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| This week, HR completed their move to their new building! |
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
New on Finance Matters: Find your True North
In this episode, they discuss Bill George's book, "True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership." We all have an internal compass, and when it's followed closely, we can become authentic, outstanding leaders.
If you've wondered what "leadership style" might suit you best, whether you're in a managerial role or not, check out this episode (and the book!). Self-discovery, no matter where you are in life, is the first and best step on a path to a meaningful and fulfilling experience.
Friday, November 1, 2019
FST Updates: We've been busy!
The FST project team and partners across Grounds have been busy since the last blog update.
Take a look:
- We're adding to the project team - view open positions on the FST website. More positions will be added as we approach the beginning of Phase 3: Implementation.
- Jackie Tucker of Yale will come on board as the Workday Implementation Lead. Read more about Jackie on the blog.
- Business Process Discovery Workshops have continued -- see updates on the community (these will be continually updated as they occur, and more summary content will be added to currently-posted slides).
- Jill Cline of UVA HR shared some wisdom that she gained during the recent implementation of Workday HCM. Check out her practical advice on the Community (this article is also available on the FST website).
- Wondering how the new AVP for Financial Strategy will work with the FST project? Read what Melody and Bill Ashby have to say in the Community.
- Elissa Morton has shared an update on the pilot of Adaptive Insights that Arts & Sciences, Batten, and Curry have been working through. Read all about it on the Community.
Community manager Jessica Rafter has also put together a handy post that aggregates the updates above and more! View it here: Catch up with FST
Meet UVAFinance's AVP for Financial Strategy
Bill Ashby joined the UVAFinance team in late September as Associate Vice President for Financial Strategy. This is a new role,not only adding a senior leadership position focused on strategy, but also as technological advances increasingly automate transactional work, creating opportunities for the development of analytical and “soft” skills within our workforce. Globally, companies are investing heavily in learning and development for employees, as new “hybrid jobs” blending technical experience with research skill, problem-solving skills, teamwork, and creativity become more prevalent, UVA Finance is moving in this direction too.In the role of AVP for Financial Strategy in UVAFinance, Ashby will prioritize ensuring that Finance delivers on its promise of high-quality service delivery that keeps the business of UVA running like clockwork, while at the same time carving out time to launch efforts that position UVA to be forward-looking, anticipating trends, new directions, and getting ahead of the curve.
“In higher education, the norm in operational areas is to be focused on the day-to-day, but if we can truly build a culture that embraces a forward-looking mindset and celebrates trailblazing we’re going to be unique and more valuable to the University as a whole,” says Ashby.
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| Click the image for a larger view |
“The pattern I recognized after 30 years in my career, is that for me, success and fulfillment often means stepping into organizations reaching some type of inflection point,” he explains.
In his career path, these “inflection points” have involved transitioning a small campus gymnasium at Cal Poly into one of the first multimillion-dollar, state of the art student recreation centers, stepping into the Director of Business Services role at Cal Poly on the heels of an embezzlement scandal and rebuilding trust and credibility, and helping get the Batten School off the ground and seeing the student body and faculty grow and live up to the vision and expectations of the donor who funded it and the University community.
His experience has shown him that these times of great challenge often present remarkable opportunities if they’re leveraged correctly. For him it’s mindset and imagination that make a difference in what might be perceived by many as intractable problems.
As for UVAFinance, Ashby says it feels like the organization is “on the launching pad,” poised for something great.
“The spirit here is great, the energy high,” he says.
“There’s a strong sense of purpose; people understand that our work matters. I’m grateful to be a part of this community and to play a significant role in helping us and the institution reach our vision and full potential.”
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Ashby and his wife Debbie have lived in Charlottesville for 18 years. They have 3 sons: Nick, 19, Zach, 17, and Alex, 12. Their dog Boomer rounds out the family.
You can read more about Ashby in the Online Finance Community on Community Hub.
Ashby and his wife Debbie have lived in Charlottesville for 18 years. They have 3 sons: Nick, 19, Zach, 17, and Alex, 12. Their dog Boomer rounds out the family.
You can read more about Ashby in the Online Finance Community on Community Hub.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Chicken soup for the student's soul: SFS's student food pantry
Trudy Taylor has worked in Student Financial Services for 20 years. In that time, she’s provided students with a lot of guidance, abundant service, and occasionally, a much-needed snack- - because although UVA and the Charlottesville community provide many resources for students with food insecurity, SFS encounters multiple students each semester who are hungry.“It’s not just low-income students,” says Taylor.
“College is a life lesson, where many students are learning for the first time about budgeting. Sometimes they just find themselves in a pickle. Usually it’s over the summer and in gap times, when it’s close to the end of term, and their financial aid refunds have run out, and they’re paying higher rent than they can really afford.”
Although there are ample resources on Grounds that students can access for help, Taylor, her colleague Irene Paschall, and others had found themselves retrieving snacks from their cubicles or running across the street to McDonald’s to feed a hungry student. It happened often enough that Taylor and Paschall banded together with their colleagues to establish their own little food pantry for students in need. All of the items in the food pantry are donated.
The SFS staff has developed keen instincts for spotting students in trouble, and they don’t hesitate to ask gentle questions that might reveal food insecurity, and to answer the need with peanut butter, crackers, soup, and other items they have in their stock.
Due to a number of reasons – the possible stigma of walking into a food bank on Grounds, the absence of affiliation with a church, or even lack of transportation to local food pantries – Taylor says some students feel more comfortable talking about the issue with SFS staff, with whom they often have an established relationship.
Paschall explains that it’s all in the conversation: “We’re the money people. They’re coming to us to ask for an emergency loan because maybe they’re having trouble paying their rent. Then you ask them if they have money for food, and when is the last time they ate.”
Paschall says students sometimes try to downplay their need, but that SFS staff often counter their protests by reminding them that it’s their job as a student to function, and they can’t do that without eating.
A hug is often part of the transaction, and a request for the student to come back and let the staff know how they’re doing.
“We want to help them and get them to the finish line,” Paschall says.
“It’s our privilege to get to see them grow into adults and do great things in the world.”
Taylor agrees: “We’re Student Financial Services,” she says.
“Without the students, we wouldn’t be here – we are happy to help them however we can.”
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Resources for food insecurity on Grounds:
Community food pantries: https://www.foodpantries.org/ci/va-charlottesville
If you’d like to donate non-perishable food items to the SFS food pantry, feel free to drop them by the cashier’s window in SFS.
Shout out to the Shout Out board: We only knew about this story because Trudy and Irene’s colleague Nick Williams recognized them on the shout out board – kudos to all of you UVAFinance folks who recognize good work AND provide us with great, inspiring stories!
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
2019 CVC Event results and pictures
THANK YOU to everyone who took part in the 2019 CVC Event! So far in this year's giving season, UVAFinance has raised $5700 for the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign at UVA. Each donation makes a meaningful difference in our community and beyond.
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| Your 2019 Cornhole Champs! |
It's not too late to give! Donations can still be made until December 13. You can give online or use your red envelope. Contact Patrick Wood in Procurement if you have questions.
Congratulations to Judy Mallory and Stephen Cornelison, who took first place in the Cornhole Tournament. The second-runner-up team was Asa Lopatin and Patrick Wood.
See photos from the event on our Flickr page.
Staff Senate: Advocacy and Service
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| Why join the Staff Senate? Click image for larger view. |
“This is an organization intended for staff to feel empowered, and to have a resource,” says Kristie Smeltzer of Organizational Excellence, who serves as Co-Chair of the Staff Senate.
Their priority of staff advocacy has the staff senate focused on some important projects:
- Collaborating on UVA’s 2030 Strategic Plan, working with the President’s Office, the EVP-COO’s office, and HR to achieve a strategic plan initiative: “Cultivating Staff Success.”
- Increasing two-way communication with constituents (that’s all of you reading this!), enabling senators to connect consistently with staff members as the senate represents them and shares questions and feedback.
- Continuing the partnership to improve Education Benefits, collaborating with UVA HR to advocate for continuous improvement in this area.
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to partner with other groups across Grounds to improve the staff experience at UVA,” says Smeltzer.
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| UVAFinance, meet your Staff Senators! Click image for a larger view. |
New Procurement Websites are coming!
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| Coming November 2019! Watch for updates; contact Brandi Van Ormer or Shannon Wampler with questions/concerns |
UVA Marketplace Upgrades: Resource and ISP sections
Procurement recently took another step toward its goal of making the UVA Marketplace a one-stop-shop for all things procurement-related.
To eliminate the need for shoppers to seek necessary information in several places outside of the Marketplace, the procurement team added a few resources often needed/required during the purchasing experience:
The team hopes that having easy access to these resources will make the purchasing experience smoother for departments.
See a screenshot of the new features:
Let us know how we can help make the Marketplace experience better for you!
To eliminate the need for shoppers to seek necessary information in several places outside of the Marketplace, the procurement team added a few resources often needed/required during the purchasing experience:
- Procurement-related forms and procedures: sole source justifications, authorization approvals, etc.
- Increased awareness and connection to UVA departments in charge of managing critical processes, such as Information Security and Accessibility.
- Connectivity with Internal Service Providers (ISPs) such as Printing & Copy Services, Cavalier Computers, and more.
The team hopes that having easy access to these resources will make the purchasing experience smoother for departments.
See a screenshot of the new features:
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| Click image for a larger view |
Let us know how we can help make the Marketplace experience better for you!
Vendor profiles deactivated due to inaccurate information
Procurement has been verifying all vendor information in the Marketplace as a part of routine data cleanup. They have found approximately 2500 vendor profiles that contain inaccuracies such as old addresses and, most importantly, mismatching tax ID numbers and incorrect company names. These inaccuracies can cause confusion and non-compliance with the IRS.
For every incorrect Tax ID number in our system, UVA receives a potential penalty notice that could result in a fee from the IRS if not corrected. As a consequence, Procurement has been deactivating all vendors with inaccurate information in their profiles.
Each deactivated profile will have a note describing the reason for deactivation, found in the internal notes section of the Supplier 360 tab (see the image below). If you encounter this note on a supplier you use, please reach out to your contact within the company and ask them to fully register and update their information in the UVA Marketplace.
For every incorrect Tax ID number in our system, UVA receives a potential penalty notice that could result in a fee from the IRS if not corrected. As a consequence, Procurement has been deactivating all vendors with inaccurate information in their profiles.
Each deactivated profile will have a note describing the reason for deactivation, found in the internal notes section of the Supplier 360 tab (see the image below). If you encounter this note on a supplier you use, please reach out to your contact within the company and ask them to fully register and update their information in the UVA Marketplace.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Community Feast Project
Beginning on Wednesday, October 30th, collection boxes will be placed around Carruthers Hall with a checklist of items needed. Additionally, monetary donations can be made to either Nicole Ferretti on the first floor or Carrie Crosby at the front desk. All donations must be received no later than Wednesday, November 13th.
The following items are needed:
- Can of Yams (17.5 oz.)
- Can of Green Beans (14.5 oz.)
- Bag of Potato (5 lb.)
- Jar of Turkey Gravy (10.5 oz.)
- Box of Macaroni (14.5 oz.)
- Box of Stuffing (6 oz.)
- Can of Evaporated Milk (12 oz.)
- Can of Cranberry Sauce (14 oz.)
- Cake Mix (15.25 oz.)
- Can of Crushed Pineapple (16 oz.)
- Box Granulated Sugar (2-4 lb.)
- Box of Brown Sugar (1 lb.)
- Monetary donations for the purchase of turkeys
Thank you for your generosity.
Friday, October 25, 2019
New from Records and Information Management
The Office of Records Management's new name reflects an important dimension to the services it provides. As the "Office of Records and Information Management," it should be clearer that their mission is about more than paper -- it's also about electronic information: email, electronic databases, electronic files, audio, video, and images.
Besides their new name, the office is offering new online training for your convenience. Check out on-demand webinars on topics such as Email Management, Records Management for Research, Shared Drive Clean Up, and Paperless Office: Scanning Guidelines, plus many more!
Training for URMA, the web-based system designed to help departments maintain inventory of their physical and electronic records, will still be held in a classroom setting.
Check out the training resources, upcoming classes, videos, and tip sheets on the Records and Information Management website!
Training for URMA, the web-based system designed to help departments maintain inventory of their physical and electronic records, will still be held in a classroom setting.
Check out the training resources, upcoming classes, videos, and tip sheets on the Records and Information Management website!
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