When Les Ali looks up from his desk at campus Lost and Found, he never knows what awaits him. It could be a student come to reclaim a briefcase and shed tears of relief-or a visitor who goes ballistic when a lost wallet fails to show up in the unit's master log. They're mad at me because they're mad at themselves. Hero and villain are two of the roles conferred on the Lost and Found coordinator by distraught owners of missing wallets, key rings, backpacks, eye glasses and large sums of cash in small bills. Another role is that of sleuth, using identification found in a purse or wallet to track down the owner.
Organizational specialist is another.
I'm a structured guy. Some 4,000 lost items come through campus Lost and Found each year. Ali logs and stores items securely for up to 90 days, after which unclaimed property goes to Campus Excess and Salvage for its annual fall auction and garage sale. It's either here or not. If it's not here, we don't have to have a great discussion.