$300,000 Usibelli gift benefits power plant employees

August 29, 2018

UAF photo by JR Ancheta. Usibelli Coal Mine President and CEO Joe Usibell Jr. and University of Alaska Fairbanks Chancellor Dan White stand with rendering of the new training classroom at the UAF combined heat and power plant.

A $300,000 donation from Usibelli Coal Mine will improve the working environment for employees at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ new combined heat and power plant.

The donation is being announced today at an open house at the plant, which is slated to begin operations later this year.

“The health, working environment and safety of our employees is core to everything we do at Usibelli Coal Mine. We are excited that this gift can provide the funds needed to upgrade existing locker rooms and create an additional room that will be used for breaks, trainings and safety meetings,” said Joe Usibelli Jr., president and CEO of Usibelli Coal Mine. “Our partnership with the university allows Usibelli Coal Mine to share our values with the employees that work hard to provide electricity, heating and cooling at the UAF campus in Fairbanks.”

The plans for the heat and power plant project initially included a new administrative wing, but that part of the new building was removed from the project for budget reasons. The Usibelli donation enabled the university to build a training classroom in the new plant and remodel the staff locker rooms in the Atkinson Building.

“The new heat and power plant is an exciting step into the future with vastly improved technology, efficiencies and environmental advances,” said Chilkoot Ward, UAF director of utilities. “Taking care of our employees is also a priority.”

Training is an integral part of running a safe and consistent operation, Ward said. The classroom will also serve as a break room when it’s not being used for classes.

UAF photo by JR Ancheta. From left, members of the the Usibelli Coal Mine management team Glen Weaver, Buki Wright, Alan Renshaw, Lorali Simon, Rob Brown, Fred Wallis, Lisa Herbert, Billy Graham and Joe Usibelli Jr. pose in front of the turbine at the new combined heat and coal plant at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

“Having a room specifically designed for training that will fit all of our crew members is a true gift,” he said. “A designated break room is also critical when you are running a 24-7 operation. Operators cannot leave the plant during their 12-hour shifts, so having a place to cool off and get rehydrated is important.”

The new locker rooms will have showers and enough space to hold workers’ gear. The project also makes significant upgrades to the women’s locker room. In the 1960s, when the Atkinson Building was built, women operators and mechanics were rare, Ward said. “Now, thanks largely to the process technology and diesel classes at the UAF Community and Technical College, we often have women working in the plant.”

Usibelli Coal Mine and the Usibelli family are longtime UAF partners, supporting scholarships for students, faculty awards, capital projects and other university initiatives.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Lisa Herbert, Usibelli Coal Mine vice president of public relations, 907-457-0232, lisa@usibelli.com