TSC director to resign at months end

TSC Director Ray Cheatham announced he will be stepping down from his position on Nov. 30. Starting Dec. 1, Housing Facilities Director David Marshall will take his place as interim director. 

“Cheatham submitted a letter of resignation on Nov. 4, and his last day is Nov. 30. Staff have been informed, and an interim plan is being developed to ensure coverage of TSC management and operations. Staff will also receive more information as it is available,” wrote Utah State University Associate Vice President for Strategic Communications Amanda Derito in an email to The Utah Statesman.  

Cheatham and Marshall have not responded to requests for comment. 

Cheatham’s resignation comes on the heels of a group effort by custodians petitioning TSC leadership to make changes to operations they feel they have little say in. JD Schallenkamp, a full-time TSC custodian actively involved in the movement, said the resignation announcement came as a shock to employees. 

“I think that it was definitely something that none of us really had considered,” Schallenkamp said. “We didn’t expect that to happen.” 

According to Schallenkamp, Cheatham has been working with the custodial team to discuss the demands outlined in their petition, which at the time of writing, has received 286 signatures. The custodial team agreed to give hybrid team cleaning and schedule changes a fair trial because of Cheatham’s willingness to work with them. 

“We want to figure out by the end of this year if this new change in times works. If it doesn’t work, we want to change it,” Schallenkamp said. “We want to work on this hybrid team cleaning model, and we want to stay in it, and we want to be able to have our input actually considered.” 

Schallenkamp said since their custodial team started advocating for change, Cheatham has given out raises, been more open to discussion during team meetings and has established differential pay for part-timers, which will go into effect at the end of the month. 

Despite changes they’ve conceded on, custodians are still asking for two new full-time employees and a meaningful voice in workplace decisions. They are also requesting differential pay for full-timers and a financial solution for hourly workers in regard to parking passes. 

On Nov. 2, two days before Cheatham officially announced his resignation, Schallenkamp said the TSC custodial team delivered their petition with its updated demands to his office. They requested a response from him within the week but have yet to hear anything. 

While the Statesman cannot confirm Cheatham’s reasons for resignation, Schallenkamp claimed when he asked Cheatham, “he said he believed this was best for him and his family.” 

Schallenkamp said despite this abrupt change, TSC custodians hope to stay united and continue working towards a solution with the new interim director. 

“Again, most of the demands that we had, most employees already kind of feel like those demands are being met,” Schallenkamp said. “As long as management comes through and makes sure that those demands are met, then you know it shouldn’t be a headache — it shouldn’t be a problem.”