Zoe Prescott has moved from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, San Diego, and Omaha, but that 4,410-mile journey pales to her biggest move of only a few blocks.
During the past year, Prescott coordinated the move of 62 principal investigators and staff – 315 people in all – into the new, 289,000-square-foot Durham Research Center. In addition, four basic science administrative hubs were moved and seven “core” facilities were moved, including two tissue banks.
“This was truly a monumental task,” said a handful of researchers who nominated Prescott for the October Chancellor’s Gold ‘U’ Award, which recognizes the outstanding performances of UNMC employees. Prescott is one of eight project managers in UNMC Facilities Management and Planning.
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Throughout the project, Prescott served as liaison between faculty, departmental administrators, public groups, medical center administration and the entire construction team. A job she skillfully did with efficiency, diplomacy and humor.
“The goal was to make it as effortless as possible for those moving in so they could essentially: plug, unpack and play,” said Prescott, who began planning the move a year in advance. “It really was a major team effort. I couldn’t have done it had I not had the quality of people helping.”
In the end, Prescott and her team relocated investigators from 11 departments and consolidated people from 11 different buildings on campus into the 10-level building.
“Her expertise and knowledge base are truly remarkable,” nominators said. “She kept all parties completely informed on each phase of the move preparations as well as on issues related to the transport and service of specific items of equipment,” which ranged from large core facilities to freezers to computers.
The Harrisburg, Pa., native studied journalism and physics at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., before transferring to Los Angeles, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology from California State Polytechnic University near Pomona.
For nine years, she managed new commercial construction projects in California and Hawaii, building labs, libraries, high-rise tenant improvements, schools, the Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail and the J. Paul Getty Center in Los Angeles. She also organized corporate relocations, including the San Diego complex of defense contractor Raytheon Company.
Prescott and her Nebraska-born husband moved to Omaha in 2001. Prescott, expecting the couple’s first child, searched for a job to no avail before calling the medical center, where she was hired on a temporary basis until her son, Gabe, was born. Several months later, at the urging of UNMC officials, she returned on a part time basis, but said: “It’s difficult to manage construction three days a week.” By the summer of 2002, she had returned to work full time.
“I’m a social butterfly when it comes to construction,” Prescott said. “The best way to communicate with people is face to face.”
Running about campus in her orange, suede and satin checkered sneakers, Prescott supervises construction of various architectural and engineering projects at UNMC, including renovation of the former laundry building at 42nd and Emile streets and replacement of the cooling tower on the Central Utility Plant. Next on the drawing board is managing a masonry and roof replacement project in Swanson Hall, renovating the Campus Training Center and assisting with electrical upgrades in Wittson Hall.
She also writes competitive federal grant proposals for renovations funding.
Besides work and family, the self-proclaimed city girl is pursuing an executive MBA program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Colleagues know Prescott as a practical joker who enjoys insects, as evidenced by the variety of mounted beetles on her office wall; international foods; sports; exotic cooking; museums; and new cultures.
The construction field, however, has captivated Prescott, who enjoys seeing the tangible results. “It’s very satisfying to go from two-dimensional to three-dimensional,” she said.