Business Affairs Newsletter


	March 2007			SideNotes
	Kerry's Korner... My favorite sport: college basketball. So this is the ‘best’ time of the year - it’s March Madness and time for the NCAA Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tournaments. The tournaments spans three weeks culminating in the crowning of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s National Basketball Champions in April. While there are some exceptionally talented players, I am reminded that first and foremost, basketball is a team sport. For instance, the Texas Longhorns men’s team has the NCAA national basketball player of the year, but their team got the everlovin’ daylights beat out of them in the 2^nd round of the tournament. Why? Because no matter how talented one or two players may be, teams rarely advance to the championship by the actions of these exceptional players alone. So, what is the relevancy for us? If we are going to succeed in delivering on our promise to help our customers achieve their goals through excellence in service, we need effective teams. Everyone has an important role to play in our success. While we do have many exceptionally talented, experienced and dedicated individuals, no significant task can be accomplished without the help of essentially all the team members. By the way, Team Effectiveness was one of the lowest rated factors in our latest Survey of Organizational Excellence. It is clear: overall, we must improve the effectiveness of Business Affairs teams. Successful teams are built around the following six Business Affairs values. Integrity: fostering candid communication in a fair, ethical and forthright fashion. Excellence: delivering consistently high quality service; striving to exceed expectations. Inclusiveness: fostering diversity and a sense of belonging; promoting a tolerant environment for different voices, backgrounds and philosophies. Respect: treating others with civility and openness. Collaboration: working with others toward common goals, and valuing teamwork. Innovation: promoting openness to change and a willingness to explore new solutions. Having said that, I am very proud of the Financial Affairs team members who were the 2^nd quarter recipients of the Celebrating Excellence award. Congratulations team and thanks for the excellent partnering and work product. Read about their team and their accomplishments on the Celebrating Excellence website @ http://www.utsa.edu/CelebratingExcellence/. Effective, goal and value-oriented teams are a must. At stake for Business Affairs is not a NCAA basketball championship and a chance for a professional sports career, but something much more lasting: providing an environment where our employees are valued for their opinions and where cross-functional teams can provide the means to improve our services, always moving us toward service excellence. It will take every person, every day, in every job. Kerry			Calendar of Events Town Hall Meetings March & April Business Affairs Breakfast April 18 Business Affairs Staff Relations Council April 25 New Employee Welcome Program April 26 Strategic Planning Meeting April 2 BSE 2.102 Business Affairs Forum May 24 Worth Remembering... "The problems that we have created cannot be solved at the level of thinking that created them." Albert Einstein Visit the Celebrating Excellence website to view the newest recipients.
	Robert Rigney			Martin Contreras Receives Nation's 4th Highest Military Honor Martin "Marty" Contreras was recently awarded the Bronze Medal Star for his military service in Afghanistan. Marty is a master's student in the Department of Health & Kinesiology and an Occupational Safety Specialist at UTSA. As a Special Forces medic in Afghanistan, he was awarded the military's fourth-highest award for heroic or meritorious achievement for his service with the Mississippi National Guard. Marty hails from a small west Texas town of 1,500 where he faced and overcame considerable economic and social challenges. He will graduate this May and pursue a career in the medical field. Congratulations, Marty, for your service to our nation and UTSA. UTSA Reclaims Dollars - Recycling Program Makes News! The San Antonio Business Journal highlighted UTSA in a March 2, 2007 article, Aggressive recycling program helping UTSA reclaim dollars. We launched a recycling program in October 2005 and it is beginning to reap the benefits. According to Rich Garza, Environmental Safety Manager, this effort has translated to a savings of $27,000 annually. We spend $140,000 annually on trash pickup. Abitibi-Consolidated pays the university by the pound for recyclable materials collected at the tri-campuses and transports them to various mills for re-use. With the university’s decision to expand the recycling program, students were encouraged to be more proactive in their recycling of plastic, aluminum and glass in addition to paper products. As part of the work study program, students assist housekeeping in collecting all recycled materials from the 30 bins around main campus. Rich Garza would like to eliminate trash pick-up while increasing its recycling. We can expect to see savings of $60,000 to $70,000 annually on wasted disposal services with proposed changes in the way we dispose of waste. Thank you and congratulations to Rich, the students and all those who are working in this important campaign. Click here for the complete article. Did you know? The Roadrunner Café fills a 35-gallon garbage receptacle with food waste twice daily. That’s about 600 pounds of food waste everyday and about 4200 pounds weekly! Since implementing “Project Clean Plate” with posters, table tents, and “Did You Know...” cards at each station, food waste has been reduced by about 20%. The garbage receptacle hasn’t been quite as full at the end of each meal period. *EAT WISE. EAT SMART.*
	Officer Robert Rigney was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He joined the United States Army in 1996 and left Atlanta just in time to avoid the Olympics. Robert served in the 1^st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood until 1999, then attended college at Central Texas College and Tarleton State. Robert moved to San Antonio and was hired by the UTSA Police Department as a Police Communications Officer in 2001. He was assigned to the 3^rd detail which worked the “midnight shift” and was always a very professional Telecommunications Operator. After much prodding by the Police Officers, Robert applied to the UT System Police Academy, he was accepted as a Police Cadet in August 2005, and graduated from the academy in December 2005. After completing his Field Training program, he was once again assigned to the 3^rd detail where he is still serving the UTSA community at the Downtown Campus. Robert was very active in DWI and alcohol enforcement and he has received accolades from Prosecutors and Judges on his reports and professional demeanor in court. Robert is one of the top pistol shooters in the department and is scheduled to attend the Field Training Officer course. While Robert was still in the Army, he traveled to Austin where he met his wife, Robyn, and they were married in 1997. Robyn’s family lives in San Antonio so they settled here in 2001. Robert and Robyn have two wonderful little girls, Chelsea, 9, and Haley, 3. They enjoy spending time together at the coast or any other outdoor venue. Robert enjoys sports such as basketball, tennis, and golf. He took the time this year to coach his daughter's Boys and Girls Club soccer team. Thank you, Robert, for your hard work and service to Business Affairs and the university. Robert will be receiving a Roadrunner meal card to use for either breakfast, lunch or dinner at the Roadrunner Cafe, compliments of Chartwells. Our thanks to Chartwells for their support!
	Environmental Health, Safety & Risk Management Merit Award
	The National Safety Council, through the Texas Chapter, has selected UTSA EHS&RM as winners of the Occupational Safety and Health Merit Award. This yearly award is presented to organizations who demonstrate commitment to Occupational Safety and Health programs. UTSA entered this contest as a College and University and was classified as an organization with over 3 million hours worked annually in FY 2006. The incidence rate for FY 2006 reported only 34 lost work days where employees were away from work due to work related injuries or illnesses, compared to 115 lost work days in FY 2005. That is a 73% reduction in lost man hours! This reduction can be attributed to the "Return to Work" program administered by Marty Contreras (see related article regarding Marty in this edition). An Awards Luncheon was held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on March 6, 2007. Marty accepted this award on behalf of UTSA EHS&RM along with the Director of EHS&RM, Brian Moroney. Congratulations to Brian and his staff. Well deserved recognition!
	Senior Director of Budget Planning and Development
	Janet Parker, Associate Vice President for Financial Affairs, is pleased to announce that Candie Sagehorn has been hired as Senior Director of Budget Planning and Development. This position was created with the reorganization of budget under Financial Affairs and will be responsible for all central budget management and planning activities for UTSA. Ms. Sagehorn comes to us with excellent skills and experience acquired from her long tenure at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). She received a BA degree from CSULB in Mathematics, and later returned to work at her alma mater where she has held various positions from Graduate Records computer programmer to Business Manager for University Relations & Development. She has spent the past 16 years working in the budget area, most recently as Budget Director. Candie's first day at UTSA will be April 9, 2007. Her office will be located in the Main Building, 3.212, and her phone number will be (210) 458-4344. Please join me in welcoming Candie to the university and to Business Affairs.
	Construction Update ● MS Sombrilla
	On February 19th, Facilities began constructing two areas on the east side of the Multi-Disciplinary Studies Building (MS). This includes the installation of a storefront glass system in the MS Sombrilla (under the 2nd Floor Arcade) and will create approximately 3,800 square feet for the Tomas Rivera Center's Math/Writing Lab and Supplemental Instruction. Construction is expected to be completed June 13, 2007. For other construction update information visit: http://www.utsa.edu/ofpd/
	Stephanie Cameron Named Mrs. San Antonio 2007
	The Office of Business Affairs is proud to announce that Stephanie Cameron has been named Mrs. San Antonio International 2007 and will represent the greater Bexar County area at the 2007 Mrs. Texas International Pageant in San Antonio on May 6^th. Stephanie is the Administrative Services Officer II for Pamela Bacon, Associate Vice President for Administration in the Office of Business Affairs. She has been with UTSA since 2002 and has worked in the Office of the Provost, the Office of Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, and is currently in the Office of Business Affairs. Stephanie is married to Tom Cameron and has a daughter, Alyssa, who is 3 years old. This May Stephanie will successfully complete her MBA which she has been working on since 2002 while balancing a full-time job and devotion to her family. The Mrs. International System recognizes women for their commitment to family, profession and community stewardship. Stephanie has selected Limiar, a non-profit organization established in 1981 by her mother-in-law, Nancy Cameron as her charity of choice. Its mission is to help the children of Brazil have a better life through international adoption and provides unfortunate children with a home, food, clothes, medical treatment, education and a loving support system. Supported solely by donations, Limiar in its 20-year history has enhanced the lives of over 2,000 children. To find out how you can support the work they are doing, please visit www.limiar.org. Kerry Kennedy, Vice President for Business Affairs, said, “We are very proud of Stephanie – not only for her selection as Mrs. San Antonio, but also for her diligence and commitment to completing her education while maintaining superior standards in the work environment. She is a valuable asset to our office and is a most enjoyable and conscientious employee. We wish her all the best of luck. No matter the outcome of the May 6^th pageant, Stephanie is a winner in our minds.” Congratulations, Stephanie, and "you go, girl!"			Chartwells Names New Director UTSA welcomed Jon Spellman on March 5^th as the Director of Dining Services for Chartwells. He comes to us from Stephen F. Austin University (SFA) in Nacogdoches, where he held the position of location manager for Aramark. While at SFA, Jon was responsible for the residential, retail and catering services for the campus. His strong experience in the food service industry will serve us well. Araceli Gonzales began March 12^th as the Marketing Director for Chartwells. Araceli is a UTSA graduate with a Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing and a minor in Communication. Araceli brings her expertise from Six Flags Fiesta Texas where she worked as a promotions assistant, developing radio announcements and promotions for the park. Please join us in welcoming Jon and Araceli! This Month in History brought to you by ITC Cultural Courier March 2, 1836 Members of the Convention of 1836 sign the Texas Declaration of Independence and create an interim government for the newly formed Republic of Texas. March 6, 1836 After a two-week fight at the Battle of the Alamo, Texans under the command of Colonel William B. Travis are overwhelmed by Santa Anna's Mexican army. March 30, 1870 Texas is readmitted to the Union by the United States Congress. Reconstruction continues for another four years.
	Diploma Dash
	The UTSA Police Department was proud to participate in the annual Alumni Association Diploma Dash held on Saturday, February 17. This is the second year that the Police Department has participated in this event, which raises money for scholarships and alumni programs. Officers that participated were Steven Petrick, Rob Canull, Darwin Odom, Daniel Torres, James Price, Elizabeth Carter, Cadet Angelina Vega, Lt. Stephanie Padula, and Chief David Hernandez. The group was led to the finish line by Officers Petrick and Canull who finished in just over 24 minutes and Officer Carter took top rank among the females with a time of just over 31 minutes. The UTSA Police Department is currently forming a running team and hopes to attend 5K’s throughout the city on a monthly basis.
	Leadership Conference
	Maximum Impact: The Influence Index is one of the largest events of its kind in the world, yet still personal enough to impact you and your management team in measurable ways. On Friday, May 11, 2007, The Influence Index will be the premiere leadership development experience that allows you and your team to learn from premiere leadership authorities. Cost: UTSA discount, $46.00 per person, lunch is included. Location: Fortress Church, 7760 Prue Road, San Antonio, TX 78249. Registration: Each department should forward the attendee names to Carla "Carlita" Contreras (carla.contreras@utsa.edu) and create a VP2 using the Vendor "Fortress Church". Professional Leadership Development: 6 hours, certificate will be given upon request. For more information visit: http://www.maximumimpact.com/Events/MIS07/attend_details.aspx			The Staff Excellence and Service Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 2 p.m. in the Retama Auditorium, UC 2.02.02. The purpose of the awards program is to honor UTSA staff members who have retired within the past calendar year, recognize staff for their years of service, and congratulate outstanding staff across the Tri-Campuses who have demonstrated excellent work performance. For additional program information, please visit the UTSA Staff Excellence and Service Awards (SESA) website at http://www.utsa.edu/hr/employee relations/sesa.cfm
	BSE Building Receives Design Award
	UTSA recently received an Education Design Showcase 2006 award for the Biotechnology, Sciences and Engineering (BSE) Building at the 1604 Campus. Completed in December 2005, the 220,000-square-foot facility was designed by FKP Architects of Houston. At a project cost of $84 million, the building design was driven by the need for interaction among researchers and graduate students, collaborative meeting spaces for researchers, and leading-edge technologies. The BSE Building is the first of two buildings that will form a gateway to the university from the south. The five-story building houses offices for deans, faculty and graduate students, and research and teaching laboratories for life sciences, chemistry and electrical engineering. For more information visit: http://www.utsa.edu/today/2007/02/bsedesign.cfm
	Business Affairs Promise We are committed to helping you achieve your goals through excellence in service -- every person, every day, every job.			REMINDER..... Please email us the new employees in your department, so we can add them to the newsletter mailing.