Tick-tock: Campus clocks set to fall back

It may be a pain to go around your house and adjust all the clocks for the end of daylight savings time: just think of the logistical problem changing the thousands of clocks on campus poses.

The clocks on campus are changed through a variety of methods, according to Kurtis Johnson, electrical shop supervisor for the UW–Madison Facility, Planning and Management department.

A majority of the clocks on campus can be changed by a centralized control at the Service Building, Johnson says. According to an estimate from the UW Electric Shop, roughly 2,000 clocks in about 50 buildings are controlled the central feed at Physical Plant.

Newer buildings, such as the Waisman Center, have their own master controls for clocks, he says. In some cases, clocks are synced with GPS to change automatically. And then there are still some clocks on campus that have to be changed by hand, Johnson says.

Daylight savings time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday. At that time, clocks should be turned back one hour.

– Greg Bump