Consultants begin UW–Madison efficiency study

Consultants have begun the work of studying the efficiency of UW–Madison under the guidance of a campus advisory board and with the help of the university community.

“We are stewards of a great public research university, and we must ensure that we are making the best use of our limited resources and working creatively to identify ways to help us help ourselves,” says Chancellor Biddy Martin.

UW–Madison has contracted with the Chicago-based Huron Consulting Group to examine the university’s efficiency. The consultants, however, will not work on their own.

The entire effort will be overseen by a steering committee including the chancellor, Provost Paul M. DeLuca Jr. and Vice Chancellor for Administration Darrell Bazzell.

“These difficult fiscal times call for a careful look at how the university operates, with an eye toward solutions that can help blunt the impact of a proposed $125 million cut in state funding,” Bazzell says.

This week, an advisory committee composed of representatives from shared governance, labor and administrative council members, as well as external stakeholders with private-sector experience, was named to aid in the effort. Brad Barham, professor of agricultural and applied economics, will chair the committee.

Members of the panel include: Mark Bugher, director of University Research Park; Aaron Crandall, university grants and contracts specialist in Research and Sponsored Programs; Irwin Goldman, professor of horticulture; Anne Mekschun, human resources assistant adviser in the Graduate School; Bethany Pluymers, associate dean of the Law School; Jeff Shokler, student services program manager III in the Letters and Science Honors Program; and Julie Underwood, dean of the School of Education.

An additional faculty member and a student member have yet to be named.

Serving as ex-officio members of the board are Joanne Berg, interim chief information officer; Alan Fish, associate vice chancellor for facilities; John Krogman, associate director of the Division of Information Technology; Bob Lavigna, director of the Office of Human Resources; Don Miner, assistant vice chancellor for business services; and Kim Moreland, director of Research and Sponsored Programs.

Alice Gustafson of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration serves as the campus’s project manager.

Gustafson, who has led the Administrative Process Redesign (APR) since 2007, is looking forward to working with faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders to collect data and arrive at possible solutions. APR trains and deploys teams of employees to identify ways to improve business practices and has shown success in a number of areas.

“We’re encouraging broad campus involvement to identify effective, efficient and flexible administrative structures and strong business practices,” Gustafson says. “As part of this study, we will honor the basic principles of the APR initiative — transparency, inclusion and engagement.”

For more information on the study and the campus’s involvement, visit online.

Consultants will examine a wide range of functional areas and business practices, from administrative structure to auxiliary operations, information technology, human resources purchasing and facilities management, among many others.

Huron is a leading provider of business consulting services to a variety of organizations, including leading academic institutions, health care providers, Fortune 500 companies and medium-sized businesses. It has worked with more than 25 major universities on large-scale redesign and efficiency efforts, including the University of California, Los Angeles, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University and Northwestern University.

Huron has also worked with UW–Madison on a number of projects related to grants management and biosafety.