Many AU students may not visually recognize Peter Schline, but most recognize his voice.
Schline is AU's Director of Communications Services and is the man behind many of the voice mails and x1100 - the extension virtually every student dials hoping for snow and class cancellations.
Messages are sent out to the entire residence hall community through "a voice mail broadcast system," Schline said. The system is broken down into two parts, one for the faculty and staff and the other for students.
The system is set up so that Schline broadcasts messages to the faculty and staff and Jeff Humphrey, associate director of Housing and Dining Programs, broadcasts to the students.
"However, the voice on extension 1100 is always me," Schline said. "Extension 1100 is used only in emergency situations, such as the menace ... named Isabel. A couple of years ago, we had no bad weather at all. I lost a lot of friends that year."
The extension announces daily whether classes will be delayed or cancelled.
Some messages are sent at 3 a.m. through a new feature in the voice mail system, he said. Until a couple of years ago, when the system was updated, messages would be sent out all at once causing the system to overload. Now, messages are sent out periodically, allowing all residence hall students to receive them within an hour of being sent, Schline said.
Schline began his telecommunications career at Southwestern Bell in Houston, Texas. Following his job there, he transferred to Bell Atlantic and then to AT&T. In 1993, Schline was named Telecommunications Director at AU. Telecommunications is now part of e-operations, Schline said.
Some students appreciate Schline's work.
"I do use the voice mail and 1100 system," freshman Liz Menscher said. "I find the voice on the other line pleasant and polite."
Schline also manages AU's audio-visual department and its phone systems. He installs wiring for teachers who have moved into offices and makes sure AU's pay phones work properly.
Schline said he enjoys working at AU because of the people.
"The customers we assist, whether it be students, faculty or staff, seem to appreciate our level of service we attempt to provide," he said. "AU is a nice place to work, full of good, friendly people."
However, there's another side to the mild-voiced man - and it goes "vroom."
"One of my favorite hobbies is motorcycles," Schline said. "I love them."
He is proud to show off his 1970 Triumph Bonneville to everyone who passes his desk.
Still, most students know him for his work over AU's phone lines than anything else.
"I use the voice mail system every day," Christina Wright said. "I am hardly ever in my room so it comes in handy often."
Freshman Micah Winograd agrees.
"I think that it was a good idea to establish the 1100 system," Winograd said. "More schools should have it"
