The Integrated Support Services project, often referred to as ISS, is moving forward with the anticipated launch of its first prototype hub in June.
The ISS hub will provide services relating to finance and accounting, procurement, human resources and information technology to the School of Education, the College of Health Sciences, the College of Nursing, the Zilber School of Public Health, the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare and the Division of Finance and Administrative Affairs. Additionally, the College of Letters and Science and the Division of Student Affairs will receive IT services from the prototype hub.
Staff participating in ISS project planning have spent the last few months leading discussions with those who provide these administrative functions and with those who will be recipients of the services in the prototype hub. These dialogues were key to understanding how services are currently structured, identifying opportunities for employee career growth and providing the details needed for launching the initial hub.
Project leaders are talking with leadership of the schools and colleges in the prototype population to determine the best route for transitioning to the new hub. They have also begun meeting with staff members who are good candidates for providing hub services – including discussions about the roles themselves, expected benefits of this transition and similar topics.
“As we reach this critical milestone in the project, the ISS leadership team is focused on partnering with school and college staff and leadership to carefully plan this service transition,” said Drew Knab, the new associate vice chancellor for business and financial services, who has been engaged in these campus discussions.
Two important recruitments recently concluded. Jarad Parker has accepted the position of hub manager for the first ISS hub. Parker has served in a multitude of administrative roles throughout his more than 15-year career at UWM, and is starting in his new role in April.
Additionally, Jim Kavanagh accepted the appointment as interim ISS-IT manager. Kavanagh currently serves as director of the Letters & Sciences IT Office at UWM. Kavanagh brings a lot of IT experience and expertise to the project, and is excited for the journey ahead:
“We have a lot of talented IT staff and students coming together from different areas to form this new team,” Kavanagh said. “It’s a great opportunity to build all our past successes into a new model of excellence in IT support. Everyone’s working hard to bring this collective vision to life in service to the campus community this June.”
Engelmann Hall has been identified as the primary location for the prototype hub. Hub staff will continue to have a presence across campus, with IT staff largely remaining in their current work areas, but Engelmann will serve as the central location for hub employees to work together in this new collaborative model.
