Mass Black Expo – October 6th , Boston, Massachussetts A team comprising Avery Knott (Communications Intern), David Cho (Chief Procurement Officer), Christine Escobedo (Supplier Relationship Manager), Michael Durkin (Director of Strategic Sourcing), and Nakarla Haughton (Procurement Operations Intern) attended the Mass Black Expo (MBE), organized by the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA). The MBE serves as a…, EDUCAUSE Annual Conference October 9th – 12th , Chicago, Illinois At the annual EDUCAUSE Conference, David Cho (Chief Procurement Officer), Amanda Onwuka (Director of Service & Quality), and David Nero (AVP of Strategy & Innovation) participated as panelists alongside CDW partners. During the session, they discussed Supplier Diversity and its role in advancing economic equity and social justice. The conversation highlighted the…, SIG SUMMIT 10/16 – 10/18, Scottsdale, Arizona At the Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, UMass was represented by Anne Zuev, the Special Projects Manager, and David Cho, the Chief Procurement Officer. Invited by Jaggaer, they presented insights on the DigitalCapture project, focusing on its role in prioritizing automation opportunities and fostering a high-performance culture. The DigitalCapture…, JAGGAER CAB meeting 10/10 – 10/12, Austin, Texas At the JAGGAER CAB Meeting in Austin, Texas, Michael Durkin, the Director of Strategic Sourcing, served as the representative for UMass. This gathering provides JAGGAER, the host of the BuyWays platform, with the opportunity to present best practices and its plans for enhancing the platform in the coming years to a select group of keys, strategic customers. Additionally, it offers…, NAEP Fall Conference October 23rd – 25th , Newport, Rhode Island Claudia Cortes (Training & Communications Manager), Rob Hyde (Bank Card Manager), Sue Cone (Senior Contract Specialist), Christine Escobedo (Supplier Relationship Manager), and Brian Girard (Director of Procurement Operations) attended the National Association of Educational Procurement (NAEP) New England fall conference where they attended sessions on how to be…, Hackett Group Symposium October 26th – 27th , Atlanta, Georgia Muzaffar Kosimov (Strategic Sourcing Specialist) and Bill Mannix (Category Manager) attended The Hacket Group’s North American Symposium where industry thought leaders, esteemed HR executives, and accomplished business professionals across diverse sectors share best practice on enhancing performance insight and leveraging service delivery models.
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December 13, 1:30 - 3:30 pm, Please join us Wednesday, 12/13, at 1:30 pm. Stroll through the Westborough office for a holiday spread, fun and games. Use the Robin map as your guide. Please RSVP by Monday, December 4th ., Gift Swap, - Have you found the perfect universal gift the masses will fight over? Bring a wrapped gift ($25) to participate., Great UMass Dessert Contest, - Go for the glory. Choose your best dessert to enter this competition. Judges will award prizes for presentation and flavor. Bring plenty! Your colleagues will also sample these delicious treats!, Holiday Trivia, - Join your friends and colleagues in a friendly holiday trivia competition. All you need to participate is your phone!, Most Creative Attire Contest, - This is where things get CREATIVE. Come dressed for the season in the most creative, tacky, wacky, and fun holiday outfit you can find, buy, or make. This year judges will award an individual and a group for their most creative holiday attire., UMPO Holiday Donation Drives, Big or Small, any donation helps., Guild of St. Agnes Gift Drive, The Guild of St. Agnes, a long standing, educational, private, non-profit childcare agency provides families with quality, affordable, early childhood education, and school age programs for children from 4 weeks to age 12. This year, we adopted two of the guild’s programs in Worcester for a total of 50 children. A wish list from each child is available on the giving tree in Westborough. Please…, Veteran’s Drive, To help provide Veteran patients with many things to make their period of hospitalization and outpatient treatment more pleasant, we are asking for the following new item donations for the VA Hospital in West Roxbury: Men's Underwear (Med/Large/X-Large) Sweatshirt/Sweatpants/Tee-shirt (Med/Large/X-Large/XX-Large/XXX-Large) Shampoo, Conditioner, & Body Wash ADA Stamped Toothpaste &…
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day , observed annually on the third Monday in January, is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. The national Martin Luther King Day of Service was established in 1994 by Congressman and fellow civil rights leader John Lewis and U.S. Senator Harris Wofford, who together co-…
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In November 2005, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted Resolution 60/7 naming January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day in recognition of the day in 1945 when Auschwitz-Birkenau , the deadliest Nazi concentration camp and killing center, was liberated. As documented by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum encyclopedia , more than six million European Jews were…
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UITS held a Quarterly Open Forum on December 13th. CIO Michael Milligan welcomed new employee hires, announced service anniversaries and promotions, and honored colleague-nominated Most Valued Behaviors (MVB) Program Challenge Coin Award Recipients! And of course, we ate! For our first Open Forum at 50 Washington Street, we had the very delicious opportunity to work with Simon Guy from Sebastian…, Please enjoy these pictures from the December Open Forum:
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The Employee Services Team (EST) is pleased to announce the completion of a new automation. Automation of the 1042 tax adjustments process will significantly improve processing time for 1042 adjustments for the President's Office and our campus partners. Automation will remove the requirement for manual entry into HR Direct and reduce the number of errors during data entry. In 2023, 1042…
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The Automation team has now automated a total of 15 processes, including 3 added since December 2023 benefiting UITS, A&F Employee Services Team (EST), and campus users. These 3 automations revolutionize the way data gets loaded into PeopleSoft. By automating what used to be tedious and repetitive, they empower employees to focus on meaningful work. Finance Inactivate Sponsor and Non-Sponsor…
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On Wednesday, February 14th, the DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Affirmative Action) team of the UMass President's Office organized a, Lunar New Year Celebration, at our 50 Washington Office. The event aimed to educate our colleagues about the Lunar New Year and offered them the opportunity to taste some traditional dishes served during this time. Dave Cho, the Chief Procurement Officer, presented to employees, sharing some background on his Korean heritage, and explaining what the Lunar New Year signifies. 2024 is the year of the Dragon, which begins on…
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Diversity Calendar, The DEIA Communications team keeps a calendar of upcoming diversity awareness months and days recognized either nationally or internationally due to their cultural, historical, or religious significance. , Month-Long Events:, Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month Greek-American Heritage Month Irish-American Heritage Month Women’s History Month, Date-Specific Events:, Friday, March 8: International Women's Day Friday, March 8: Maha Shivarati (Hindu) Monday, March 11 – Tuesday, April 9: Ramadan Wednesday, March 13 – Tuesday, March 19: Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week Sunday, March 17: Saint Patrick’s Day Tuesday, March 19: International Nowruz Day Wednesday, March 20: Shunbun No Hi (Vernal Equinox Day) Thursday, March 21: International Day for the Elimination…
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For the last five years, UMass has enjoyed working with our insurance broker, Arthur J Gallagher. As our contract drew near to the end of its fifth year, concluding in February 2024, the University conducted an RFP for insurance broker. We received four bids from both local and national brokerages. Ultimately, we were able to narrow it down to two finalists, USI Insurance, and our incumbent,…
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