DFA UPDATE

DIVISION OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION NEWSLETTER

January 2023: What's News

• On to 2023!
• Feb. 6 DFA Open House

• Roles for Lucero Mascorro, Tracy England
• Staff Profile: Aimee Tatum

New Year. Same Awesome Division.

It's 2023 already? We were just getting used to typing "2022." Well ... forward! The Division marked the turning of the calendar and celebrated achievements of the past 12 months at a DFA Welcome Back Breakfast on Jan. 19 in the California Room.

Interim VC/CFO Kurt Schnier congratulated the Division's teams for exemplary services to the university in another challenging year. He emphasized that numerous achievements in '22 set us up for even greater things in '23.

Please enjoy this video of moments from the breakfast and 2022.

February DFA Open House 

The next DFA Open House will be held 11 a.m.-noon a.m. Monday Feb. 6 via Zoom. These events have been a great way to share Division news and catch up with each other. Tap the button below to save the Zoom link. Be sure to have the latest Zoom version so you can enjoy all the open house’s features. 

Welcome to Our New DFA Colleague

Put your hands together for Payroll Analyst Jeshua Hopson, the newest member of the DFA!

Looking for Team Members

Various DFA positions are in recruitment. Visit jobs.ucmerced.edu for more information about them. Do you know someone who could be a candidate for these positions? Check out the Employee Referral Program. 

We're Upgrading ServiceNow. We Need Your Ideas

Division teams are converting the DFA and CBS2 service catalogs – commonly known as ServiceNow – into a service portal with a responsive search feature that streamlines the process of identifying the correct ticket for your requests (the experience will be similar to OIT Service Hub).

As we value your ideas and experiences for the portal's design, please complete a brief survey (six questions) to provide your input.

Thank you for your participation.

DFA Founding Staff Join 20th Anniversary Celebration

At least 400 people attended the Jan. 26 celebration marking more than 20 years since the groundbreaking for UC Merced. Founding staff and faculty, including several DFA team members, were honored.

A story about the event published by the university shares a remembrance by CBS2 Supervisor Diane Caton:

Caton worked at a local law firm with some of the early UC Merced supporters. She said her colleagues laughed when she applied for a job as an administrative assistant in Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey's office.

"They didn't think we would actually build it," Caton said. "Twenty years later, here I am."

(From left) Founding staffers Diane Caton, Juana Dumagan and Pam Taylor.

Founding staffer James Nardello signs a commemorative poster.

Mascorro Named Director of Administrative Budget and Policy

Congratulations to Lucero Mascorro, appointed as as Director of Administrative Budget and Policy in the Office of Financial Planning & Analysis.

Lucero joined UC Merced in November 2018 as a financial analyst for Student Affairs. She has played key roles in numerous projects that benefit the university.

In her new role, Lucero and her team will provide guidance on budgetary matters to assure optimum deployment of fiscal resources across several administrative units.

England Appointed Director of Travel & Expense Management

Tracy England has been appointed Director of Travel and Expense Management in Business and Financial Services. Tracy has served as Travel and Expense Management Supervisor since March 2019.

She started her career at UC Merced in 2011 in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. She joined the Travel and Expense Management team as an auditor in 2016.

Congratulations, Tracy!

Just to Remind You ...

• Most mitigation measures against COVID-19 for the UC Merced community remain in place. Here are some details.
• As we remain in rain season, and with damage from storms earlier this month still fresh in our minds, UC Merced's Emergency Preparedness site has tips and information.
• UC's Office of the President has introduced a systemwide policy that addresses abusive conduct in the workplace.
• Starting Feb. 1, the university's Office of Information Technology will start making changes to UCMNetID requirements, including longer password lengths. You can post feedback about the changes.

Schedule a Visit with Kurt

Interim Vice Chancellor and CFO Kurt Schnier is holding office hours every other week from 2 to 4 p.m. The office hours will provide an opportunity to connect with Kurt to discuss any topic of your choosing. Each session will be scheduled for 20 minutes.

To sign up for a meeting, send an email to dofa@ucmerced.edu to reserve a date and time.

Mark Your Calendars

• Feb. 16, 10 - 11 a.m.: Monthly Staff Assembly meeting (Zoom link)
• Feb. 20: Presidents Day observed
• March 27-30: Spring Recess
• March 31: Cesar Chavez Day observed

DFA Pulse

It's back – DFA Update's informal (and totally fun) questions about ... well, anything. All responses are anonymous. Results will appear in the next newsletter. Want to suggest a question for DFA Pulse? Drop us an email: dofa@ucmerced.edu

Last week's question: Daylight Savings Time: Love it or leave it? Your responses:

This week's question:

DFA Profile: Aimee Tatum

Each month, we turn a spotlight on a DFA colleague to learn about their lives with UC Merced and beyond. This month’s profile is on Foundation Accountant Aimee Tatum. 

Describe your job. What do you do? As the lead foundation accountant in Financial and Accounting Services, I support Advancement Services and help manage the financials for gifts and endowments. I work closely with the controller and external auditors to prepare the UC Merced Foundation’s annual financial statements and reports. I am fortunate to have a great team in F&AS.

You're new to UC Merced. Give us some background, please. I was born and raised in Merced. I come from higher ed background, having worked as an accountant for five years at Cal State-Stanislaus. I will graduate in May with an MBA from CSU-Stanislaus. I love education and I’m so glad to be able to have this role of supporting the university.

What’s the best part about working with numbers? When everything balances! I realized a few years ago that the symbol for Libra is scales (my birthday is Oct. 3), so it makes sense that I was drawn to accounting. In my line of work there is always a right answer, and it's bliss when financial statements agree and everything balances. 

Describe your communication style in three words. Enthusiastic, assertive, influential. 

What do you like to do to relax? Watch videos of bears, raccoons, dogs and beavers. Animal videos make me the happiest. I also love to watch true crime documentaries. If the weather is nice, I like to walk my dog and get some vitamin D.  

You can have only three apps on your phone unrelated to your job. What are they? Instagram (mainly for the animal videos), Spotify and HBO Max.

You're walking out on a stage. What's your entrance song? “Lets Groove” by Earth, Wind and Fire or “I Want You Back” by *NSYNC. Both of those songs get me pumped!!

Let's Hear From You

Do you have questions? Feedback you want to share? Something for the next newsletter? Reach out via our Comment Box or by emailing us at dofa@ucmerced.edu

DFA Update, a newsletter for the Division of Finance and Administration, is published monthly. Here's an archive of previous issues.