Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 36 July 25, 1996 - Organizational changes announced

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Organizational changes announced

Spectrum Volume 18 Issue 36 - July 25, 1996

(Editor's note: The following memo detailing organizational changes in the university's administrative structure was released by Executive Vice President Minnis Ridenour during the first week of July.)

I am pleased to announce several organizational changes which I believe will allow us to better serve the university community. Through restructuring, realignments, consolidated functions, and a flattened organizational structure for the areas reporting to the executive vice president, we are helping to address the university's need to implement a broad array of new administrative systems to take Virginia Tech into the 21st century. We are able to meet this immediate need and higher administrative priority for the university through the reassignment of individuals and without creating new positions.

We have flattened the administrative services organization, with the following functions and individuals now reporting directly to Ann Spencer, associate vice president for personnel and administrative services: Environmental Health and Safety Services-led by a management team of Zack Adams, Bernadette Mondy, Doug Smiley, and Deborah Young; University Police Department-Mike Jones; Transportation (consisting of Airport, Motor Pool, and Parking Services)-Gene Reed; Records Management-Steve Mouras; Licensing and Trademark Administration-Marti Hale; Leadership Development Programs-Dick Harshberger; Resource and Referral-Ann Francis; Personnel Services-Linda Woodard.

Additionally, Spencer will maintain responsibility for the coordination of all planning and restructuring activities for all the non-academic areas reporting to the president and executive vice president, working in conjunction with the provost's staff to integrate these activities for the entire university. Currently, efforts are underway with the Provost's Office and Budget Office to consolidate the university's planning, budgeting and restructuring processes such that a more efficient and streamlined process is provided to all academic and administrative departments to respond to state and university initiatives.

Effective July 1, Woodard was named director of Personnel Services. Woodard will fulfill the director's role and assume responsibility for all the operations of Personnel Services, while also remaining leader of the Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) team. She will continue to oversee and maintain an active involvement with the implementation of the HRIS. Additionally, Spencer Foster has moved from the Associate Vice President's Office to become a member of the HRIS team to assist with the implementation and training activities. Spencer will continue in the role of the university's chief human resource officer, but will maintain involvement only on a policy level in personnel matters. With H.B. Whitt's retirement effective June 30, the two associate director positions previously in personnel services have been eliminated.

In support of the need to upgrade the university's administrative systems, several staff members have been reassigned from the administrative services area to the information systems area. Richard Alvarez was reassigned as director of Administrative Information Systems, a new department within Information Systems. The groups previously charged with implementing Project Enable were the new administrative system applications (such as HRIS, finance systems, student systems, etc.); the technical infrastructure required to support these systems (Database Management Services, Information Resource Management, Client Systems Development and Support, Performance and Quality Assurance, Data Warehousing and Information Access, and Infrastructure Tools and Framework); and maintenance of the current administrative systems. These groups will now combine into one department under Alvarez's leadership.

In his previous role as director of Public Safety, Health and Transportation, Alvarez effectively led and made numerous positive changes in these functions at the university over the past seven years. He holds a master's degree in systems management from the University of Southern California and has many years of project-management experience.

Mary Lou Bourne has also been reassigned to the new Administrative Information Systems department, and will work closely with Alvarez overseeing this effort as associate director for administration. Neither Alvarez's nor Bourne's former position is being filled within the executive vice president's area.

Another change within the Executive Vice President's Office is that Laurie Martinson has been named director of business management and analysis. She has responsibility for major financial studies and strategic business-plan development with a special emphasis on appropriate internal controls regarding financial and business practices, and development of executive management reports in response to specific business issues. Martinson is also responsible for all budget development and analysis for the entire EVP area, including the departments within the administrative services area.

I hope you will join me in supporting each of these individuals in their new roles.