Summer 2006

Inside RPS
Employee Newsletter Summer 2006
RPS Joins New Student Affairs Division
Inside:
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Written by Patrick Connor
As part of the restructuring of the administration on the Bloomington campus, RPS and
the rest of Auxiliary Services and Programs
(ASaP), are now part of the new Student Affairs Division for IUB. Other units in this new
division are the Health Center, Career Devel-
vision of service and support on the campus.
It also provides exciting new opportunities for
RPS to collaborate with other offices and departments that focus on improving student life
at IUB. Because RPS is now part of a division directly overseen by the President, many
are hopeful that we will be better positioned
to bring about changes that are needed for
students.
Some things have not changed with this campus reorganization. All the departments that
make up RPS remain intact and it is expected
that we will continue to offer the wide array of
services in housing and dining that is our tradition. RPS will continue to report to Bruce Jacobs, in his new role as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Bloomington. Damon
Sims, formerly of the Dean of Students office,
is also in a new role as Associate Vice President of Student Affairs. Both he and Bruce
Jacobs report directly to V.P. McKaig. Over
the course of the summer, some members of
this new student affairs division will be asked
to help define and establish new practices for
how we will all work together to better serve
and support students.
opment Center, Student Ethics, Student Legal
Services, and Student Activities. President
Herbert announced earlier this spring that
he had promoted Richard (Dick) McKaig to
lead this new division as the Vice President
of Student Affairs, Bloomington campus. Vice
President McKaig has worked in the student
affairs field at IU for 35 years, serving as Vice
Chancellor and Dean of Students since 1991.
He reports directly to President Herbert.
The new Student Affairs Division is the largest student affairs body in the history of the
Bloomington campus. It will provide students
an opportunity to benefit from a greater shared
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The current plan is to use this newsletter to
keep you up to date on this transition. Look
for more in the next fall issue.
Inside RPS is published three times a year by
the Division of Residential Programs and
Services. Produced by RPS Communications
and Marketing, 2006
Indiana University Bloomington
Division of Residential Programs and Services
Inside RPS • E m p l o y e e
The Big Picnic
Newsletter Summer 2006
With the recent reorganization, the Big Picnic
has grown in size again. Once an annual celebration to gather everyone in the new Division
of Residential Programs & Services, it has most
recently brought together all ASaP employees
for food, games, and conversation. On Friday,
June 2, the Big Picnic will now include all units
in the new Student Affairs Division.
The Big Picnic will be held in the parking lot on
the east side of Willkie. It will run from 10:30
a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and will continue to have traditional events like the cake walk.
Honor Roll
These staff members were recently recognized by other organizations for their outstanding work during the
past year.
Danny Ambrose, Graduate Supervisor at Forest, was
recognized by the Division of Student Affairs as an
outstanding student not employed by that division. Mr.
Ambrose has assisted many undergraduate students
during the academic year.
Kevin Colbert, Graduate Assistant for Leadership Development, received the Commission on Multicultural
Understanding (COMU) Award in the graduate student
category. Mr. Colbert has done countless educational
programs on diversity issues; been a role model for
social justice issues; and serviced as a mentor to many
new students.
Barry Magee, Assistant Director for Diversity Education
in the Department of Residential Programs and Services, received the Commission on Multicultural Understanding (COMU) Award in the staff category. For
over a decade, Mr. Magee has lived his commitment to
diversity education, providing leadership for such initiatives as the CommUNITY Education Program and
Conversations on Race. He is an effective activist who
has inspired hundreds of other faculty, staff and students.
The IU team of Amanda Droste, John Graves, Jeffrey
Ruder, and Henry Wendel recently won first place in
the 2006 Virtual Case Study Competition held by Student Affairs Online.
Big Brothers/ Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake! Thanks to everyone who supported the Big Brothers/ Big Sisters Bowl for
Kids Sake! As you see below, RPS made a generous contribution, and
was in the top 3 of all participating IU teams!
The total collected for the event this year was $157, 600.
In case you are interested, the top 6 IU fundraisers included:
1. IU Auditorium, $5,395
2. IU Alumni Association, $1,835
3. IU RPS, $1,495
4. IU Foundation, $1,462
5. Center for Human Growth/Counseling Psychology Program, $1,246
6. IU School of Education - School Psychology, $1,039
Residence Hall
Closing Donations
Written by Steve Akers
For the second year in a row,
all residence halls collected
household items and non-perishable food items. The items
were picked up and distributed by Backstreet Mission and
Hoosier Hills Food Bank.
Before last year, all buildings
managed their own end-of-year
collections. Last year was the
first time a coordinated effort occurred where everyone joined
together in the collection. In that
first year, over twenty-five large
truck loads were accumulated.
Typical items amassed were
clothing, small appliances, microwave ovens, refrigerators,
furniture, and canned food. The
greatest collected item was ramen noodles – over 180 packages were donated!
The end of year collection effort
accomplishes many goals:
1. All the items collected would
end of in a landfill so this is a
form of recycling.
2. The effort supports those in
need in our local community.
The items go to families in desperate need of food, clothing,
and household items.
3. It is an opportunity for students to support those in need
and to reflect on how their donations can make a difference
in someone’s life.
4. It is a positive philanthropic
effort on behalf of the students
and staff of RPS that requires
a lot of organization and is accomplished with a high sense
of caring for others.
RPS Summer Overview
Once again, it promises to be another busy summer for everyone
in RPS.
Our conference schedule lists 127 conferences with 21,000 guests
staying in our facilities and eating 150,000 meals prepared by our
staff.
New Student Orientation will be held from June 13 – July 19. We
anticipate greeting over 6,000 new students and their family members during this period.
The facilities department once again has several large and small
projects. Here are the “highlights” for the next few months.
* Apartment Housing Student Room Survey
* Asbestos Repair to Ceilings throughout RPS Facilities
* Ashton Utility Project/ Demolition
* BBHN - Balconies to be Painted
* Briscoe Classroom and Academic Support Center Rennovations
* New Corridor Lighting at Briscoe and Forest
* New Card Access Project for Forest and Briscoe
* Cravens 1, 2, 3, 4 & Edmonson 2, 3 - New Ceilings & Lighting in Corridors
* Repair to McNutt Roof Leaks
* Transferring Alarm Systems from Ashton to Teter
* New Furnishings for Evermann Guest Apartments
* Paving Project on Road Around BBHN, Everman & Redbud
* New Student Room Doors at Eigenmann
* Teter – Boisen Renovation of Corridors and Lounges
* Transferring Alarm Systems from Mason to Willkie
* Willkie P.A. System and Auditorium Lighting
Inside RPS • E m p l o y e e
Newsletter Summer 2006
In Focus
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION The department of Finance & Administration consists of
8 professional, 8 bi-weekly and 2 hourly employees. Director of Finance & Administration, Dr. Ashok Roy, stated that “finance is the life-blood of any organization
as every organizational initiative or action is ultimately
translated in terms of funding.” Dr. Roy indicates that
the department’s mission is to administer guidelines to
handle all fiscal matters, in accordance with the policy
and procedures of the university, as well as the laws of
the State and Federal governments. It also handles audits by IU Internal Auditing as well as the Indiana State
Board of Accounts.
The specific areas and individuals that are under the Finance & Administration umbrella are as follows:
Budgeting - Marcy Simpson,
Human Resources - Chris Lucas, Natalie BroadusBeard, Payroll - Janet Tapp,Connie Vaughn, Deb Laswell, June
Wickboldt and Norma Waldon,
Financial Analyst - Scott Goodall,
Cost Accountant - Stew Cutshall,
Environmental Health & Safety - John Bruce, Billings - Jose Celis, Wanda Walls, Robin England,
Molly Lare,
and Accounts Payable - Elaine Jacobs. The departmental secretary is Julie Abrams.
Dr. Roy cites multiple system changes, such as PCS/Micros (billing and tracking of student meal points usage),
HMS (assignments), TIME (Time Information Management Environment) and the university’s conversion to
PeopleSoft as some of the challenges faced by his department over the past few years. “Given the volume of
revenues, processing accurate and timely billings is also
a big challenge,” Dr. Roy stated. As with any new system,
it is difficult to foresee issues that may arise upon implementation; therefore, it is important that the staff make
themselves familiar with any new system. Often, system
changes require additional work. For example, the conversion to PeopleSoft has shifted procedures and access to records once managed by the university’s Central Payroll Department to individual departments. As a
consequence, “RPS payroll works almost independently
of Central Payroll and is responsible for these processes,” Dr. Roy said.
Communicating
new procedures
and paperwork
involved
with
processing payroll and record
keeping has also
been challenging
for the staff.
According to Dr.
Roy, recent accomplishments
that he and his
staff members
are proud of include:
- successful Internal Audit Report/Findings
- high RPS compliance with university’s Direct Deposit
policy
- training RPS staff regarding hazard identifications
- providing more opportunities for staff training and development
- completion of the RPS Standard Operation Procedures
(SOP) manual