September 14, 2005

Colleagues

A recent internal audit of the College of Forest Resources revealed a need to adjust and better document a variety of our internal administrative processes and procedures. At the same time, the availability of an array of new UW administrative tools...SAGE, SIMS, Financial Desktop, and OWLS, among others...suggests that the time is right to thoroughly review and reconsider how administrative work in the College gets done, with the goals of providing better service, greater efficiency and greater accountability.

The scope of this administrative review will include a wide range of issues, including but not limited to delegation of authority, supervisory responsibilities, budget reconciliations, cost center management, organization code restructuring, employee entrance and exit procedures, processes for leave approval, travel, purchasing, and processes for developing internal web/database information systems.

It is likely that each one of you will play a role in some aspect of this review, whether you are on the main campus or at one of our field sites. You will either be contacted individually for your participation or directed to our internal web site for information. As always, suggestions are welcome. Please direct any questions/concerns to Beverly Anderson, bja@u.washington.edu. The project is expected to last for several months.

I view the internal audit as a stepping stone leading to better internal management of our College's resources. It is critical that we follow all university procedures -- taking care to adequately document that this is the case. We want our College culture to embrace compliance as a normal course of business. I thank you in advance for your cooperation as we begin this important task.

B. Bruce Bare, Dean


To Return to:Prof Bare's Page, Dean's Office, College of Forest Resources