AnnualReport2023_FINAL_2

Excellent Service
Excellent Stewardship
Operations Division Annual Report - FY23
Employee Spotlight:
Bill Adling
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DISCOVERING
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
In 1964, Bill Adling wasn’t quite sure
where he wanted to attend college.
The rest of his friends had enrolled at
Texas A&M University, but he knew
that wasn’t where he was meant to be.
It took just one flip through a Texas
Technological College catalog to be
intrigued by the architecture program
and it was decided: He was going to
Texas Tech. But the first two years of
the architecture program threw him into
unfamiliar territory.
“I was totally green,” Adling said. “The
first two years of architecture school, you
take the same classes as art majors.”
At his high school in Cisco, Texas, art
was not a subject Bill had ever been
exposed to.
“We didn’t have drafting, or anything
like that,” he said. “So, I’m here at Texas
Tech, taking art classes with students
who are majoring in art. I started at
ground zero.”
But Adling was up for the challenge.
“I surprised myself,” he said. “I held my
own and I passed all my art classes. In
fact, I did pretty well in them.”
Adling had discovered a talent for art he
never knew he had, a talent that would
eventually lead to an enduring passion
for something you might not expect from
an architect: watercolor.
In his free time, Adling enjoys painting
greeting cards for friends and family and
has even shown his watercolor paintings
at galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“It’s something I really enjoy doing,”
he said. “It’s kind of a release.”
ARCHITECTURE CAREER
As a part-time architect in the Operations
Division, Adling is now using his talent as
an artist to benefit Texas Tech.
“I love the Texas Tech campus,” he said.
“I love the organization of the campus
and the Spanish Renaissance style.”
And it is this love for the iconic campus
style that led to Adling’s current role
creating and evaluating design standards
for new construction projects.
NOTABLE PROJECTS
A few of his notable projects include
what was then known as the Food
Science Tower, but is now part of the
College of Human Sciences; the Texas
Tech University School of Law Library
addition; the Flint Avenue Parking
Garage; the Visitors Center addition at
West Hall; the Stangel/Murdough dining
hall renovation; the McKenzie-Merket
Alumni Center; the Bayer Plant Science
Building; and the National Ranching
Heritage Center north addition.
Perhaps the most memorable project
for Adling was the renovation of the
President’s Office, located in the
Administration Building, in 1996 for
President Donald Harrigan.
“It had an elegant Spanish Renaissance
interior with nice columns,” Adling said.
“Over the years, they had covered all of
that up.”
During the renovation, Adling removed
the drywall to reveal beautiful wooden
beams in the ceilings and intricate handcarved
columns. An artisan was brought
in to patch and recarve the columns
where damage had occurred and
alcoves were created to emphasize these
previously hidden gems.
From designs carved in stone, to designs
made with water, Adling has contributed
to the beauty and history of the campus
in ways that will endure into the next
century and beyond.
DESIGNING THE OPERATIONS
DIVISION ORNAMENT
Each year, the Operations Division
creates an ornament that is given to
employees for the holidays. When Adling
was approached with a request to
design the 2022 ornament, he was
happy to help.
The vision was to create a watercolor
painting of the Double T Bench and
Governor Preston Smith statue located
in the Administration Building Courtyard.
Using a drone image of the area as
his guide, Adling first sketched out the
design, then added watercolor to bring
the painting to life.
Over 500 ornaments were produced
and shared for all Operations Division
employees to enjoy.