Meet David Guth, Interim Senior Associate Director of Operations at the Illini Union, and member of the Education SWATeam.
Guth has been at the University of Illinois and the Illini Union for more than 10 years. For most of that time, he’s been a member of the Illini Union’s senior leadership team, leading capital planning, renovations, project management, and general operations. Prior to coming to the University of Illinois, he was a project manager at Carle Foundation Hospital.
“I have a passion for improving student learning outcomes, and have built innovative co-curricular programs and partnerships with the School of Architecture Graduate Program,” Guth said. “This affords our architectural student workers the opportunity to work on complex, high-level, real-world problems. For example, to better understand our facilities and prepare for near term and future large renovations, we have reverse-engineered our buildings’ collective 80 years of paper record documents into a 3D solid Building Information Model. I am passionate about sustainability and have mentored student interns focused on improving sustainability programming and education through Illini Union Board.”
As a member of the Education SWATeam, Guth hopes to integrate efforts across campus to significantly improve sustainability education and outreach to students, staff, faculty, and community members alike.
Guth and his team aim to challenge and stretch both our collective understanding and commitment to implementing sustainable practices as a campus as well as making personal changes in our daily routines.
“We are at a tipping point in the arc of history regarding human civilization’s impact on the Earth. Both collectively and as individuals, we need to make substantial changes to our daily living now if we want to leave the world a more livable, equitable place for future generations.”