Doug McCarthy
For The Love of Schools

Doug McCarthy was schooled in facility management at an early age while following his dad’s footsteps as the facility manager at the school district that he attended when he was a kid. Later in life, Doug wound up taking on those responsibilities, in the Osborn School District where he attended so he already knew a lot of the teachers and employees.

“My father told me long ago that while working for schools, you may not make the most money, but you’ll always have a job, a good pension, and the joy of being around young people who are growing up,” Doug said.

Now recently retired and living on a 2 ½ acre ranch in Phoenix, Doug recalled his first facility director role at the Cave Creek Unified School District during the hyper growth period of the early 2000s. When he started at the district, there were four rural schools with 2000 kids and when he left 10 years later, they had 8 schools and 6,000 kids.

“What I learned from working in the district was this: in every education decision, think about students first,” he said.

Eventually Doug “graduated” from K12 to higher education with Phoenix College, which was established in 1920, where he worked in facilities and construction for more than 18 years. The campus had very old and original buildings plus newer buildings, which was the perfect match for Doug.

“Being able to restore 80-year-old buildings to their former glory was very, very gratifying,” said Doug.

Doug’s own education in facility management began with learning all about electronics, sound, and communications in his first career as an electronics technician. Later, he earned a degree in HVAC, then became certified as a construction project manager. He also worked as a locksmith and special systems technician to save money in one of his first positions in the school environment.

At Maricopa College in Phoenix, Doug took a new direction in his career dealing with renovations and construction, which he enjoyed. At Maricopa, he and his team were responsible for million-dollar projects and more than 200 renovations. Doug was particularly proud of the Science Building, a tired and worn-out mid-century building they completely gutted. Students and faculty were involved in the design of the building which wound up being the campus’ greatest laboratory.

Since retiring, Doug has had more time to focus on the fun of restoring vintage cars and electronics.

“I’m working on a 1971 GTO frame-off restoration which will take a couple of years,” he said. “I have other cars, too.”

Doug recalls massive technological shifts throughout his career. He remembers the first facility management software and early electronic CAD drafting tools. He also dealt with rooms full of filing cabinets packed with facility information.

“I’m envious of what the next generation will be able to do with AI. It’ll be so user-friendly and easy to push buttons and pull up historic drawings,” said Doug.

Now in good shape financially, Doug looks back on his 30+ year career fondly, and offered some thoughts for future facilities professionals:

• Have the ability to rotate on a dime and deal with the tragedy of the day calmly
• Always be nimble in your career and your daily work life

 

Explore the experiences of retired facilities professionals in the latest series from ARC Facilities -- Legacy Insights: Wisdom from Retired Facilities Professionals and follow us on LinkedIn.