Survey Says...
Jump to next story ⏭
Thank you to all who participated in the survey sent last quarter regarding the future of The Socket. Feedback was generally positive, with a majority enjoying the mix of professional and personal content. Based on your feedback, we’ve made a few changes which are outlined below.
- Logo redesign. This month, we redesigned The Socket’s logo to better represent Finance & Administration. The dollar sign represents the financial functions of the division, while the shield represents the safety aspects.
- Employee feature. The “Mystery Employee” feature has been swapped out for a new section called “Meet Your Leaders.” Each issue will feature a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).
- Continuous Improvement. The “Continuous Improvement Corner” has been retired. Accomplishments and achievements will be announced and celebrated as they’re completed.
- Page navigation. We've added a "jump to next story" link in each newsletter section to help you get to the information you want to see more quickly.
Your responses are invaluable and help us make sure we’re creating the newsletter you want to see. Thank you for taking the time from your busy days to let us know your thoughts.
We’ll see you next quarter with a brand-new contest!
Feature Story: Supplier Diversity Check-in
Jump to next story ⏭
A year and a half ago, we re-introduced the Supplier Diversity team. Richard Wise had recently joined IU as the new Director of Supplier Diversity. He previously led the Citizens Energy Group in Indianapolis which were recognized with several supplier diversity recognition awards for their numerous achievements.
Richard, DeeDee Whittaker, Tom Westerhof, and Lisa Hardy have been busy over the past year and a half! We'd like to share a handful of the many developments in the Supplier Diversity area.
Mid-States MSDC: Mid-States MSDC is the local chapter of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). IU has collaborated with Mid-States for over 50 years, is one of its founding members, and is the only Higher Education Business member of the NMSDC. Learn more about IU’s history with these organizations or learn how Mid-States collaborates with the Kelley School of Business to empower Indianapolis businesses.
Supplier Diversity Search Tool: The message of supplier diversity is spreading across IU. The Supplier Diversity Search Tool, built by Luc Sinex, ESTC, facilitates departments partnering with new suppliers. Users can search for suppliers by searching for the good or service they need, then contact them to find out more. You can check out the tool here.
Spotlight on Supplier Diversity series: IU is always looking to expand its diverse supplier pool, but what about those suppliers we have long-standing relationships with? The Spotlight on Supplier Diversity interview series strives to showcase these diverse suppliers, such as Guy Brown and Smile Promotions, which do business with IU every day. A new interview is published every other month via the P.A.S.S. News & More newsletter. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter or visit the Kaltura channel.
This is just a sample of what the Supplier Diversity (and Purchasing) crew have been up to! Keep an eye out for additional updates in our newsletter and IU Today.
From the Desk: IU's DNA
Jump to next story ⏭
When reflecting on Indiana University, one thing immediately comes to mind: the size and complexity of the institution. These are readily apparent to both outside observers and university constituencies tasked with navigating IU.
What is not so immediately observable is the deep, abiding love for IU that characterizes the faculty, staff, and students who bring the institution to life. This love is also found in the residents of the State of Indiana who support the institution faithfully, have high expectations for it, and who want the best for it.
It's not as if these things are hidden. They are not. It is more the case that the deep affection for IU is more than superficial, and it is more than just rabid fandom or unquestioned fealty. The love for IU is a matter of head and heart, of passion and restraint, of confidence and healthy scepticism.
It is mature. It speaks of championships won and a winning culture that has been there before and knows it will be there again, and again, and again. There's a quiet assurance that is different from complacency.
Why do I share these thoughts and reflections now? I've seen places that have lots of passion pouring over from one event or announcement to the next. Every new milestone is celebrated with much fanfare. There's a lot of chest bumping and high fiving, etc., etc. It would be easy to confuse the difference between that kind of expression with the quiet assurance I have observed in Indiana University's DNA as more passionate, more committed.
That observation would be wrong and would completely miss what is at the core of IU's midwestern ethos. This institutional character resonates deeply with me. There's so much here at IU about which to be proud. Who could be blamed for spiking the ball and doing a celebratory dance in the end zone?
It is not, however, what I have observed, and I am not the least disappointed. Indiana University is a special place with a special character inhabited by special people. I'm proud to be a Hoosier!
Yours in IU,
Dwayne
Fall Fun in Finance & Administration
Jump to next story ⏭
This fall, Finance & Administration staff showed their Hoosier spirit at a tailgate on October 15 prior to the IU men's football game where the team took on the Maryland Terapins. The weather was beautiful, the food was tasty, and the company was fantastic. Check out pictures from the event in the slideshow below!
Meet Your Leaders
Jump to next story ⏭
"Meet Your Leaders" is a feature that helps Finance & Administration staff get to know senior management. Each individual is asked the same 8 questions. This issue, we're getting to know Benjamin Hunter.
What is your job title and how long have you worked at IU?
Associate Vice President; Superintendent for Public Safety. I have been at IU since January 2017.
Where are you from originally and what brought you to IU?
Richmond, Indiana. After graduating high school, I started college at Indiana University East, eventually transferring to IUPUI. At IUPUI I got involved in the IU Police Department’s cadet program, graduated, and took a job with the Indianapolis Police Department. I had various assignments there before Butler University recruited me to become their public safety director. After three years in that role, I became the president’s chief of staff, spending eight years at Butler. I returned to Indiana University in January 2017.
What departments are part of your unit?
IU Public Safety is comprised of the IU Police Department (IUPD), Emergency Management and Continuity (EMC), Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), and Physical Security and Access.
What does a day in the life of your position consist of?
Most of my day consists of risk management, working on strategies to keep people safe across the IU system, and responding to (and anticipating) concerns that will impact IU or higher education in general.
What is your favorite thing about your position?
I love working with a diverse group of individuals. People who work on college campuses offer different perspectives and experiences.
What upcoming initiatives or projects are you most excited about?
This one may be boring to most, but I have been working with colleagues on a new way to record and conduct incident after-action reviews. I have submitted an academic manuscript with an IU Bloomington faculty member for peer review and publication. The new process we developed will move us away from paper reports to a dynamic document management system with task management through an application developed by our public safety team.
What shows or podcasts are you streaming when you're "off the clock?"
I am a big fan of The Office and recently discovered the Office Ladies podcast series by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey.
What's one fact about you that would surprise everyone?
I worked for a traveling theater troupe in high school and wanted to be on Broadway (I just can’t sing, so that dream will never happen).
Thank you, Ben, for helping us get to know you better!
Department Updates
Jump to next story ⏭
Employee Services, Training, & Communication (ESTC)
Drumroll please…the Training team is excited to announce a new Training Specialist has joined their ranks! Angus Burke joined the team in September, and we are so excited to have him. Angus has 7 years of experience as an Accounting Associate within Folklore and Ethnomusicology on the Bloomington campus. He brings with him a wide variety of experience from payroll processing to travel booking to P-Card purchases. He’s already been hard at work designing new travel tools and getting up to speed on the many content areas our team covers. Welcome aboard, Angus!
November saw the launch of the Trip Authorization report in Chrome River, and with it a self-guided training course in Canvas! Juliet Roberts and Sarah Chavez collaborated with Travel Management Services on the course which consists of short videos, no-pressure knowledge checks, and an opportunity to test out the Trip Authorization report in the Chrome River test environment. Up next on the travel front: creating short videos on travel booking and tackling expense reporting in Chrome River.
Luc Sinex has dedicated his time to building the soon-to-be-launched Travel Support Form. Luc dove into new FireForm functionality that results in a much faster, smoother experience for users of the form. Testing is underway, and we anticipate the form will launch in Quarter 1 2023.
Office of the Controller (UCO)
We would like to welcome Zach Whitesel back to the UCO team as the Assistant Controller for University Accounting Services. After a brief stint in consulting, Zach rejoins the team having previously served as the Associate Director of University Accounting & Reporting Services. Prior to coming to IU Zach spent 12 years in a variety of accounting leadership roles for Ivy Tech, DePauw, & Indiana Wesleyan. He has an MS in Accounting, is a CPA, and Certified Internal Auditor. When not working Zach enjoys spending time with his family including his rambunctious almost 3-year-old son Zeke. Please welcome Zach back to UCO!
Capital Asset Management
Matthew Gerstman is the capital asset representative for UITS and came to UCO as part of the Alignment for Service Excellence (ASE) initiative. He is responsible for tagging and inventorying thousands of UITS capital assets. He has worked for IU for 24 years in various areas such as Surplus and Space Management. He is married and has five kids and two beautiful grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, gaming, beekeeping, and landscaping.
Cash Accounting
With the increase in responsibility and oversight for Treasury accounting (investments, endowments, debt, etc.), Kathy Cochard has been promoted to an Associate Director, Cash & UA Accounting. Kathy has diligently worked on whatever accounting project has been thrown her way and is a vital member of our “audit response” team. Congratulations, Kathy!
External Reporting
Adam Hadley currently manages and oversees the Radio & TV audit and with his additional university-wide audit duties, his position is now Associate Director, External Financial Reporting. Congratulations to Adam! He has done fabulous work related to all the audits.
Federal Cost Accounting
We are pleased to announce that Sheila Adame has joined our team as our new Capital Asset and Cost Accounting Fellow! She came to us in August from Capital Projects and Facilities where she worked for about a year. She has over 15 years of accounting experience that she will use in this position to complete lease reconciliations and assist in other projects. She is married and has two adult kids, Justin and Jay. She is originally from San Diego, California, but relocated to Indiana in June 2021. She loves gardening and is excited to join UCO.
Non-Student Accounts Receivable
Welcome us in joining Amy Chen to the Non-Student Accounts Receivable team! Amy started in August as the new Accounting Fellow. She comes to IU and the NSAR team after having been a Senior Accountant with the Association for Educational Communications & Technology for the last ten years. Amy has her M.S. in Accounting from the IU Kelley School of Business (IUPUI) and has more than fifteen years of accounting experience. Amy lives in Bloomington with her husband and three children. Welcome, Amy!
Ben Rudman has accepted the Associate Director of Non-Student Accounts Receivable and Collections & Loan Services position. In this position, Ben will be primarily responsible for overseeing the university operating functions of Collections and Loan Services and Non-Student Accounts Receivable. Ben will also be tasked with ensuring the integrity of related data within the general ledger, the Non-Student Accounts Receivable system, and the campus-based loans software. Additionally, he will provide oversight of and review of the compilation of information for campus-based loans, the Accounts Receivable Note for the external consolidated Financial Statement Audit, as well as Federal Foreign Source income and Red Flag reporting.
Principle Accounting
Julie Cline joined UCO as part of the ASE initiative and serves as the Director of HR Business Administration embedded in IU Human Resources. She celebrated 25 years with the university in June. Julie started her career at IU Real Estate as the Property Manager bringing with her corporate experience in real estate and property development. In 2000, Julie accepted a position as the Financial Analyst in the IU Benefits/Human Resources department and has served in leadership roles within IU Human Resources since that time. She has a B.S. in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. Free time is spent enjoying the outdoors, walking on local trails, and hiking in nearby state parks.
We would like to welcome Rhonda Inman back to UCO as the Principal Accountant for the VPIT organization. Rhonda joins us as part of the ASE initiative. Prior to her 8 years with the VPIT Finance Office, she held various positions in UCO, including areas such as payroll, financial reporting, and auxiliary accounting. She has a BS in Accounting, MBA in Finance, and is a CPA. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, camping, and gardening.
Welcome to Christie LeMaster who also joined UCO as part of the ASE initiative as an Accounting Specialist embedded with IU Human Resources. Christie graduated from IU with a BS in Accounting and Finance in 1998, decided Bloomington was a pretty nice place to live, and joined the staff of Indiana University and the IUHR Business team in 2004. She is a proud Hoosier and spends a good chunk of her time at IU football and basketball games. Although officially now a Bloomington townie, she grew up in northeastern Indiana and loves spending time with her family at the lake or IU sporting events.
University Collections & Loan Services (UCLS)
Congratulations to Ireli Babbs on her promotion to UCLS Manager on October 17! Ireli has been with IU since August 2017 and served as UCLS Operations Supervisor since January this year. We are confident she will do a great job in this new role. Please take a moment to congratulate Ireli.
University Tax Services
University Tax Services is excited to welcome Amber Hanners to the team! She started as a Tax Specialist in August and has been with Indiana University for 8 years. She has a Master’s in Accounting and is currently working towards her CPA. Amber lives in Bloomington and is married with 2 children; Christopher, 16, and Carabelle, 11, 2 labs; Rocky, 2, and Duke, 1. In her free time, she loves to craft and go camping!
Office of the Treasurer
The Office of Financial Wellness and Education (OFWE) is pleased to welcome two new staff members to the team!
Holly Hooper has been working for IU for the past 8 years, and there’s a good chance you know her from her time with the Financial Training & Communications team. Holly has been with the OFWE team since June and has already contributed by surveying students about their financial concerns, building out new financial content for students, and developing new tools to promote the office’s work. Check out some of the work she’s been doing by listening to her hosting/producing the new financial podcast, Cash Test Dummies.
While you’re listening, you’ll hear the voice of our other new staff member, Hayley Herzog. Hayley joins us from New York City where she recently wrapped up her Master’s in Public Health and Public Administration. Hayley has been focused on helping build new financial content, restructure and further the MoneySmarts website, and is coordinating a documentary screening in March 2023 at the IU Cinema that focuses on the relationship between women and finances.
Please join us in welcoming them to our staff…we are incredibly lucky to have them both.
University Bursar
University Bursar has started a new project to rethink bursar collections. The new collections cycle will be a holistic approach with a focus on enrollment while mitigating the risk of bad debt. A collections summit will be held with the Bursars from each campus to define the new collection cycle, learn best practices, and create a consistent process across all campuses.
We are pleased to announce that Dawn Cordray joined University Bursar as the Assistant University Bursar for Collections. Dawn started on Tuesday, November 1 and reports to Dina Adkins, Associate University Bursar.
Dawn will be responsible for bursar collections for all nine campuses and will soon be hiring a staff of three Bursar Assistants. Dawn has over 22 years of Bursar experience at IUPUI focusing on customer service and student collections. Dawn is excited for the opportunity to revitalize bursar collections and is ready to hit the ground running.
Procurement Services
Purchasing
Congratulations to Misty Millis and Blake Brown on their promotions to Customer Service Consultant on the Purchasing ASKPUR desk. We are excited for both of them to bring that extra service experience to our stakeholders!
Travel Management Services
Travel Management would like to spotlight two team members and their great contributions to Travel at IU.
Cindi Carter has taken on the new responsibility of Travel-assisted ghost card reconciliation. Cindi is reconciling ghost card transactions that have aged 90+ days. Normally at this point in the year we would be seeing over a 150 delinquent ghost card transactions totaling $60K. With Cindi’s hard work, only 10 delinquent ghost card transactions totaling $4K were present at the end of September. Since she started assisting travelers with reconciliation, none have had to the pay fringe benefit tax that is owed when expenses don’t meet Accountable Plan guidelines.
Cindi contributes to the great content in the IU Travel Bulletin and played a critical role in creating travel content for the upcoming transition to the support form. Moreover, Cindi also makes sure no staff member’s birthday goes unrecognized—she is our chief morale builder!
Michelle Harper is a reassuring presence when things go wrong on a trip or when entering a complex trip reimbursement. She steps up to the hardest challenges. Michelle’s encyclopedic knowledge of IU policy and process ensures that any non-compliance is resolved accurately and fairly for the traveler and IU.
Michelle oversees Travel’s non-employee hotel program. She has built great relationships with our local hotel partners which is vital for ensuring IU’s guests have a smooth hotel stay. These relationships also ensure departments benefit from the booking and payment efficiency the program affords. Michelle has stayed ahead of the invoicing challenge as non-employee travel has begun to surge. It’s a big job but she keeps a cool head under pressure.
Thank you, Cindi and Michelle, for helping make IU Travel great!
Public Safety
Emergency Management and Continuity
Emergency Management and Continuity has been conducting a series of active aggressor tabletop exercises across the university. Each of the core and regional campuses will host an exercise, bringing together key stakeholders on each campus who would be involved in the event of an active aggressor situation. Exercises have already been completed on six campuses - IU Bloomington, IUPUI, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Southeast, and the IU School of Medicine–Evansville - with the rest taking place throughout November. The information gathered during these exercises will help identify future planning, training, and exercise efforts. IU’s active aggressor/shooter video was recently updated and is available on the Protect IU website.
Indiana University Police Department
Indiana University Police Department recently consolidated its dispatch operations to one center in Bloomington. Previously, IUPD dispatch had centers in both Bloomington and Indianapolis. Numerous upgrades have been made to the Bloomington center, including reconfiguring a video wall to monitor weather, special events, and critical incidents, and adding a designated area for de-stressing.
Officer Hannah Skibba was recently hired as IUPD’s public information officer and social media manager and has spent the last few months developing IUPD’s social media presence. Check out our accounts on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook!
Additionally, the following staff were promoted or moved to a new position within IUPD. Congratulations!
- Jacob Chambers was promoted to Public Safety Dispatch Supervisor with IUPD Dispatch.
- Brian Masterson was moved to Sergeant-Investigations with IUPD in Indianapolis.
- Brice Schlueter was promoted to Sergeant with IUPD in Indianapolis.
- Austin Sultzer was promoted to Sergeant with IUPD in Indianapolis.
- Joshua Sung was promoted to Sergeant with IUPD in IU Bloomington.
University Budgeting & Planning
Financial Shared Services
Congratulations to Melissa Johnson from the Finance Shared Service Center, who was promoted as Payroll Manger as of October 31. In this role, Melissa will have additional oversight for payroll support functions across multiple UA divisions.
Kudos & Celebrations
Jump to next story ⏭
Celebrating the amazing accomplishments, both professional and personal, of our EVPFA colleagues!
Kudos
Congratulations to Misty Millis, Purchasing, and Michelle Harper, Travel Management Services, on winning the Halloween Office Decorating Contest! Misty and Michelle share a cubicle and upped the ante with their costumes, pictured left.
After a last-minute flood of Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) submissions, UCO Customer Service processed almost 650 forms in the month of October alone! Major kudos to Lisa Goch for her diligence and hard work, as well as Andy Bruce and Lora Monix. Great job team!!!
Kudos to Vicky Myers who retired after 42 years of working at IU. We will miss you at the University Budget Office Vicky!!
Congratulations to John Gilbert II, IUPD, and Leslie Slone, IU Public Safety, on reaching 35 years at IU this quarter. Thank you for your many years of service!
A big thank you goes to Darian McBride, University Bursar, for assisting with audit requests. Darian found programmatic ways to return the necessary ‘point-in-time’ data saving us hours of research. Thanks Darian!
Debbi Fletcher, director of Emergency Management and Continuity, was accepted to the National Emergency Management Advanced Academy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flagship program for emergency management professional development. She begins training on Oct. 31.
Hip, hip, hooray for Sterling George, UCO, who achieved 30 years of service at IU in October!
Kudos to the Accounts Payable team. AP team recently made a process change that has resulted in them touching problem invoices within 1-3 business days. Standard is 7 business days, although previously we were often outside of standard. Way to go team!
Rachel Schmidt was promoted to Radiation Safety Manager with EHS in Indianapolis. Congratulations, Rachel!
Kudos to Financial Shared Services member HaeSook Park on 25 years of service at IU.
With a combination of happiness for her and sadness for us, Becky Hanson will be retiring from IU after 29 years. Thank you, Becky, for your incredible contributions to our team. We will certainly miss you, and we hope you enjoy your retirement!
Congratulations to Randall Frye, IUPD, and Jackie Vest, Financial Shared Services, on their 20 years of service at IU. Keep up the great work!
Shout out to John Brumley, Payroll, and his 15 years of service at IU. Thanks, JB, for keeping our payroll and timekeeping systems running smoothly.
Kudos to Amanda Bartlett and JoAnna Sellers, both within University Bursar, for taking on additional responsibilities and rolling with the punches that come with learning new functions!
Several folks reached the 10-year service mark this quarter! Congratulations to Cherlyn Crees, Executive Liaison, Joe Goins II, IUPD, Matt Schaefer, Treasury, and Joy Maddox, UCO on reaching this milestone.
A huge congrats to Juliet Roberts, ESTC, on launching the first Travel training in over 5 years and the first self-guided Travel training ever! Your dedication to content creation and design is apparent in everything you do, and we are all better for it.
Last but not least, congratulations to Jamie Inman, Purchasing, Lorna Butler, Accounts Payable, Samantha Clevenger, Environmental Health & Safety, Brian Ray, IUPD, and Rachel Schmidt, Environmental Health & Safety, on their 5 years of service at IU. Thank you for all you do and for being at IU!
Celebrations
We have so many wonderful things to celebrate this issue! Check out the slideshow below to see an engagement, babies, a truly epic wedding picture, and new pets!
