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The past few months have been incredibly difficult for our member institutions who have been working hard to safeguard their students in the face of natural disasters. Whether they are fighting fires or hurricanes, we are grateful for our members and other campus administrations who put the safety and needs of their students first.
Safety, security, and emergency planning continue to be an essential part of the auxiliary services industry. Your work to ensure safety and business continuity in emergency situations helps to give students peace of mind before, during, and after the occurrence of a crisis on campus.
To all of our friends struggling in the aftermath of a natural disaster: Please know that we are thinking about you, your campuses, and your families during this difficult time. Stay strong and know that NACAS is just a phone call away if you need assistance.
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Auxiliary services play an integral role in textbook affordability, and we are committed to provide more access for students to be successful. Our work on course materials affordability will be some of our most important for the next generation of learners—enabling them to achieve their education goals and improve their lives. We invite you to join us! |
The Women’s Leadership Institute is co-produced by members of the Council for Higher Education Management Associations, and NACAS members receive the discounted registration price! |
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What did the auxiliary services department at the University of Miami do to prepare ahead of Hurricane Irma? The key to preparation in the case of a storm or any other adverse or severe weather event is advance planning. Here at the University of Miami, continuity planning helps us become prepared to continue or rapidly resume operations when faced with an adverse event or disaster. Annually, Auxiliary Services works closely with our dining services business partner, Chartwells, to review and update our emergency feeding plans to ensure we are always prepared in advance of the commencement of hurricane season, starting June 1. This includes securing our standing orders for water and non-perishable meals (MREs), generator agreements for possible loss of power, along with confirming essential personnel who have been pre-identified to work through and/or post storm, as needed. As soon as the Office of Emergency Management (prepare.miami.edu) team activates our Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Auxiliary Services begins to actively collaborate with the team (made up of multiple campus partners) to make critical decisions that impact dining hours of operation. We implement a phased approach when beginning to plan for retail dining closures, the resident dining ‘last meal,' and distribution of non-perishable meals (MREs). This is very much an interactive process that also depends on campus evacuation decisions. In the case of Hurricane Irma, the University made a decision to evacuate students with classes being cancelled Wednesday, September 6th at 5 p.m. With the goal of getting students safely off campus, a local shelter was secured for those remaining students unable to return to their homes (primarily international students). Auxiliary Services’ goal was to serve its last meal in resident dining on Friday, in this case lunch, before the students were relocated to the shelter Friday afternoon. In addition, we worked quickly to secure our water and non-perishable supplies delivery to the shelter. This is what ensures students have access to meals, snacks and water to get them through the storm. Over 800 pre-made sandwiches and salads, 3,600 MREs and 5,000 bottles of water were delivered for students to ride out the storm Friday afternoon through Monday morning. What did you do after the storm made landfall to support students as classes continued? As we patiently awaited the passing of the storm, the EOC carefully monitored and focused on our post-storm recovery plan. University key officials carefully and expeditiously completed the campus assessment, which resulted in our ability to return sheltered students to dine for lunch on Tuesday, September 12th and begin the process of providing meals to essential University personnel from areas like Facilities, Housing & Residential Life and Emergency Management in support of the campus recovery effort. Over the course of the next seven days, essential personnel ensured restoration of power, debris removal (over four million pounds of landscape debris) and campus safety allowing faculty and staff to return on Wednesday, September 20th, resident students on Thursday, September 21st and the resumption of classes on Monday, September 25th. Our campus Bookstore opened for business Wednesday and our resident dining program was fully operational with both dining halls open to greet returning students on Thursday; while our retail dining opening was phased to full opening once classes resumed on the 25th. During campus closure, our dining management team and dedicated associates prepared and served over 4,400 meals three times a day in our Hecht-Stanford Dining Hall which offered an air-conditioned break to the many essential personnel and contractors working full days in the +90 temps of Miami. What advice would you give to others facing a campus emergency? The best advice I can share is to plan in advance and have open dialogue with your campus and business partners to set expectations and review possible scenarios. It takes a team effort to coordinate resources and get the work done pre and post-storm so identifying your needs in advance is critical. It's also important to debrief post event and revisit plans for continuous improvement. As with every event, lessons are learned and while you hope you will not have to be faced with another disaster, you must be better prepared for the possibility of it. |
Ana Alvarez, CPA, CASP, is the Executive Director of Auxiliary Services for the University of Miami. 
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You can begin your learning journey long before the conference officially takes off. Dive into campus tours, programs and study groups developed for your growth as an auxiliary service professional. Read below to find out more about some of the exciting and informative events that you can attend at C3X. Learn more Want to learn how to add events to your registration? How about, for example, one of our campus tours? Check out our how-to guide for easy, step-by-step instructions.
Whether you are planning to take the exam at C3X or thereafter, this study session will briefly go over the structure of the exam followed by an opportunity to study and refresh content areas with your peers. Attend the study group and get tips to help decrease test anxiety, strategically prepare, and learn from fellow auxiliary professionals.
Designed for senior and executive-level campus service professionals, the Senior Management Program offers guidance for how to best lead in the future, given the politically charged undertones and complexities experienced within higher education environments.
As a leader or manager of an auxiliary team, an extraordinary workplace culture is one of the most paramount financial assets you can bring to your campus’ success. The Emerging Professionals Program will provide participants with specific tangible no-cost ways to create an extraordinary workplace culture, and implement them with their teams.
See what the Air Force Academy, Colorado College, and University of Colorado – Colorado Springs are doing to implement cutting-edge campus service solutions that enhance the student experience, streamline business processes, and increase revenue. View the full conference schedule |
CASP Study Group 
Senior Management Program 
Campus Tours 
Join NACAS CEO Kelsey Harmon Finn as she addresses challenges, issues, and what lies ahead in the future for women in auxiliary services. This will be the first in a series of Virtual Roundtables that will set the stage and pave the way for additional topics.We hope to create space to advance women’s empowerment within the industry. This is open to all NACAS members regardless of identity or background - come with your questions! This is your space to to help us navigate through discussions and offer insight. |
Information and reports have increasingly shown some college students are struggling to have their basic needs met. Join Ruben Canedo of UC Berkeley as he presents data, student stories, and campus strategies to address college student hunger and homelessness. How can campus auxiliaries be better champions of these efforts? Attend to learn more! |
NOTE: Tomorrow is the last day to cancel C3X registrations for a refund. If you are unable to attend and would like to cancel your registration, please contact info@nacas.org or call 434-245-8425.
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We have great news that will make your CASP tracking easier at this year's C3X! NACAS will automatically document your CASP attendance through mobile app check-in, replacing the paper sign-in sheets as well as the need to submit activity tracking forms for this event.This new process should provide more accurate and timely information and assist you with tracking your professional development. Look out for more information on CASP tracking soon!
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For more information visit: www.nacas.org