Athens, Ga. – A Governor's Commendation for Excellence in Customer Service was awarded to the University of Georgia Food Services Meal Plan Operation Team at the State Capitol, April 29. Jim Lientz and Tommy Hills, Georgia's COO and CFO, and Joe Doyle, the director of the Governor's Office of Customer Service presented the commendation with University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. in attendance to support the team.
The meal plan team provides more than 80,000 meals per week for its meal plan participants and its excellence in customer service has earned numerous accolades. UGA Food Services recently ranked in the top one percent of college and university food service programs by a national benchmarking survey and 12th in the country for "best campus food" by the Princeton Review. Food Services has received dozens of Loyal E. Horton Awards for its theme dinners and members of its Culinary Team have won several regional and national competitions.
"Our team has enjoyed record-breaking meal plan sales for 10 years in a row due to the team's hard work every single day," said J. Michael Floyd, executive director of Food Services. "We have participation rates at 125% of the number of beds on campus; that means that we are retaining an incredible number of students on the meal plan even after they move off-campus."
The Governor's Commendation for Excellence in Customer Service recognizes actions and accomplishments that enhance the public image of customer service or improve the way customer service is provided in a way that directly benefits the citizens, customers or employees of the University System of Georgia.
In addition to Floyd, team members include: Jeanne Fry, director of Food Services; Pat Brussack, dietary specialist; Wayne Fair, manager II; Janet Rawlings, manager II; Chef Bryan Varin, manager II; and Chef Darnell Tate, manager II.
Writer: Wendy Jones, 706/542-6927, wfjones@uga.edu
Contact: J. Michael Floyd, 706/542-1552, letthebigdawgeat@uga.edu
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The tough economy has taken a toll on professional development and travel budgets everywhere. NACAS and CardSmith want to help!
Over the past year, NACAS has implemented a free monthly virtual roundtable program to help members connect on auxiliary trends. They've gotten an enthusiastic reception among members.
Now, with assistance from CardSmith, a valued NACAS Business Partner specializing in comprehensive card technology and campus management solutions, we will be able to offer free member attendance to our webinars from now through 2011. Members will still need to register, but there will be no fee for attending to any member institution employee. So if you receive a webinar promotion, and don't plan to attend, please make sure to forward it on to a coworker who may want to join us!
Webinars are currently being scheduled for Fall 2010. Please watch our website for details.
Thanks to our partners at CardSmith and the NACAS Education Foundation for making The Connections That Count even easier to access.
July 15 Deadlines
2010 Awards Nomination Due
As busy auxiliary professionals, our priority is balancing daily tasks while anticipating the next big project or projects. Rarely do we stop to reflect on the successes that brought us to this point in time. Help us honor the unique programs, products and people that have built the current state of auxiliary services and higher education by submitting one or more nominations for a NACAS Member Award.
Leadership Nominations Due
By volunteering time and resources to NACAS, volunteers feel more invested in the Association and provide valuable resources for their colleagues. We hope that YOU will become a volunteer for the Association by serving on a committee or the Board of Directors, writing articles for the newsletter or College Services magazine, or providing much needed assistance at the Regional or National Annual Conferences.
View the list of committee vacancies, and submit your nomination form today!
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June 28, 2010
Annapolis, MD/Doylestown, PA:
St. John's College and campus card solutions provider CardSmith today announced the launch of a new multifunctional campus ID program—St. John's College 1Card—for the Annapolis, Maryland, campus. The new card will give students convenient, cashless access to campus services and locations including the dining hall, coffee shop, bookstore, library, and laundry facilities. The program will feature 24/7 online account access and web value transfer services as well as a dedicated toll-free cardholder support line for parents and students. All students, faculty and staff will receive a new card for the upcoming fall 2010 semester.
CardSmith's Software-as-a Service ("SaaS") campus card solution requires no servers or software on-campus, and no dedicated staff to manage systems or operations. The College will continue to produce ID cards locally but otherwise will not dedicate facilities or staff to support the program. The multi-year agreement brings the College a comprehensive, best-in-class service at a fixed long-term price.
"This is a significant and exciting step forward for the College" said ITS Operations Manager, Anita Brown. "St. John's has never had a multi-application card and we are looking forward to providing enhanced service and convenience for our students, parents and other constituents. CardSmith's managed service is a very good fit for our campus."
"We are very pleased to be doing business with such a unique and storied institution," said CardSmith President Jay P. Summerall. "CardSmith looks forward to a long and successful partnership with St. John's College."
About CardSmith:
CardSmith is a campus card solutions company serving educational institutions, campus service providers, cardholders, card-accepting merchants, private label card issuers, and closed loop communities nationwide. For more information, visit www.card-smith.com.
About St. John's College:
The College was founded in Annapolis in 1696 as King William's School and chartered in 1784 as St. John's College. A second campus was opened in 1964 in Santa Fe. St. John's is a four-year, co-educational, liberal arts college with no religious affiliation. For more information, visit www.sjca.edu.
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Ithaca, New York: The CBORD Group, Inc., NACAS Business Partner and provider of campus card and integrated security solutions to colleges and universities, is pleased to announce that its customer, Carleton University (Ottawa, ON), was honored with two prestigious awards at the National Association of Campus Card Users (NACCU) conference last month—one awarded to the university as a whole, and one to its Campus Card Manager, Kathleen Kelly.
Kathleen Kelly, Manager of the Campus Card Office at Carleton University, received the Professional Development Award, which is given each year to an individual who has contributed to the campus card industry not only through work on his or her own campus, but through service to the industry as a whole. Kelly is an active member of NACCU, having served on the association's Board of Directors and held positions including Conference Chair, Corporate Relations Committee Chair, Chair of the Board, and President until her term ended in 2009.
Kelly has been a valued member of the Carleton team since 1993, leading the strategic planning and management of campus card operations, Information Carleton, and the Centre for English Language Assessment and Support within University Services. Under her direction, Carleton's card program has been the recipient of several Carleton Finance and Administration Customer Service Awards.
Carleton University also received the Excellence in Interactive Marketing award at the NACCU conference. The university was recognized for its innovative use of new media to educate its campus community on campus card services, promotions and policies. After conducting in-depth surveys and focus groups, Carleton revamped its marketing efforts by incorporating media such as Facebook, Twitter and digital signage; featured contests and promotions to drive activity; and updated its website to be more appealing and interactive with today's students.
"I am extremely proud and pleased with the awards received by Carleton University at the NACCU conference last month," says Kathleen Kelly. "Much of the work involved in developing the material that led to the Interactive Electronic Marketing Award can be attributed to the talent and creativity of our Marketing Coordinator, David Townsend. We are very lucky to have such a hardworking and enthusiastic employee on our team. This award will reside in his office. I was very honoured to learn that I was selected for the Professional Development Award. To be selected for such a prestigious award in our industry and to join the distinctive ranks of the fine past recipients is truly overwhelming. The accomplishments that this award celebrates could not have been possible without the support of my staff, my boss, my family, and my colleagues and friends of NACCU."
"Kathleen certainly exemplifies the very best this award represents," says Lowell Adkins, Executive Director, NACCU. "She has made important contributions to her institution, to NACCU, and to the campus card industry in general and has unselfishly helped many colleagues along the way,"
"Kathleen and the rest of the Carleton team have done an exemplary job of proving the value of a campus card program to a university," says Cindy McCall, Vice President, Marketing, The CBORD Group, Inc. "Kathleen's involvement in NACCU and the CBORD user group has been invaluable in furthering the cause of campus card users, and her team's innovative marketing campaign has truly driven the point home at Carleton. Our hearty congratulations go out to Kathleen and her staff on these well-deserved awards."
About The CBORD Group, Inc.
The CBORD Group serves colleges and universities, corporations, healthcare facilities, chain restaurants, supermarkets, and a host of other market segments. CBORD's products are used in campus ID card privilege control, access control, integrated security, housing services, food service, catering, nutrition services, online ordering, and other institution-wide activities. Founded in 1975, The CBORD Group serves more than 6,000 clients in the U.S., Canada, Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Australia. To learn more about CBORD, visit us at www.cbord.com.
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Drexel University Wins EPA Future Technologies Award
PHILADELPHIA – A project proposed by a team of Drexel University students won federal funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its potential to develop a beneficial reuse of slag—a waste product of the refining industry. EPA awarded a $10,000 P3 grant—People, Prosperity and the Planet—to the Drexel University team to further design their project for possible implementation in the field.
"These innovative students from Drexel University not only develop technologies for a greener future, but demonstrate the passion and innovative thinking that will lead us there," said Shawn M. Garvin, Regional Administrator for EPA's mid-Atlantic region.
This national competition, sponsored by EPA's Office of Research and Development, encourages college students to create sustainable solutions to environmental problems through technological innovation. These sustainable solutions must be environmentally friendly, efficiently use natural resources and be economically competitive. Each P3 award winner receives funding to further develop a project for future use.
In their winning project, Drexel students developed a beneficial reuse of slag, which is a waste product of the refining industry. Their project focused on using slag as a substitute for cement in building projects.
Drexel was one of 14 universities winning EPA's 2009-2010 P3 award. More information on Drexel's project and the other winners is available.
Support for the competition includes more than 40 partners in the federal government, industry and scientific and professional societies.
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We're excited to have two great speakers to open and then close out this year's Annual Conference.
Sunday Opening General Session speaker, Robert Tucker, will open our eyes and minds to new and innovative ways of addressing our economic challenges and speed of change that we are all encountering daily. During this event, sponsored by Barnes & Noble, all attendees will receive a copy of Robert's newest book, Innovation is Everyone's Business.
Wednesday's Closing General Session speaker, Juana Bordas, has been instrumental in working with groups and organizations to develop support and leadership for their staff groups of Latinas, Native Americans and African Americans. Be at the conference Wednesday morning for an enlightening and educational program!
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Support our troops through Operation Shoebox!
As the educational conference leaves a legacy on your auxiliary career, we leave a legacy on our conference host city. Help us create a positive legacy in 2010 by participating in Operation Shoebox.
Founded in 2003 in an effort to send support, snacks and much needed personal care items to our troops deployed outside of the USA, Operation Shoe Box encourages citizens to support their fighting men and women deployed overseas in these dangerous times. Attendees will be asked to bring items to Colorado Springs to donate for a shoebox that will be sent to active military troops.
Suggested Donation Items:
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Magazines
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Hard Candy
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Chewing Gum
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Lip Balm
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New, White Socks
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Whatever region you belong to, everyone is welcome to any of the 2011 NACAS Regional Conferences. Please save the dates and plan to join us!
NACAS Central
June 19-21, 2011
Wilderness Territory
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
Contact: Joe Bertolli
(773) 325.4074
jbertoll@depaul.edu
NACAS East
June 12-15, 2011
The Westin Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Contact: Peter North
(717) 337-6219
pnorth@gettysburg.edu
NACAS South
April 16-20, 2011
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort
Destin, Florida
Contact: Carole Gibson
(850) 645-7267
gibsoncar@nku.edu
NACAS West
June 5-7, 2011
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Contact: Charlene Thompson
(403) 410-1710
ctomlinson@bowvalleycollege.ca
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We create at our desks, brainstorm with colleagues, and ask our audiences in focus groups how we should communicate our programs, services and facilities... and all along one of the quickest and easiest methods is a mere click away at the NACAS website Member Awards section. The deadline for NACAS award submissions is Thursday, July 15.
If you have a person, a program or innovative achievement that you are particularly proud of the accomplishment, write it up and send to NACAS. Brag to your peers and peer institutions; get your institution's name in print; write those award nominations!
Winning nominations are featured via face-to-face communications at the NACAS Annual Conference (Nov. 7-10, Colorado Springs, Colorado). They are also featured in print and electronic media in the NACAS magazine, College Services, and online at the NACAS website.
Connie Davis, NACAS Awards Committee Chair, sent us an e-mail this past week, giving us the link to access the NACAS Awards.
Remember, the deadline for award submissions is Thursday, July 15!
Melissa Moore
Chair, NACAS Marketing Task Force
Director of Communications, Auxiliary Services
Georgia Tech University
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Student Author Contest Returning Soon!
We are excited to announce the return of the Student Author Contest, sponsored by Sodexo. This is a great opportunity for students to get involved in NACAS and reflect on the impact of auxiliary services on their campus. Watch for the official contest announcement in August, and start thinking of students to reach out to on your campus.
Information will be posted on the College Services webpage once it's available in August.
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It is with some trepidation that I, a man of my era but also the CEO of NACAS, embark on a Commentary about promoting diverse leadership options. The topic is fraught with controversy, but that's never stopped me before.
NACAS has always known about and promoted the value of diversity. During my first year, we discussed statistics that show how diversity strengthens every organization. Through different outlooks, values and approaches to problems and solutions, cultural, racial, gender, transgender, age and other differences can come together to create a better and more cohesive whole.
Together, our regions, committees and board have worked to be inclusive and balanced— and to use that balance to work together to fulfill our mission. Together we have kept our focus on diversity, yet expanded our outlook into the broader realm of social responsibility. We have not achieved excellence by any means in my opinion, but we are improving and moving toward excellence.
Part of what makes diversity and social responsibility complex and valuable is the reality that various components come not only with different group world outlooks, but with different group views of any operation. Individuals bring not only their personal strengths and weaknesses, but they bring the strengths and weaknesses of the social background from which they come. For instance, it has been pointed out to me that our magazine does not include enough specific minority members. It causes me to pause and review the content and realize that we need to make sure we are more inclusive, looking at many specific audiences—not one labeled as diverse.
But I've learned that any organization is much like a three-dimensional ball. In the past, many organizations viewed that ball from the perspective of older, white men. While that view attempted to benefit a broader population, it clearly left gaps that did not benefit the entire organization. Much was ignored—not from malice—but because they'd never viewed the organization from another perspective. It was a very two-dimensional approach in a multi-dimensional world. Having two-dimensional views from differing perspectives has the advantage of more accurately representing the entire organization, but it still is not ideal.
As an association, what we need to work toward is a diverse group of leaders striving to have a multi-dimensional approach to the organization. Inclusion is a first step, but understanding takes far more. I can and do suffer easily from not knowing what I don't know. A diverse board helps broaden my perspective, as do other experiences and education. While I'm striving for a multi-dimensional view, I can trust and measure that my diverse colleagues will represent their unique view AND work together for a more three-dimensional approach as well. On an interim basis, I can try to know what I don't know and compensate.
So, we come to our approaches to strengthening our association. We recognize the importance of diversity and encourage each group to be the best that they can be. We accept the value of a two-dimensional approach that is working to understand the viewpoints of all. Picking our best and brightest as leaders is not enough. Inclusion is not enough. Working to encourage differing views of our best and brightest; to demand and measure that we have differing needs, opinions and views of how to advance our mission; and to meld all of us into an improved association is what we've started, but what we have to continually improve.
We have made big potential changes with our move toward a social responsibility committee. The work of member Rita LaRue Gollotti is being considered by the Board in late July for advancing diversity. Our magazine, professional development programs, board and committee choices, and more are using the mirror of diversity to improve ourselves and our higher education mission.
One program which NACAS is supporting is the Women's Leadership Institute, sponsored by a group of more than a dozen higher education associations. This special program is for women seeking to enhance their skills as leaders in higher education administration. It was reviewed by the NACAS Professional Development Committee and unanimously recommended for inclusion in our broad offerings. You can find out more at this link.
Working together as individuals with unique talents, coming from varied backgrounds, and sharing diverse experiences makes us better leaders in both higher education and with NACAS. Since your perspective is important, I invite you to agree or disagree to bob@nacas.org. You can also comment more publically at www.twitter.com/bhassmiller or at www.facebook.com/bhassmiller.
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