MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
July 2019
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Assessment and Feedback Opportunities Key to Service Excellence
One of the ways we continuously improve is through measurement, data collection, feedback and input -- all in support of service excellence as part of our A&F strategic goals.
This summer, there are several valuable opportunities to participate in feedback as part of Stay Cougar S.A.F.E. Staff Forums underway. These roundtable sessions represent an interactive way to share your comments and perspective in support of the Stay Cougar S.A.F.E initiative. Please know that additional sessions for faculty and students will also be announced in the fall to ensure collective input across the campus community.
Also, an upcoming highlight this month is the 2019 A&F C.A.R.E.S. Assessment Symposium, a division-wide service assessment program for collecting, analyzing and reporting data as our programs and services evolve to strengthen service excellence in a systematic way.
This year’s event will be held July 30 in the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion of M.D. Anderson Library, featuring keynote speaker Donna-Jo Pepito, director of research for the National Association for College Auxiliary Services, who will focus on the importance of assessment in enhancing the value of services.
I would encourage you to participate in these forums, as well as consider how your specific department, program area or project might incorporate best practices and key learnings in support of continuous improvement of our wide range of services to the UH community and beyond.
Best regards,
Jim McShan
Senior Vice Chancellor and
Senior Vice President
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KEY HIGHLIGHTS
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The gatherings have been held to give UH employees the chance to provide their input on all aspects of safety through interactive roundtable discussions. The sessions have been well attended. Forums for faculty and students will be announced in the fall.
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The site’s migration to the University-standard Cascade Content Management System represents the culmination of a year of proactive due diligence, extensive evaluation and incorporation of industry best practices to deliver a portal that is truly reflective of the Administration and Finance Division S.P.I.R.I.T.
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Houston Public Media revealed new additions to its Young Leaders Council, a group of engaged Houstonians that treasure Houston Public Media’s unique position in the media landscape and work to spread its mission. These young professionals represent a cross section of the communities Houston Public Media serves.
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University of Houston staff dropped off 476 pounds of food and gave $50 in donation money for the pantry, which the College of Education opened to help students in need who are struggling with food insecurity.
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The University of Houston Human Resources team would like to thank everyone who came out to this year's annual Wellness and Benefits Fair. More than 50 vendors and wellness-related organizations participated and approximately 1,100 employees attended, more than any previous year.
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Now in its sixth year, this important and innovative program establishes mentoring relationships between ExxonMobil and faculty, staff and students from partner universities to enhance laboratory safety culture. This is the first year that UH Environmental Health and Life Safety has participated.
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The inaugural A&F Ambassadors have been meeting with departments and attending events this summer as they immerse themselves in the job so they can ultimately connect with the student body and provide accurate and informative outreach about A&F's processes and services.
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The UH Office of Emergency Management and members of ride-out teams from individual UH departments recently successfully completed a functional exercise to test the University’s Emergency Management Plan and Continuity of Operations Plan.
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The UH Fire Marshal’s Office offers free hands-on fire extinguisher training to the UH community. This training consists of a short classroom instruction period and then a hands-on portion where class members get to practice putting out a small fire with a fire extinguisher.
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Representatives from Parking and Transportation met with project managers in Facilities Planning and Construction recently in an outreach effort to go over parking policies that aim to ensure an ideal balance between contractor parking needs and those of students, faculty and staff.
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The UH Elevator Shop is responsible for repairs and maintenance on elevators, escalators, dumbwaiters and lifts in all campus buildings and facilities. The team does monthly maintenance to keep elevators operating in a safe and reliable condition at all times.
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A representative from the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service was on campus this month to review UH Copy, Print and Delivery Services mail operations and provide a variety of useful information, including tips on identifying suspicious or tampered mail.
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When the official results were announced, DaNesha Allen, Jacqueline Chee, Ron Gonyea, Matthew Castillo, Brooke Kaiser and Sharon Pellas had been elected by their peers to represent them for the next three years on the council, which was created in 1986 to serve as an advisory body to campus administration.
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A&F ACCOLADES
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Work on the facility began in 2017 and was completed in late 2018, on schedule and on budget, leading to its winning the honor in the public assembly buildings category. The Landmark Awards recognize real estate projects that make a significant impression on the Houston landscape.
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This award recognizes a Clery compliance program that has significantly improved within the last five years by overcoming historical weaknesses of the compliance program and working to address these shortcomings and enhance the institution’s capacity for complying with the Clery Act.
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The department was named the non-profit communications team of the year by the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, which also awarded it a 2019 Gold Award in the newsletter category for the A&F S.P.I.R.I.T. newsletter that is distributed monthly to faculty and staff.
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