¹ú²úAV

Fellow Bears, 

Maintaining open lines of communication with members of the ¹ú²úAV community is among our top priorities. In order to listen and learn from faculty and staff, we held open forums with each of the five colleges and the University Libraries throughout the fall semester. A theme that emerged from these conversations was that efforts started in 2020 to restructure administrative services were due for a review to ensure that academic units, and ultimately our students, are being effectively served. In response, we asked Marshall Parks, project coordinator for the Division of Finance and Administration, and Jordan Barkley, vice provost for academic resources and planning, to gather information about how the Administrative Service Centers (ASC) model is functioning and to recommend changes. Their efforts over the past five months include the following: 

• Administering a survey that went to all full and part-time faculty members via the faculty distribution list and reviewing the 115 responses submitted. 
• Holding focus group meetings with staff representing the ASC functions including Accounting Specialists, Business Operations Managers, Communication Specialists, and Human Resources Specialists. 
• Participating in a conversation with deans to better understand their support services needs.

Based on the information gathered, a number of key recommendations were made. We accepted these recommendations and have already taken steps to begin implementation: 

1. Add capacity to the existing ASC structure so that colleges are no longer expected to share communication specialists. As a result of investments made during the FY24 budget planning process, each college will have a dedicated communication specialist position as of July 1, 2023. 
2. Review with University Advancement’s Marketing and Communications team the Communications Specialists roles in order to refine and align their purpose and functions and to ensure they receive the necessary guidance and support. 
3. Hire a Senior Accounting Specialist. This search is in the final stages. The Senior Accounting Specialist will be housed in the Division of Finance and Administration and will provide central support and guidance to the Accounting Specialists located in each college/unit and will backfill during absences. A Senior Human Resources specialist is already in place. 
4. Improve/integrate senior specialists across each ASC function as effective support resources for workload balancing, backup coverage, onboarding, and process improvements. 
5. Review/refine roles of Student Faculty Support (SFS) positions to align resources with administrative needs. Meetings are being scheduled with each area’s SFS staff members to understand services provided and identify unmet needs.
6. Improve communication and reference materials for ASC resources to be sure faculty know where to go for help. 

We thank everyone who participated in this process – from the initial college open forums in the fall, through the additional review that occurred this spring. We remain committed to listening and responding to faculty and staff voices as part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring that ¹ú²úAV is a desirable place to work. 

Sincerely,   

 

Andy Feinstein  
President  

Kirsten Fleming 
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs