Encore for three award-winning administrative teams

Three winners of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s 2016 Administrative Improvement Award will receive a supplemental campus investment to support their ongoing improvement efforts.

The supplemental award is intended to reward a continuing commitment to providing outstanding administrative service in support of academics, research, student services, outreach or administration. Each of the award-winning teams will receive a $10,000 central campus investment to support their initiatives.

Recipients of the supplemental award are:

• A Department of Biochemistry proposal to improve its management of event space through the use of data collection and analysis of historical data and meeting trends. The department manages more than 25 conference rooms and common spaces in the three buildings that make up the Hector F. DeLuca Biochemical Sciences Complex. Improvements to the facilities, increasing departmental activity, and initiatives and growing engagement with campus partners have contributed to a need for a room reservation system that provides data collection, reporting and greater end-user functionality.

Project team members are Cathy Michael, Sarah Saunders, David Parker, Kerry Tobin, Crystal Peterson, Matthew Jones and Georgette Paxton, all of the Department of Biochemistry.

• Badger Volunteers’ initiative to use technology and data analysis to help meet participant capacity, decrease program attrition, and decrease transportation costs. Campus funding would help support labor costs to make improvements to the program’s online registration system. Badger Volunteers, in the Morgridge Center for Public Service, is the largest volunteer program at UW–Madison.

Project team members are Stephanie Harrill and Kari Temkin of Badger Volunteers in the Morgridge Center.

• A proposal from Student Administrative Services to use a “Design Sprint” to develop a plan that will streamline and improve services and communication relating to advising, payment of tuition and fees, financial aid and other university services. A “Design Sprint” is a five-day process for answering critical business questions through design, prototyping and testing ideas with customers.

Project team members are Phyllis Treige, Jessica Jones and Adam Hills-Meyer, all of the Division of Information Technology; Jeff Shokler of the Office of Undergraduate Advising; and Registrar Scott Owczarek.

Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Laurent Heller says the supplemental award is part of an ongoing process to encourage administrative improvements across the campus. Only recipients of the 2016 Administrative Improvement Award were eligible for the supplemental award.

“I want to thank the recipients of this supplemental award for their continuing commitment to administrative work that results in greater efficiency and improved service delivery,” Heller says.

A campuswide call for nominations for the 2017 Administrative Improvement Award will be issued in February. Award winners will be recognized at a ceremony near the end of the 2016-17 academic year.