Leaks and subsequent mold growth in rooms in the Fine Arts Center has for months gone untreated and led to the closure of areas meant to serve the students.
In addition, the heating and air conditioning system meant to prevent such problems is nearly four decades old. John Strybos, Del Mar College vice president of facilities, said plans are in the works to replace the unit but doesn’t have a timeframe yet.
“We have $2 million for deferred maintenance,” Strybos said. “I already have meetings with consultants to develop the plans to address these issues.”
In recent years, the college has continued to build new facilities around campus, but reporting by Foghorn News shows that continued maintenance to resolve the issues has been too costly. Foghorn News also found some issues in the reporting policy that does not account for information being passed back down to those making complaints. Occupants of the room impacted by the mold were the last to find out it was there.
“As far as our long-term plans for the building are concerned, I can tell you that safety for our students, faculty and staff is always our first concern,” Del Mar President Mark Escamilla said in an email to the Foghorn News. “We are fortunate to have a seasoned vice president and chief physical facilities officer, John Strybos, leading this effort. John already has a recommended course of action and the budget to get started.”

MOLD AND REPORTING ISSUES

Heat, humidity, and HVAC unit issues, as well as structural shifts have damaged several buildings on campus. The issue seems to be the worst in the Fine Arts building, where leaks have wreaked havoc for at least a decade, according to staff in the building.
Occupation of the building began in the summer of 1989, but the leak issues began after an addition was completed in 2012.
Reports indicate that anywhere the original building meets the newer additions, leaks occur. Moisture gets trapped between the walls and leads to mold growth. The leaks themselves have led to the inability to use some of these newer spaces in the addition.
Corpus Christi’s humid climate already presents perfect conditions for growth of mold, so these maintenance issues only perpetuate its advancement.
Currently, the Digital Media Department has one room completely quarantined due to mold growth. A computer room also has half of the electrical outlets disengaged due to safety concerns regarding water reaching the outlets. The Art and Drama Department has had the Bartlett Theater shut down since September 2023 due to floor degradation from water leaks as well as mold growth. Signs and caution tape warn those who would enter to contact maintenance.
Several staff members declined to comment on this story. Others told Foghorn News that once they made a complaint, they are rarely contacted with discuss resolutions or to follow up on time frames.
And some faculty members in the impacted building were the last to know they’d been for months working in a suite with a mold contamination.
In January, Rachel Jennische, Radio and TV instructor, made a complaint after discovering a mold problem in room 163D of the Fine Arts Center, where she works.
“I kept hearing a weird sound,” Jennische said. She soon found that the sound she was hearing was the wall falling apart due to a leak. “I reported it and that was the last I heard.”
Jennische contacted Building Manager Roseanne Ramsey on Jan. 24. Ramsey immediately took videos of the leak on her phone and sent them, and a report via text to Janet Morris, associate director of maintenance, who contacted someone to bring buckets to collect excess water leaking from the wall.
That was the last Ramsey or Jennische heard on the issue.
In April, painters were contracted to repaint some of the rooms in the Fine Arts building. According to Jennische, someone came by and put up caution tape and warning signs saying “Do not enter.” No one told her why. A month later, Jennische put in a request to have new computers hooked up in one of her rooms.
It wasn’t until July 15 that IT staffers let her know they were warned not to enter the suite.
“They delivered the Macs and monitors, where do you want them set up? FA163 is not available, mold” an IT staffer who is no longer working at Del Mar told Jennische in a text message.
This is how Jennische found out that she had been working next to mold for the last seven months. Other faculty on campus expressed concern with the process.
“It feels to me they should have told the department chair,” said Paul Bissel, Professor of sound recording technology. “How the hell did they find out before the people that were affected?” referring to the IT staffers who warned Jennische.

COMMUNICATIONS FAILURE

Here’s how the chain of information is supposed to proceed: Anyone can make a complaint about air quality or mold sightings. Students, too, can inform faculty or staff, who are then supposed to inform the building manager. The building manager then reports the issue up the chain of command. In this case, Ramsey, the building manager, reported it up to Morris.
It’s unclear if Del Mar has a policy to ensure that affected parties are aware of potential mold issues like this. None of the people interviewed for this story seemed to know of one.
The information never made it back to Jennische, who continued to work in the suite, assuming that if there were a problem, she would be contacted.
When being informed through IT, that there was mold in the room, Jennische contacted her department chair, who then contacted Strybos and Jack “Chris” Tweddle, director of environmental health and safety.
Tweddle confirmed he did not personally receive any complaints about the area until late July/August. Emails from former department chair Dale Anderson confirm that he was notified on July 17 by Jennische. After receiving the email, Strybos responded within five minutes telling him that it was already being worked on. Based on staffer’s knowledge of the issue, and the tape and the buckets in that building, it appears those in charge of handling the problem were aware of a potentially hazardous condition, but not alerted to the issue.
“When I found out, I took immediate action,” Tweddle said.

FIXING THE PROBLEMS

In August, seven months after Jennische’s initial complaint, a tape test was conducted on the growth in room 163D. A tape test is a process to examine the amount of mold spores coming from a surface infestation. A piece of adhesive tape is pressed along the affected area, removed, and then examined under a microscope and counted to determine the number of spores being released as well as the type. Results range from “few” to “saturated.” According to Tweddle, the test in room 163D determined that there were few spores on the tape, which is considered safe.
In conjunction with the tape test, an air quality test was also conducted.
“The air sample came back within ranges, meaning it’s not airborne,” Tweddle said. “Based on that info, I opened the suite except for room 163D.”
According to an email from Tweddle, the type of mold in the room was determined to be Paecilomyses lilacinus.
“It is a common fungus associated with tropical and subtropical soils,” Tweddle wrote.
According to a 2006 study published on the National Health Institute website, the fungus Paecilomyces lilacinus can be considered an emerging pathogen responsible for cases of oculomycosis in humans, a type of fungal eye infection.
Fortunately, according to Tweddle, the spores had not fruited. The persistence of the leak kept the area damp, which prevents the spores from drying out and becoming airborne. The environment was determined to be safe, Tweddle said.
The World Health Organization, National Academy of Medicine, and National Toxicology Program all confirm that occupants of damp, moldy buildings have an increased chance of respiratory problems, such as shortness of breath and worsening asthma. The severity of these symptoms depends on the type of mold, amount and duration of exposure, and unique characteristics of individuals in contact.
Some faculty say the lack of communication about how these types of complaints are handled is the crux of the problem. Bissel says a better policy should be developed to ensure this never happens again because next time, the results may not come back favorably for Del Mar.
“I don’t think anyone is trying to kill people,” Bissel said. “But I don’t think procedures were followed here. Balls get dropped a lot.”