the early days, everyone knew everyone. I miss that a lot. I really enjoyed the relationships that were built across campus. My mentor was Bob Stewart, director of accounting for IUPUI. Since I was the only person in the business office at the physical plant, Bob was my advisor on all things related to accounting and guided me regarding what I could and should do and what I couldn’t. He was a fine man and became my friend.
My best memory of IUPUI was the National Sports Fest that was held in 1986. It was a huge event and everyone on campus had to pull together to make it a great success. For instance, the Natatorium and the Track & Field were in construction, and the mad rush was on to complete those facilities for the event. I was asked to go to Bloomington to pick up box fans (a truck load of them) to deliver to Butler University and the University of Indianapolis because the athletes were housed in those locations and their buildings were not air conditioned.
I am very proud to say that there has been a Goins working at IUPUI since the beginning; and it's been a family affair. My dad, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, wife, and my four children have all worked here. Three of my children attended IUPUI. Needless to say, IUPUI is home for me.
Joe Goins, Campus Facility Services Staff
These are some of the biggest changes I’ve seen on campus since I was hired in 1979:
- 65 buildings have been built on campus
- There were no personal computers on campus until the late 1980s. Everything was done on paper, manually. For instance, the Physical Plant filled 25 five-drawer file cabinets annually with work order requests, purchase orders, invoices, time cards, etc.
- It used to take 10 to 12 days to correct a billing error on a work order. Now it is instantaneous!
My work at IUPUI has allowed me to participate in many community functions. I was a 4-H leader for 32 years and served on the Purdue/Marion County Extension Board for 19 years. I was the Southdown sheep breed manager for the Indiana State Fair for 24 years and was the director of the Marion County Fair Board for 9 years.
In my opinion, Campus Facility Services’ greatest achievement is that we were able to change our reputation from the “good ole’ boys” to a well-respected, professionally run organization. We have been recognized by other universities and companies as having good facility practices and procedures. We can all hold our heads high with pride in this accomplishment. I am thankful I was able to play a role in that progression.
I am very proud to say that there has been a Goins working at IUPUI since the beginning; and it's been a family affair. My father, William Goins, worked on the then-Purdue Indianapolis campus on 38th street in 1968, prior to the birth of IUPUI in 1969. He worked there for 15 years, until his death.
My dad, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, wife, and my four children have all worked here. Three of my children attended IUPUI. I worked in the Physical Plant building from 1979 until we moved to the Health Sciences building in October 2016. Needless to say, IUPUI is home for me.
Story courtesy of:
Joe Goins
Campus Facility Services Staff
