Announcement of FMS Support Services Leadership
Dear FMS colleagues,
I am pleased to update you on an exciting organization change.
After much thought and conversation, Sandip Darji and Anne Sweeney have agreed to co-lead the Financial Management Consulting and Support organization. In addition to current roles, Anne will lead the Client Advocacy and Education group and Sandip will lead the Financial Support Center. Anne and Sandip were part of the founding leadership of the Consulting and Support group. I believe this uniquely qualifies them to continue to build upon the group’s many successes to date.
In thinking about this important function, it has been very important to me that we not lose sight of the FMS guiding principles. I believe in the concept of the Consulting and Support model and want leaders who will continue to advocate for and espouse these underlying principles which are instrumental to the success of the group. The Support Services functions are best led by those who understand the University, FMS, and our vision for Consulting and Support services.
Since its inception five years ago, Financial Management Consulting and Support has been very well received by the campus community; this organizational change further improves the alignment of the individual groups, supporting our vision to continue to improve the effectiveness of this organization. This change will also enable us to apply robust data analytics from the support and outreach functions to inform better process improvement and design better systems and reporting tools. The partnership between teams focusing on client priorities and business solutions, and those specializing in data management will help ensure a high quality of service across the diverse client groups of FMS.
These expanded responsibilities capitalize on the strengths developed through the prior career experiences of Anne and Sandip. Prior to joining Stanford, Anne had engagements focusing on training and change management activities at an enterprise-wide level while a consultant at Booz Allen and then at KPMG/Bearing Point. When presented with this opportunity, Anne told me “When I used to deliver training in a prior role, I really enjoyed the moment that I saw the ‘light bulb’ go on. I am eager to reengage in this area.” As many of you may be aware, Sandip was one of the original founders of the Financial Support Center. He said, “Frontline support for the University community continues to be one of the most direct ways FMS provides value to our clients. I’m excited to help FMS use this wealth of information and apply it to improve our FMS solutions.”
I also want to take this opportunity to thank Belinda, Jessica and their teams, the members of the Client Advocacy and Education and Financial Support Center teams, who have continued their excellent work during this transition period.
Please offer your support to Anne and Sandip as they transition into their new roles in the coming months. I know they are up for the challenge.
Warmest Regards,
Susan
Susan Calandra
Senior Associate Vice President for Finance
Stanford University
Financial Management Services
3145 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304
T: +1 650.723.1564
C: +1 650.799.4417
E: calandra@stanford.edu
Assistant: Jules Thompson
T: + 1 650.723.4110
Sam Steinhardt joins the Office of the CIO
In forming University IT just over a year ago, our goal has been to provide the most seamless experience that we can for clients across campus. To further increase our operational effectiveness, efficiency, consistency, and integration, I am creating a University IT Shared Services unit to provide non-technical shared support.
I’m pleased to announce that Sam Steinhardt will become the Assistant Vice President for University IT Shared Services, effective Monday, June 15, 2015. Sam will report to me, and will join the Office of the CIO.
The University IT Shared Services organization will include:
- Finance, led by Molly Reynick
- Vendor Management, led by Tracy Yuan
- Business Partners, led by John Freshwaters
- Communications, led by Jim Knox
- Service Management, led by Kathy Pappas Kassaras
Combining the Financial and Vendor units will create greater efficiencies with respect to the management of University IT financial resources. Bringing the Business Partners and Communications units together will continue to develop a single voice to the Stanford community. Service Management will help create consistent systems and processes across University IT. The University IT Finance function will continue to have a secondary reporting relationship to Noel Hirst, Assistant Vice President for Business Affairs Finance and Facilities.
Sam has worked closely with clients to simplify business operations and to consolidate campus spending. He recently led a team of eight leaders from across University IT to better align the three organizations of Administrative Systems, the Information Security Office, and IT Services. To this new role, Sam brings business savvy, strategic perspective, and a dedication to continuous improvement.
Please join me in welcoming Sam to his new role.
Randy Livingston
Vice President for Business Affairs and CFO
Office of Sponsored Research Moving to Porter Drive
OSR is moving to 3160 Porter Drive in the Fall:
As you may have heard, OSR will join our Business Affairs colleagues at Porter Drive this Fall. This news is both exciting and sad for OSR. The exciting part is that the move creates logistical synergies with Financial Management Services and Administrative Systems, two of our key partners already at Porter, and with RMG further down the line as they move to Porter this winter. Having everyone together will create process efficiencies from which the entire Research community will benefit.
It is also a sad milestone to leave campus and all of our wonderful customers and friends. However, in order to keep our connection to campus, OSR will have an on-campus office (big thanks to Sara Bible and the Dean of Research Office!) where we will hold regular office hours with contract officers, accountants, and SeRA staff, similar to what Catherine Boxwell is doing with OSR On The Move in Y2E2. This will help us maintain the sense of community so important to working in a cohesive, productive, and enjoyable way with our customers.
For more information see the Porter Drive website.
The Stanford Community Leave Bank - A Staff Donation Program
June 28, 2012
Effective July 1, the Stanford Community Leave Bank, a new university-wide program, allows benefits-eligible staff to donate accrued vacation leave hours to a central leave “bank.” The central leave bank will allocate leave hours to benefits-eligible staff in need due to a catastrophic qualifying event who have exhausted all of their own available leave hours.
The university-wide program was created at the request of Stanford employees who asked for a way to help their colleagues in need by donating their vacation time, and is being managed by Employee and Labor Relations in University Human Resources.
The program, also supported by the Payroll and Disability Leave Services departments, rolled out in a limited format this spring with select departments, including University Communications and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.
“The employee demand for a program like this demonstrates the kindness, generosity and compassion of Stanford’s workforce,” said Ann Allison-Marsh, Associate Vice President for Employee and Labor Relations. “Through this program, staff can now provide assistance to each other when it matters the most.”
Program Highlights
- Participation: The program is available to regular benefits-eligible employees who accrue vacation, including employees covered by the collective bargaining agreements with SEIU HEW Local 2007 and Stanford Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
- SLAC participation is under review; SLAC employees are not able to participate until the review is complete.
- Faculty, postdocs, lecturers, contingent employees and student workers are not eligible to participate as they do not have accrued vacation.
- Donors: Donors can donate a minimum of one hour and a maximum of 40 hours of accrued vacation leave hours per fiscal year. Donations are made to the SCLB central leave bank, not specific employees.
- Requestors: Requestors must be on an approved leave of absence for their own illness or the illness of an FMLA-eligible family member. Requestors must meet the catastrophic definition and requirements; certification of the leave is required through the university’s disability vendor.
- Eligible Donations: Accrued vacation leave is the only eligible donation to the leave bank. Sick leave is not an eligible donation under the program.
Learn More
To learn more about the program, including program guidelines and FAQs, and to access donor and requestor application forms, visit the Stanford Community Leave Bank section of the Employee and Labor Relations website.
FY12 Year-End Close Schedule
Fiscal Year 2012 Year-End Close officially begins Wednesday, August 29, 2012. There are five distinct timelines for activities included in the FY12 Year-End Close Schedule as follows:
- Pre-Close: Activities before August 29
- August-2012 Month-End Close: August 29 – September 6
- Year-End Expenditure Close: September 7 – September 12
- Year-End Fund Transfer Close: September 13 – September 21
- Post-Close Activities: September 22-23
For detailed Year-End tasks and deadlines, review the FY12 Year-End Close Detailed Schedule.
Human Resources Metrics Dashboard
Human Resources, the BICC, and the Data Management and Reporting team launched the Human Resources Metrics Dashboard tool in November 2011. The Dashboard is a high-level tool that helps track workforce data, enabling HR professionals to analyze trends throughout the University that are of importance in strategic planning and tactical execution. The HR Metrics Dashboard tool is the first step in moving HR data and information delivery to Stanford's new Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) reporting environment. Subsequent HR phases, to be released later this year, will include the conversion of HR's ReportMart1 reports and the creation of an HR Ad Hoc report/query tool. These reports will have area-specific security applied, and therefore will be available to a wider audience.
---Vijay Gandra, Senior Director of Data Management & Reporting