News from the Treasurer - Spring 2006

Greetings! This newsletter is the first in what will become a regular update for members of the Treasurer's organization. Each semester, I will be sending you news on strategic initiatives, upcoming activities and changes on the horizon that will affect us.  

This issue focuses on our diversity initiatives, a few changes in our structure and staff, information on the OnePurdue project and some key activities that you can expect soon. I hope you find the news useful.

Sincerely,

Morgan R. Olsen
Executive Vice President and Treasurer

Contents

• Recent Appointments
• One Purdue
• Diversity Task Force
• Fraud Reporting Program
• Your Thoughts

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Recent Appointments

It is my pleasure to announce three recent appointments within the Treasurer's organization.

• Senior Director of Investments
• Director of Treasury Operations
• Managing Director, Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer

The Office of Investments will be led by Senior Director of Investments Scott Seidle and will report to me. This position will have responsibility for the investment of the cash management investment pool and the combined endowments for the University, Purdue Research Foundation and Purdue Alumni Foundation, and will play a leadership role on the University's Investment Committee. The combined market value of these assets totals over $2.5 billion as of December 31, 2005. A heightened focus on the management of these financial resources will ensure maximum benefit to Purdue. Scott is a thirteen-year employee of Purdue and has been Director of Investments since 2003. He earned an MBA and BS from the Krannert School of Management and was a Burton Morgan Entrepreneurship Competition prize winner.

The Office of Treasury Operations is a new unit that will report to the Vice President for Business Services. Denise Laussade began her employment on January 17, 2006 as Director of Treasury Operations and will have responsibility for cash management planning and policies, debt management, internal loan management, and banking relationships. Denise comes to Purdue with extensive treasury experience from positions at Bitterroot Restoration, the University of Virginia, Dan River, Darden Restaurants, Chase Manhattan Bank and Texaco. Denise also has held several leadership positions within the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), including serving as its Board Chair in 2003-04 and on the Board of Directors from 2001 to 2006.

These two appointments are the result of a reorganization of the Office of Investments. The Office was divided into two units to respond to the growth of the Purdue Endowment, the large number of investment managers and the increasing complexity of the individual endowment pool investments.

The Managing Director of the Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer is responsible for drafting plans, policies, budgets, and communications; analyzing issues and problems to develop solutions and recommendations; leading committees and ad hoc work groups and assisting me in a wide range of projects. Ken Sandel has been in place in this newly created role since December 15, 2005. Ken has been the Assistant Director of the Purdue Office of Budget and Fiscal Planning for the past four and a half years. He has another thirteen years of experience as a Business Manager, Cluster Manager and Training Coordinator in Purdue colleges and schools within the Business Services organization.

Please join me in welcoming these three individuals into their new roles.

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Thank you to the OnePurdue project team and all the individuals across the Purdue University system who have been supporting the efforts of the OnePurdue project.   As many of you know, the OnePurdue project is a system-wide initiative that will change the way Purdue does business by integrating mission-critical enterprise data, information and business processes. One of the key components of the OnePurdue project is the replacement of our current financial, human resources and student information systems with new, state-of-the-art software from the SAP corporation. The OnePurdue team is staffed by more than 100 employees who came to the project from units all across the Purdue system campuses. In addition to the project team, there are more than 105 non-OnePurdue staff involved in project governance and advisory committees.

Over the life of this project there have been and will continue to be many milestones. One major milestone this past December was the approval of the Financial and Human Resources blueprint documents.   These blueprints spelled out what OnePurdue will look like and what it will do once it is fully implemented. The quality and comprehensiveness of these blueprints bode well for the project as it moves forward into Phase III, or "Realization."

As the title of this Realization phase implies, we are beginning to see the improvements we can expect in the way we conduct our business. Some of the key improvements will include:

• Web browser-based portals with which faculty, staff and students will access the new OnePurdue applications
• New self-service functions that will empower everyone in the Purdue community
• Real-time processing so reports will always be current
• Drill down capability from a single source of data to avoid the confusion and discrepancies caused by multiple databases
• Workflow routing that provides efficiency, audit trails and a higher degree of security.

Looking forward to some of the key project dates, a lot of work is left to do. Below are some of the dates to look forward to in the coming months:

• March 2006 -   Enrollment and Student Affairs Team to complete blueprint phase
• Summer 2006 - End-user training to begin
• October 2006 "Go-Live" - Finance Release 1 (accounts payable, accounts receivable, procurement, funds management, grants management, plant maintenance, inventory/warehouse management, project systems, fixed assets, general ledger) and HR/Payroll Release 1 (e-recruitment)
• January 2007 "Go-Live" - HR/Payroll Release 2 (employment, compensation and classification, payroll, benefits, time entry and evaluation, employee self-service and workflow) and Finance Release 2 (travel and effort reporting); also the first payroll is scheduled using the new mySAP ERP software.

The OnePurdue project will affect all of us and the way we carry out our daily work. To help the entire Purdue community learn more about this project, the OnePurdue Change Management and Training Team will offer two more town hall-style meetings at each campus.   These events will cover the following topics:

• Series 2: An Overview of Changing Policies and Processes (presented by process owners), spring semester 2006
• Series 3: End-User Training and Ongoing Support (presented by the Change Management Team), early summer 2006.

Schedules for these meetings and all OnePurdue training sessions will be published at http://www.purdue.edu/onepurdue and in future issues of the OnePurdue e-newsletter, new@OnePurdue.

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The Treasurer's Diversity Task Force was created last year to find new ways to increase diversity at Purdue as well as add support to ongoing diversity efforts. This group is being led by Brenda Coulson, Assistant Director of Human Resources for Housing and Food Service, and has been charged with addressing the following objectives.

• Develop a set of strategies and actions to expand minority applicant pools, the number of job offers to minorities, and the number of minorities hired
• Study factors influencing retention of minority staff and recommend strategies and actions to promote retention
• Benchmark best practices within higher education used to enhance employment diversity
• Communicate with individuals within the University and community to seek input and ideas to enhance employment diversity
• Estimate resources required to implement a particular strategy or action
• Monitor the progress and effectiveness of diversity efforts.

The Task Force has been working with various campus organizations to develop strategies for addressing diversity, with an emphasis on recruitment and retention. The primary goal is to integrate diversity into all aspects of our work life.

Several initiatives to support our diversity efforts are currently in process:

1. Diversity has been incorporated into departmental vision and mission statements. These statements communicate and reinforce the importance and value of diversity efforts, as well as our commitment to diversity.
2. Employees within the Treasurer's area will have an opportunity to participate in a diversity survey. Purdue is committed to diversity and to ensuring the work environment is positive, respectful and welcoming for all community members. The survey will assess the current perceptions of staff and develop programs to address opportunities for improvement. The survey will be in both an online and paper format.
3. Cultural awareness and sensitivity training was made available for all staff during the months of February and March. This training assisted staff in understanding their role in working with people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, and developing more sensitivity toward all individuals. Already, more than 735 Treasurer's area staff members either have completed or are scheduled for this training, which is receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews. In April, a special workshop series will be offered to assist supervisors with recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce.
4. A reference list has been developed for supervisors with recommended minority journals, websites, and newspapers for advertising position vacancies.

A diverse workforce strengthens Purdue by helping us appeal to the best talent and by helping us deliver the highest quality services. We have here a wonderful opportunity to be an even better Purdue than we are today. Many thanks to the members of the Treasurer's Diversity Task Force, composed of Brenda Coulson, Chair; Terry Aldridge, Internal Audit; Annette Benson, Housing and Food Services; James Foster, Housing and Food Services; Shavonda Gibbs, Business Services; Judy Hall, Purdue Research Foundation; Gina Kerr, Human Relations; Jesse Moore, Supplier Diversity Development; Shaun Sengsanith, Business Services; Carol Shelby, Physical Facilities; Christine Tyler, ITaP; Diana Prieto, Human Relations.

To learn more about the Treasurer's diversity task force or contact your representative, please visit their website at http://www.purdue.edu/treasurer/diversity.

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Fraud Reporting Program

Accountability and ethical behavior are important considerations for any well-run organization. In Spring 2005, Purdue implemented a Fraud Reporting Program to ensure that the University provides a mechanism for reporting improper or inappropriate acts. Best practices provide for a fraud reporting program as an important part of a healthy business environment. Purdue University has in place controls to provide reasonable assurance that fraudulent, illegal or dishonest activity on the part of University employees, officers, or business contacts is prevented or detected. However, the potential for inappropriate transactions and behavior still exists within the University, as it does in any organization.

A fraud reporting program is important, and I encourage you to use it when appropriate and to communicate the existence of this program to your colleagues in the University community.   Please help make the fraud reporting program a success by using it for its intended purpose -- reporting suspected improper or illegal acts affecting Purdue University that you have witnessed or of which you might have knowledge.   Personal complaints regarding harrassment or issues other than fraud should be filed according to existing University policies.

The Internal Audit Office is responsible for the administration of the Purdue University fraud reporting program. For additional information on the program, please visit www.purdue.edu/fraud . A Disclosure Form for Anonymous Reporting is available at the website. If you have specific questions about the program, please contact Peggy Fish, Director of Audits, at (765) 494-7588 or plfish@purdue.edu . There are multiple options for anonymously reporting suspected fraud or other wrongdoing.

Dedicated Fraud Reporting Program Telephone Number: (765) 494-6999

Mail Address:  
Purdue University, Internal Audit Office
Freehafer Hall of Administrative Services
401 S. Grant Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2024

Thank you for your continued assistance and commitment to this effort.

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Your Thoughts

Your feedback is important to me. If you have thoughts about the information provided or ideas about what you would like to see in future issues of this newsletter, please send them to me at evpt@purdue.edu .

Thank you for everything you do to make Purdue the outstanding university that it is. Your commitment, teamwork and energy are key assets in Purdue's quest for preeminence.

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