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Photo courtesy
of UC Merced
Under construction alongside the Fairfield Canal are the
first buildings of UC Merced, including the Kolligian Library,
a science and engineering building and housing. Under a contract
with the UC Office of the President, UCLA’s finance
and purchasing staff are helping to get the new campus on
its feet. |
BRUIN BUSINESS EXPERTISE
UCLA helps newest UC campus grow
by cynthia lee
ucla today staff
What does it take to build a new university from the ground up?
Start with construction trailers and rented office space for staff
and administrators. Then add furnishings, computers, software and
other supplies. Include signage for buildings, scientific equipment
for researchers, a computerized management system for a library
and vehicle leases for campus executives.
The needs of a seedling university are monumental and essential,
and all of these goods and services — and a tad more —
have gone into the making of UC Merced, currently being built in
California’s Central Valley, roughly 275 miles north of Westwood.
And all of these items have been acquired for the fledgling campus
by a unit of three employees in the UCLA Purchasing Department.
Under a five-year contract awarded UCLA by the UC Office of the
President (UCOP), the new campus, under UCOP’s wing, has tapped
into the power of UCLA’s financial systems, its seasoned commodity
buyers and its 70 strategic-sourcing agreements with vendors. These
agreements allow UCLA and its customers, UCOP and UC Merced, to
get the most value and services by being a bigger customer to a
fewer number of suppliers. UCLA’s buyers have handled approximately
$160 million annually in purchases for both UCOP and the new campus.
UCLA began providing financial services to UCOP after the Westwood
campus was awarded the contract beginning in July 2000. “It’s
not just UCLA Purchasing that’s supporting UCOP. On a larger
scale, Corporate Financial Services, of which we are a part, does
UCOP’s accounting, accounts payable, equipment management,
payroll and travel,” said William Propst, director of the
UCLA Purchasing Department.
Because UCOP operates many different units beyond its headquarters
in Oakland, UCLA handles the business activities for the UC Washington
Center in Washington, D.C., UC Press located at UC Berkeley, the
Education Abroad Program headquartered in Santa Barbara and the
Continuing Education of the Bar, operated jointly by UCOP and the
state in Oakland.
UCLA buyers handle bids for printing for UC Press; for the processing
of all UC admissions applications; for student loan services systemwide;
for security, landscaping and parking at UCOP’s buildings;
and for the regents’ business meetings.
“The bottom line is that UCLA has great financial systems
and controls,” said Cindi Lamoureux, who was principal buyer
for the UCLA Purchasing unit — until UC Merced tapped her
last month to become its first purchasing manager. “That’s
why UCLA was chosen for this job. Our systems are very robust. They
can handle the volume. Our reporting systems are such that managers
at UC Merced can see exactly what they are spending on a service
or commodity, whether it’s business meetings or carpeting.”
Customer service, added Propst, is also a top priority for the entire
unit and for the rest of Corporate Financial Services.
The operations of UC Merced, which is slated to open in fall 2005,
have now grown so big that Lamoureux will need to manage its purchasing
on site rather than remotely, although the UCLA staff make regular
visits to their remote customers. UCLA Purchasing will continue
to provide some support services for the new campus.
“UC Merced will still be relying on UCLA for a lot of their
business processes,” Propst said. “For now, they’re
taking advantage of reliable systems that are already in place and
growing other systems they need to develop into an independent university.”
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