The September Staff Senate meeting featured Deb Dickenson, Executive Vice President for Finance & Administration.
For those who missed the meeting, or would like to re-watch the session, the recording is now available here.
*A note of correction from Deb Dickenson: There will not be a virtual option for the Finance & Land Use committee on September 17th. The meeting will only be available in person at Merten Hall 1201.
Deb Dickenson, executive vice president, Finance and Administration, has provided a follow-up response from her visit to the Staff Senate.
Q: When was the decision made to outsource, and why has there still been no notification to the Mason community? When is it happening? What criteria was used to make this decision and by whom? Was the impact on student workers who list their position at the ITS Support Center as their first IT job even considered? Is there really a cost savings? How much? People come to work at Mason and stay because of the community and stability. With the hiring “chill”, and now this outsourcing and layoffs, what impact do you think it will have on employee engagement and recruitment?
A: Due to George Mason’s recent budget challenges and our longstanding funding disparity, our university continues to pursue operational efficiencies and productivity improvements that may result in elimination of positions. When strategic realignments occur, leadership works closely with Human Resources to ensure that all relevant policies and procedures surrounding personnel matters are followed.
The decision to restructure the ITS Support Center was made after careful deliberation and with approval from the Senior Leadership Team, as part of efforts to meet budget savings targets while avoiding disruption to university services. The realignment is expected to provide an annual cost savings, as well as extending support hours to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide increased support availability.
We cannot provide specifics regarding personnel matters but will continue to provide updates at Board of Visitors meetings, as well as at Staff and Faculty Senate meetings. Please know that much thought goes into all decisions that impact employees, and we work diligently to provide appropriate resources and support to those impacted.