The Division of Finance and Administration is committed to identifying, analyzing and improving our existing business processes to create greater efficiencies and cost savings, leading to high levels of service to students, faculty and staff.
Many of the division’s initiatives involve analyzing and improving operational processes and employee skillsets to achieve more efficient workflows and overall business growth. Several projects are planned or are underway.
The Resource Planning subcommittee is charged with providing financial planning support and investment tracking for the Instructional Facilities Steering Committee.
Specifically, we will:
Office of the Provost, Office for Vice President of Finance and Administration and senior leadership
The Instructional Facilities Budget is developed and approved annually as part of the Central University Budget during the university's Annual Resource Planning Process.
Project leader:
Joe Lewandowski, Resource Planning
Project committee:
Carl Lam, Resource Planning
Suzanne Gentz, University Facilities
Nancy Kielar, CIO Administrative Operations Office
Michelle McCartney, Financial Management
The Real Estate and Resource Planning committee consists of members from Real Estate, Resource Planning, Business Services and Facilities who are collaborating to create business plans for leased properties. The business plans include ten-year forecasts of revenue and expenses for each building.
Establishing a portfolio of business plans for leased properties will allow for a comprehensive evaluation of properties and facilitate the identification of efficiencies, savings and areas in need of investment.
Other areas of improvement achieved by the committee include the development of a property management dashboard in SIRI to streamline reporting for leased properties and a full review of facilities cost rates charged to properties.
Senior leadership
The leased properties budget is developed and approved annually and reviewed quarterly as part of the Central University Budget during the university's Annual Resource Planning Process.
Project committee:
Ashley Butcher, Financial Management
Beth Corry, Business Services
Kishanie Fernando, Resource Planning
Suzanne Gentz, University Facilities
Stacy Knapper, UB Foundation
Joe Lewandowski, Resource Planning
Michelle Maurer, UB Foundation
Carla Persico, Real Estate and Property Management
Tonga Pham, University Facilities
Functional:
As a public research institution, UB’s model of sustainability focuses on finding solutions to global challenges through research, educating individuals about these challenges, setting high expectations of efficiency and effectiveness in our operations, sharing our experiences, and partnering with the external community. Through an integrated and collaborative resource planning approach, UB has become a higher education leader in sustainability and is on its way to carbon neutrality.
Project leader:
Ryan McPherson, Chief Sustainability Officer
Project committee:
Erin Moscati, Zero Waste Manager
Derek Nichols, Associate Director for Sustainability
Climate Action Plan Captains:
A team of members from Facilities, Business Services and Resource Planning work together to create a multi-year utilities budget. The rolling 5-year financial plan has helped the university minimize commodity costs, prepare for volatility in energy prices and meet environmental stewardship goals by implementing energy conservation projects. By managing the utilities budget at a central level, fiscal risk is reduced, shortfalls are covered by the university, and surpluses are reinvested in the university.
Senior leadership
Utilities budget is developed and approved annually and reviewed quarterly as part of the Central University Budget during the university's Annual Resource Planning Process.
University's Annual Resource Planning Process (ARPP) Guiding Principles:
Strategic — we align incentives with our mission and with strategic behaviors.
Predictability — we build models that provide reliable foundations for planning.
Flexibility — we build planning models that anticipate and are responsive to changes in the economic environment; we incorporate appropriate risk management strategies.
Integration — we consider the university as a whole and make intentional connections between varying types of organizational needs and priorities.
Stewardship — we exercise prudence in managing our resources, diversify revenues to promote resilience, maintain appropriate reserves and reward efficiency and effectiveness.
The utility budget will:
The utility budget:
The utility budget is not:
Project leaders:
Beth Corry, Business Services
Tonga Pham, University Facilities
Project committee:
Suzanne Gentz, Facilities Finance
Jeff Angiel, Facilities Campus Operations
John Wojcik, Facilities Campus Operations
Michelle McCartney, Financial Management
Joe Lewandowski, Resource Planning
Peter DiNunzio, Resource Planning