Administrative – The administrative assistant (formerly path coordinator) team is working with the business office to create internal staff training modules for handling reimbursements, Aestiva requests, and credit card management. These modules will help improve the efficiency of the administrative team’s processes, and they will be used as an onboarding tool for any new administrative assistants.
Grants – Hailey is increasing her responsibility for grants management, moving into her new role in pre and post award support. The pre award system has a new email address that will be posted on the department intranet.
Seminars – The seminar committee will meet mid-April to discuss the speaker list for 2021-2022. There is no guidance with regard to when campus will lift travel restrictions. Anticipate the possibility of hybrid format for seminars next year, a mix of virtual and in-person as dictated campus policy.
Hiring – There is no imminent plan to add additional positions – two positions (Data Analyst and Budget Director, Grants Manager) remain among those originally identified for the department reorganization. The Reorg Leadership Team will continue to identify and prioritize potential new positions as our department budget allows.
Purchasing – The CompHelp team is working to improve Aestiva. A new, expanded Shop@UW+ will launch on April 16, which will facilitate ordering for many items. Jim Zernicke, who runs the research storeroom, will be retiring and we will launch a search for his replacement. Tristan Rholl will continue to handle those duties in the interim. The new purchasing ticketing system is up and running. Contact the purchasing team through ShopHelp at: https://www2.chem.wisc.edu/content/business-office-queries. Please do not email individual members of the purchasing team.
Research & Faulty Engagement – Based on discussions at the spring 2021 Faculty Retreat, the role of a path chair will be redefined, clear charges and approval authorities of our committees will be determined, and the department meeting agenda style may change. Stay tuned for faculty lunch experiments this summer.
Undergraduate Program – A new system is in place for assigning teaching duties with a biannual cycle, with teaching assignments laid out one-year in advance. The undergraduate program reorganization is moving forward. The principal design requirement is to develop a resilient, sustainable and sensible program structure. See https://chemconnect.wisc.edu/undergrad-program/ to stay up to date on the project. Ned Sibert has agreed to step in as the undergraduate associate chair for one year starting in fall 2021. Thomas Brunold will take on this role on an interim basis when Clark becomes department chair on July 1.