Charles Beverly: Keeping UNT students' homes away from home maintained

Being a quality assurance technician means more than just repair work for Charles Beverly. It allows him to continue improving the living conditions of students.

For four years, Beverly has worked in housing maintenance, repairing the buildings and rooms more than 4,000 students call home. Before joining the department, he worked in central receiving.

"I had built railroad cars so many years, I was tired of looking at them," he says. "I loved doing maintenance work, so I came here. I thought, 'Why not have more fun?'"

Most of the renovations that Beverly and his team work on are completed when students are on holiday or summer breaks to ensure maximum efficiency with the least amount of hassle for students. The rest of the year he spends his time conducting routine maintenance work and repairs.

He is preparing to work this summer on his largest renovation project: Kerr Hall. Beverly, along with about 50 technicians, will be replacing all the plumbing and carpeting on seven floors of the building. They will also be installing new lighting in the cafeteria.

"If I go to a hall and something needs to be done, I do it," he says. "These dorms are the kids' homes. We need to try to make them look as good as we can."

Last summer, Beverly worked on renovating the exterior of Maple Hall. The front patio area of Maple is now landscaped with flowers, shrubs and benches. He also worked on the renovation of the interior foyer area of Clark Hall. He says a perk of working in housing is the recognition from students.

"It is really fruitful," Beverly says. "The kids out here are appreciative that you do something for them. They even notice if we put new paint on the wall. Housing is just a super place to work. Everybody works together."

Aside from work at UNT, Beverly enjoys carpentry as a hobby and likes spending time with his family. He has been married for 36 years and has six children, two of whom work at the university — Charles Beverly Jr., who works in inventory control, and Tammy Beverly, who works in housing maintenance — and 10 grandchildren.

"When they come to visit, they don't want to leave Grandma and Grandpa," he says. "I guess it's because we let them get away with anything."

BY MICHELLE GARCIA paiswri1@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• Coordinating board approves UNT College of Engineering
• Arts patrons give UNT College of Music $1.2 million gift
• Rogers' Story of North Texas updated
• MIT dean to speak at TAMS commencement
• Faculty Senate approves proposal about undergraduate admissions policy
• UNT faculty members offer seminars to local teachers
• Elm Fork Explorer's Camp planned this summer
• UNT professor aids in improving hospital food
• Springtime in Texas means keeping an eye on the sky

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