Each month, the Access Team: Administration & Finance Support Services partners with other UMPO A&F functions to bring timely information to UMass colleagues systemwide. Coffee Hour with UMPO Administration & Finance is a platform for the campus community to learn about procurement, travel, business expenses, treasury, and other A&F topics. In November, more than 450 people registered, and 282 unique participants from all six campuses joined the live event, including 13% from the UMass President’s Office, to hear about upcoming changes coming to our Procurement system, Jaggaer (BuyWays), and learn more about the Access Team: A&F Support Services.
Event Highlights
Hosted by Ruth O’Keefe, Communications Manager, with support from Garret Oliver, Senior Business Associate, and Michael McGovern, Communication and Data Analyst, the team utilized engagement features such as live polls and Q&A sessions.
To kick off the event, Susan Cone, UPST Contracts Manager, reviewed recent Jaggaer/BuyWays updates and took questions alongside Michael Durkin, Chief Procurement Officer, and Kelsey McCauley, Procurement and Bank Card Program Manager. The discussion covered why changes occur, specific updates to contract request forms, and related policy topics including standards and the use of AI.
Next, the Access Team: A&F Support Services presented its history and goals. Amanda Onwuka, Assistant Vice President of A&F Support Services Team, opened with background on the team’s transition to a standalone department and introduced colleagues who described how their areas support campus stakeholders including and overview of the:
- Customer Service Call Center (Business Associates): Garret Oliver, Senior Business Associate
- Communication Support: Ruth O’Keefe, Communications Manager
- Data Analytics Support: Neha Ajgaonkar, Senior Data Analyst
- Training Support: Amanda Onwuka, Assistant Vice President of A&F Support Services Team
“Glad to receive the chart of best practices for the contract process. Happy to have the staff chart presented and to meet members of the team. [Access] does a great job of facilitating the meeting. I’ve always received great assistance when I reach out for help.” — Anonymous survey respondent, UMass Amherst
Insights & Feedback
- Engagement was strong: 88% of attendees stayed more than 40 minutes.
- A post‑session survey completed by 49 participants also showed an 88% positive feedback rating.
- Overall, attendees described the Coffee Hour as well-organized, informative, and collegial.
- Moving forward, attendees indicated a desire to continue to have deep, topic-specific sessions and offered many potential topics.
We want to thank everyone who presented and participated in 2025. We invite you to join us for upcoming monthly Coffee Hours — our next session will be in January. Please register for one or more sessions in the series.