Robert Barker/University Photography

Paul Streeter

Paul Streeter has added another job to his title of associate vice president for planning and budget: air traffic controller. Since December, he has been leading the Initiatives Coordination Office (ICO) in an effort to find and realize $90 million in annual administrative savings by 2015.

Here, Streeter shares some thoughts about the ICO.

What have the ICO teams been up to?

They've been really active. We have five teams designing strategies to realize savings in procurement; facilities; information technology; finance, human resources and communications; and organization and management of support activities.

What's the purpose of the ICO's work?

The near-term benefit is to inform strategic budget reductions. But it goes beyond that. In the longer term, the benefit is to create effective systems of support with fewer resources that are sustainable for the long haul. It will mean a change in how we do business.

What are some examples of how our work will be different?

We're expecting significant changes in the way we manage desktop computers, which will affect most people around campus. In facilities, we're shifting to a maintenance-focused operation, taking care of the buildings we already have, rather than an operation structured to support new construction.

The procurement team estimates we can save $30 million each year by 2015, by increasing the purchases we make through e-SHOP [Cornell's online shopping software] and negotiating better prices with vendors.

But that will mean a change in behavior. Some on campus are saying, "I can get a better deal. e-SHOP says I have to buy this item for $10. But I can find it somewhere else for $8.50." Purchasing is saying, "Tell us about the deal. Let us negotiate that lower price for everyone on campus." We have to behave in a way that benefits everyone.

Upcoming Reimagining Cornell events:

• Initiatives Coordination Office (ICO) public discussion, May 10, 4:30-5:30 p.m., B45 Warren Hall, hosted by Provost Kent Fuchs and Paul Streeter, associate vice president for planning and budget and ICO director.

• ICO brown-bag lunch, May 21, 12:15-1:15 p.m., Robison Hall of Fame Room, Friends Hall, Schoellkopf Memorial Hall, hosted by Fuchs and Streeter.

For more information, visit Reimagining Cornell http://www.cornell.edu/reimagining.

How are the ICO's recommendations likely to impact the colleges?

We're trying to understand that, so we minimize disruptions in support for faculty, students and academic programs. I expect there will be changes for college and department staff, particularly those working in the functions under review.

Working with the colleges, we conducted a survey of administrative activities, which affirmed that many staff work as generalists and need to be knowledgeable and skilled across a variety of functions. We need to identify and restructure those activities that can be more efficiently carried out through larger scale operations without compromising effectiveness. This is a challenging task and will likely result in new processes and work relationships for many.

We're also holding a series of focus groups with faculty members and department administrators, asking, "What administrative support do you need most?" We are actively trying to get that perspective and make sure we consider it.

What are the next steps?

The ICO teams will give their recommendations to President Skorton, Provost Fuchs and other members of the steering committee over the next couple of weeks. The president and provost will decide what recommendations to accept, and then implementation will begin. Given our decentralized operations, implementation will vary by unit and function, so changes are likely to occur gradually.

How will the approved recommendations affect next year's budget?

We are anticipating approximately $20 million of savings will be implemented through budget cuts. These savings resulted from the work each operating unit did to examine how to most effectively structure management activities, and from initial IT and facilities initiatives. We're also expecting that at least $8 million in procurement-related savings will help units meet their budgets.

Are the ICO actions likely to mean layoffs?

Some layoffs will occur as a result of ICO-related activities and as a result of other budget cuts. Units have worked really hard to take advantage of vacant positions as they restructure operations and respond to budget reductions, and this will certainly reduce the number of layoffs.

When will the rank and file know how the ICO actions affect them?

There isn't a moment in time when all the recommendations will get implemented. Some will take several years to put in place. We're evolving here.