Take It From the Top: A look back at the GBAS Fall Institute

Last fall, members of the Gator Business Administrator Services (GBAS) community – a professional development program designed to help business administrators be more effective in their jobs – met in Emerson Alumni Hall for a daylong fall institute event.

The morning session focused on fiscal responsibility for leaders at UF, with GBAS training manager Gwynn Cadwallader, Finance & Accounting accountant Emily Moran, Assistant Vice President and Director of Contracts & Grants Accounting in the Office of Research Tiffany Schmidt and Assistant Vice President and University Controller Alan West sharing updates about the fiscal responsibility information being presented to campus deans, chairs, vice presidents and assistant vice presidents. They also discussed best practices for ensuring these vital obligations are met.

During the afternoon, attendees had three sessions to choose from. In “Building UF’s Budget,” Assistant Vice President of Financial Analysis and Budget George Kolb and Director of University Budgets Julie Wang shared information about the multitude of funding sources that come together to create a university-wide budget. The presenters told the story of how the UF budget is built annually, the considerations taken and decisions that are made in the budget process.

In the leadership panel, Senior Advisor to the President and Chief Diversity Officer Antonio Farias, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mike McKee, Dean of the College of the Arts Onye Ozuzu and Associate Vice President and University Dean of Students Heather White shared personal stories about their paths to leadership and their approaches to accountability. With the help of moderator Kathy McKee, manager of UFHR’s Strategic Talent Group (no relation to CFO McKee), attendees learned how these leaders communicate and model their core values, how they help new employees understand the culture of their organization and what they think are the biggest challenges facing leaders at UF today.

In the third session, “HR Onboarding,” UFHR Assistant Vice Presidents Melissa Curry and Maureen De Armond explored best practices and resources for TEAMS onboarding and shared how these resources are designed to be used. To ensure onboarding is done well, Curry and De Armond suggested attendees engage in discussions with peers on how to best educate and assist supervisors on how to onboard effectively, create action plans for two or three resources that would be helpful in their areas, and share their ideas with others.

Additionally, graduates of the latest cohort of the GBAS Mentoring Program were recognized and honored, and McKee shared an update on the Office of the CFO’s Strategic Priorities.