From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
President Ronald R. Thomas
Thursday, September 22, 2011 4:55 PM
Campus Community
Optimize Puget Sound
Over the past year, many in our campus community have been involved in a critical project: assessing
our technology and information needs and selecting the best integrated technology solution to enable
us to do our work better. Integrated solutions, referred to as enterprise resource planning (ERP)
systems, help many organizations streamline operations, communicate more effectively, access and
analyze data, improve services, reduce costs, and provide user-friendly portals and online tools for
students, faculty and staff. This project is not just about employing new technology at Puget Sound. It is
about optimizing the ways in which we work together, the ease in which we access and analyze
information, and the quality of the services we offer. It is essential to keeping us a competitive and
effective college for the future.
I am pleased to report that after careful consideration of the options, the university contracted with
Oracle for a software solution to replace our Cascade and Banner legacy systems. We have also
contracted with MIS for assistance with the implementation, which will span two years. At the
recommendation of MIS, the first phase will focus on the university’s financial operations, with
subsequent phases focused on student information and operations (e.g. registration, academic advising,
student financial services) and on human resources/payroll.
You will be hearing more about this project, which we are calling “Optimize Puget
Sound,” throughout the implementation and there will be an opportunity to learn
more at a kickoff event later this fall. Meanwhile, I express my deep appreciation to
members of the Steering Committee and all who participated over the past year in
assessing our needs and readiness to undertake this project and in selecting the best
solution for our institution. It’s pretty exciting: and it will make our great place an
even greater one.
For more information, please visit pugetsound.edu/optimize or contact Travis Nation, the project
manager, at 253.879.2710 or tnation@pugetsound.edu.
Sincerely,
Ronald R. Thomas
President
UNIVERSITY of PUGET SOUND
1500 N. Warner St., #1094
Tacoma, WA 98416-1094
T: 253.879.3201
F: 253.879.3938
president@pugetsound.edu
Steering Committee for Enterprise Resource Planning
Katherine Davis, Associate Vice President for Treasury
Alyce DeMarais, Associate Academic Dean
Jacob Fuhrman, ASUPS Director of Technology Services
Rosa Beth Gibson, Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Career and Employment Services
Janet Hallman, Associate Vice President for Accounting and Budget Services
John Hickey, Associate Vice President for Business Services and Community Engagement
Bob Kief, Associate Vice President for Facilities Services
Donn Marshall, Associate Dean of Students
Maggie Mittuch, Associate Vice President for Student Financial Services
Ellen Peters, Director of Institutional Research
Fumio Sugihara, Director of Admission
Brad Tomhave, University Registrar
Sean Vincent, Director of University Relations Information Services
Steve Renker, Director of Enterprise Information Systems
William Morse, Chief Technology Officer and Associate Vice President for Technology Services