For 11 years, Diana Robertson has served as director of student housing at the University of Kansas, which has seen many changes and improvements during her tenure. Robertson, who is retiring from the position, has overseen more than 78 million in improvements.

Large-scale destruction is a recurring theme in some of the most memorable moments of Diana Robertson’s career at the University of Kansas.

The early March microburst of 2006 left millions of dollars in damage to the KU campus — including blowing out numerous windows, totaling the roof of at least one entire hall and badly damaging others, not to mention lifting a large air conditioning unit off the roof of Templin Hall and flinging it onto some cars in the parking lot six stories below.

Then in November 2015, she was on Daisy Hill with construction crews for a front-row view of 10-story, three-wing, 220,000-square-foot McCollum Hall being imploded in a matter of seconds.

Although memorable, however, those events are not the most rewarding for Robertson, who is retiring June 27 after 17 years with KU Student Housing, including the past 11 as director.

Rather than destruction, her tenure is more accurately characterized by construction.

Kip Grosshans, KU Student Housing associate director, said Robertson’s handling of the microburst — she “immediately pushed up her sleeves and jumped right in” — illustrated her management ability.

Her responses are “measured and thoughtful,” and she’s able to balance a lot of competing priorities, he said.

“It reminds me of those plates on little sticks that the person has to keep spinning, trying not to let the plate hit the floor,” Grosshans said. “She’s an expert at that. She keeps a lot of details in her head at one time.”

Robertson has overseen more than $178 million in renovation and construction projects at KU.

Newly constructed residential facilities on her watch have been the 700-bed Self and Oswald residence halls on Daisy Hill; McCarthy Hall, the swanky apartment building that is home to the KU’s men’s basketball team and other male students (featuring, naturally, a half-court basketball court just off the lobby); and Krehbiel Scholarship Hall.

Under construction now are the new Central District residence hall and dining center attached to Oliver Hall, which opens to students this fall, and the new Central District apartment building just off 19th Street, which will open in 2018.

Robertson has also been in charge of major renovations at several other residence halls and in KU’s eight older scholarship halls.

“A lot of my time has been spent on facilities,” she said.

That has been rewarding, she said, particularly on Daisy Hill, which was reconfigured along with construction of the new buildings.

“We were transforming Daisy Hill … from a street that was lined with residence halls and parking to a green space that’s really engaging,” she said.

But the facilities themselves are only the “foundation” for KU Student Housing, she said.

Housing programming to boost students’ sense of belonging, academic success, “self-advocacy,” social justice and inclusion awareness adds value to the housing experience, Robertson said. That is part of KU’s overarching mission.

“Retention and graduation — we see ourselves as having an integral role in graduating students,” Robertson said.

Roughly 5,100 students live in KU Student Housing. Robertson also oversees more than 40 full-time employees and close to 350 student employees.

She said another rewarding part of her job has been having graduate assistants who work in KU Student Housing that go on to excel in the housing or student affairs fields.

In the facilities master plan that she’s pursued, Robertson said being good stewards of student dollars is a driving force.

McCollum Hall was one example, she said.

It was a dramatic moment, with some mixed emotions. On one hand, Robertson said she’d generally prefer to restore a building, but in McCollum’s case that did not make the most financial sense.

“When it happened it was really jaw-dropping for me,” she said. “It was one of those moments where I didn’t want to see it go, but I was excited about what we were creating in the process.”