Facilities Management invites the campus community to join a retirement celebration in honor of Sheela Backen, the program manager for Integrated Solid Waste who has led the way in campus sustainability.

The event will be held on Thursday, Dec. 2 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Lory Student Center Ballroom D. Light refreshments will be served. 

During her career, Backen has made an everlasting impact on CSU and Facilities Management.

She started at the University in 1995, and in 1997 she stepped into the Integrated Solid Waste (ISW) manager position just in time for the historic flood that happened that same year.

Under Backen’s leadership, the Colorado Association for Recycling awarded Facilities Management’s ISW Program the Outstanding Government Recycling/Waste Diversion Program Award.

In 1995, Backen, two full-time employees and a handful of students using a single cube truck started recycling cardboard. ISW now has 12 full-time employees and uses several garbage trucks to collect trash and recycling around campus.

Backen works with passion and pride; there is no doubt that sustainability and supporting our campus have been her driving forces.

CSU and Facilities Management cannot thank Sheela enough for all she has done for our campus.