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A&F welcomes three units & kaiser enrollment period

Paul's Page: A message from the vc of A&F

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Three campus departments, Environmental Health & Safety, Campus Planning and Space Management recently moved under the executive area of Administration and Finance.

Environmental Health & Safety is located in Morrill and has been headed by Director Don Robinson since 1975. EH&S is responsible for Campus Safety & Fire Prevention, Hazardous Waste, Industrial Hygiene and Radiation Safety. Space Management, located on the second floor of Whitmore, is charged with identifying, documenting and analyzing facilities inventory, availability and space requirements on the Amherst campus. Elizabeth Denis is the Director.

As Principal Planner, Judith Steinkamp, Campus Planning, evaluates the campus masterplan, assesses needs and priorities and makes recommendations regarding proposed, new and existing buildings, pedestrian routes, open space and circulation/parking areas.

All three units have worked closely with A&F divisions in the past. The new organization provides greater opportunity for collaboration as A&F fulfills its commitment to the development, stewardship and enhancement of the campus' human, fiscal and physical resources.

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 Paul's Page: A message from the vc of A&F

I was shocked and deeply saddened by the news that former Associate Vice Chancellor Bill Rose and April Relyea, who worked in the Physical Plant, perished in a plane crash in Alaska on August 5. As Associate Vice Chancellor Bill played an important role in many initiatives undertaken during his tenure on the Amherst Campus. He was very dedicated to his work and an extremely knowledgeable facilities manager. His work helped set the stage for many of the innovations and improvements in the units for which he was responsible. Bill loved flying both for personal pleasure and as a member of the Civil Air Patrol, where he was often involved in search and other humanitarian efforts. April had a deep love for the environment and was instrumental in the development of the campus reccycling program. Our sympathies go out to their families, friends and associates.

I wish to welcome staff from Environmental Health and Safety, and Campus Planning and Space Management who are now part of the A&F family. I believe that these organizational changes will help better serve the campus community. We now have within the Administration and Finance Executive Area all the critical offices that support facilities on campus. It provides us with the opportunity to integrate these functions in the most effective and efficient way to address some of the most critical issues facing the institution.

This issue of A&F Notes highlights another critical campus issue - our administrative systems. As you will recall the campus has purchased the PeopleSoft business software system to support our student, financial and human resources functions. Installation of these systems is a major undertaking. Our units will provide the leadership in the financial and HR areas. The timetable of January 1, 2001 for HR and July 1, 2001 for the financials is aggressive and formidable. Meeting these schedules will require considerable effort by many staff throughout our Executive Area. It will also provide the opportunity to closely examine our operating processes and procedures and implement changes that heretofore were inhibited by the limitations of our current computer systems for these functions.

This is a unique opportunity that needs to be exploited in order to better support our customers. It will also provide staff with the opportunity to enhance their skills to become more proficient with contemporary technology using a state-of-the-art system. I appreciate the efforts of many staff who have already been actively involved in some of the preliminary phases of the project. As we move into the implementation phase, the intensity and breadth of the effort will increase substantially. I am convinced that the knowledge, dedication and team effort that exists throughout our units will all be brought to bear to make this a successful implementation.

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A&F & PeopleSoft PeopleSoft Project Moves Ahead

In 1998, the University purchased business software packages for the human and financial systems from PeopleSoft. A&F, through its Administrative Systems area, is working with Andersen Consulting and PeopleSoft to fully implement the new systems, including design, planning, implementation, testing and training.

Andersen Consulting
Business consultants working with the Amherst campus to plan, design and implement PeopleSoft Human Resources and Financial Systems.
PeopleSoft
Enterprise-wide software purchased by the University of Massachusetts which includes student, human resources and financial modules.
Conference room pilot (CRP) involves scripting and executing business processes and functions to validate and document the to-be processes within the PeopleSoft environment.
Strategic and design phase
The process of matching business requirements with the functionality of the software.
Human Resources modules
Human Resources, Benefits, Time and Attendance, Payroll
Financial modules
Accounts payable, general ledger, purchasing, asset management
Implementation partners
Outside consultant hired to assist in implementation process.
Implementation teams
Campus staff assigned to work with Andersen Consulting, PeopleSoft and Administrative Systems to plan, design, test and implement human resources and financial systems.

Jacqui Watrous, Director of Administrative Systems for A&F, reports that the PeopleSoft project to implement Human Resources and Financial modules is gaining momentum.

In June Andersen Consulting, implementation partners with the Amherst Campus, led planning sessions with staff from the Controller's Office, Procurement, Budget, Human Resources and other campus administrative offices. According to the proposed timeline, Amherst will implement the HR modules by January, 2001 and the core Financial modules by July, 2001.

The PeopleSoft project has moved into the general design phase. After attending PeopleSoft training in the fall, the implementation teams will set up conference room pilots to test the software capabilities of the applications.

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Budget Office: Lisa Sbrocca
Bursar's Office: Sheryl Crowe, Teri Miller
Campus Distribution Services: Les Holmes, Chuck Niedzielski, Rich O'Rourke, & Sean Tobin
Controller's Office: Terry Lucas
Human Resources: Timothy Cendrowski, Emilia Garcia, Barbara Rivet, Barbara Stahelski, Sue Warner, Minnie White, Mary Wilson, & Kevin Wissman
Auxiliary Services: Mary Cardinal, Joe Corso, Stephen Cumberbatch, Doniel Ephraim, Jodi Krentzman, Dawn Malinowski, Jeanne Ragan, Charlotte Tabakin, & Meghan Valas
Mail Services: Lori Wiles
Facilities Planning: Roland Giguere
Physical Plant: Edgar Berry, Peter Boothroyd, Rosemary Charnley, Roy Page, Raymond Samson, Roger Simmoneau, Christopher Thornton, Harry Thornton, & Ernest Wood
Vice Chancellor's Office: Cathy Shaw

Spruce-up Project
Mike Capers, Les Holmes, Jeremiah Kermensky, Mike Robidoux

Implement Financial Management/Project Tracking System
Joanne Corbeil-Harper, Sally Delaney, Wanda Dion, Judith Field, Suzanne Hatch, Yvonne Kielb, Margaret Jakutowicz, Colleen Olszewski, Karen Ross, Donald Roy

Prepare for Asbestos Removal
Andrew Adamski, Richard Colton, Linda Gwodz, Frederick Harris, Cynthia Kicza, Kimberly Melnik, Michael Piotrowski, John Rodzwell, Stephanie Smith, Jeffrey Walsh

For more information about ACE awards or how to nominate someone in your division for an ACE Award, please ask your supervisor.

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 Ireland B&Bs by Cindy Hamel

When my husband and I learned that we would be spending our nights at bed and breakfasts during our trip to Ireland, we were apprehensive. We enjoy our privacy so sleeping in other people's bedrooms and eating breakfast in their kitchens sounded awkward. But, many of our destinations were tiny towns with no hotels, and our traveling companions assured us that B&Bs were the best way to really see Ireland.

They were right. Every place had its own character but they were all charming. At Ventry Farm House, Rosemary greeted us with a hug and an invitation for drinks and pastry, then walked us through the raised beds from which she harvested the organically grown greens that would be stirred into our breakfast eggs. Monica Timmerman insisted that we relax in her living room while she served us tea and Belgian cookies, then led us on a tour of the lighthouse, the Round Room, the Blue Room and the Red Room, letting us choose where we wanted to spend the night. We decided to stay in the Round Room, Clare Island's first lighthouse. In Dingle, Mrs. Boland, after a few polite questions about what we wanted for breakfast and when, returned to her vacuuming. Liz Shannon gave us each a slip of paper with her name and phone number to tuck in our pockets. I suppose more than one guest has been found sitting in Browne's pub trying to remember where in Tuam they were spending the night.

Traditional Irish breakfast is sausage, fried eggs and toast but we are vegetarians. Instead, we enjoyed granola, yogurt, fruit, cheese, olives, scrambled eggs with herbs, sauteed mushrooms, baked tomatoes, porridge, waffles, homemade bread, jams and meuslix. More than enough to hold us until late afternoon when we were ready to stop our touring for something to eat.

If you travel to Ireland stay in B&Bs. You'll meet some lovely people, have great breakfasts and come home with stories to tell.

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Meet... the people in Human Resources

Looking for Human Resources information?
•visit their website at www.umass.edu/humres/welcome.htm
•visit the Human Resources Information Center on the third floor of Whitmore.
Picture of:Peggy March, Lisa Nagy, Ernie Woo, Tetna, Rita Montague, Fran Phelps, Leslie Moes, Judith Towlson Barbara Rivet, JoAnne Purdy, Jim Coopee, Cheryl Daggett, Sandy Clay
Picture of:Margaret Arsenault, Sharon Coney, Richard Ford, Linda McDonald, Linda Whiton, Carolyn Miller, Linda Marchesani
Picture of:Charlene Butterworth, Christina Scharbaai, Michael Chagnon, Rhonda Coleman, Sandy Tolpa
Picture of: Louise Siwy, Lorraine Weimann, Kevin Wissman, Lois Sadowski, Didi Goodnow, Barbara Stahelski, Ann Morrissette, Brenda Libertine, Rollie Emond,
Picture of: Brian Zaniewski, Emilia Garcia, Timothy Cendrowski, Dotty Lesko
Picture of: Nick Marshall, Bev Adamsky, Minnie White, Bonnie Weeks, Sue Warner

Visit Human Resources on the World Wide Web at Human Resources

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After reviewing the consultant's report of the bookstore and retail food services and discussions with the Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Committee on Auxiliary Services, the decision has been reached to request proposals for the operation of the bookstore and issue a request for information from interested food service contractors. Both actions are expected to occur this fall. The decision to move ahead with awarding a bookstore contract will be made at the end of the fall semester after a thorough review of proposals and comparison with continuing to operate the the bookstore in- house. No timetable has been established for any further action involving retail food operations.

In the meantime, Auxiliary Service staff in the bookstore and retail food services have been thoroughly assessing the recommendations contained in the consultant's report as well as those from an alternative report prepared by several employee unions. Feasible recommendations from both reports as well as those being offered by staff in these units are being implented so as to have these units in the strongest position possible for comparison with any proposals put forth by contractors. Union and management continue to meet frequently as this process evolves in order to maintain open dialog and ongoing communication. In addition, requirements under current collective bargaining contracts and the Pacheco Bill are being followed.

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