OVPUE Staffing Update
As most of you already know, Mysty Connelly has accepted a new position with the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI), where she will be the Assistant Director of Business Operations. This is a wonderful next step for her-- in this leadership role, she’ll be overseeing a broad portfolio of areas and supervise a team that includes: finance, HR, IT, facilities, communication and other administrative operations.
Her last day with OUE was Tuesday, June 18. I have to admit: while I am thrilled for Mysty, I am going to miss her tremendously here in OUE. Aside from her wealth of knowledge and expertise—she has been a positive, friendly, and consummate professional, balancing successfully a complex and growing set of responsibilities. The good news (for us) is she won’t be going too far—her new office will be in the Callaway Manufacturing Research Building, which is near the CRC.
Administrative/Finanicial Support Transition Plan
In light of Mysty’s departure, and in support of other Institute initiatives that are forthcoming (such as CAR), here are some of the initial changes that will begin happening with our administrative and financial support team in OVPUE:
Administrative & HR Operations
Mysty’s current position, Assistant Director for Administrative Operations, will be refilled and will be focused more on leadership and support for overall OUE administrative and overall operations. These will include all of our transactional HR processes (including position searches and onboarding/offboarding), professional development, student hiring, oversight of IT, facilities coordination/liaison in all spaces that OUE occupies, and other operational policies and priorities. This person will continue to report directly to me and will oversee the OVPUE “front office” operations as well, including supervision of Katy Wong, Admin Prof III. Russell Wallis, IT Professional Sr., will also begin reporting to this position. The assistant director will also be working closely with all of our administrative professional staff throughout OUE and chair our monthly OUE Admin Professionals meetings. Chris Reaves has agreed to chair a small search committee for this position, which will begin soon and work quickly to fill this critical role.
Financial Operations
While I will continue to oversee budgetary and financial matters on behalf of OUE and Dr. Potts, the financial components of Mysty’s current position will be moved into a new Financial Manager II (FMII) position who will report to Tammy Benjamin in the Office of the Provost. This is consistent with the model now being implemented in other VP units, including VPII and VPGEFD. De’Angelo Neely, Financial Administrator III, will report to this FMII effective June 19. These two positions will also oversee LLC finances as well as all other budgetary and financial processes within the units that report to OUE, and I will continue to work closely with Tammy and the new FMII in their capacities. Tammy Benjamin will chair a small search committee for this position.
OUE Assistance/Requests
As we move through the next few weeks of transition, please ensure that you and your staff continue follow these protocols. These email addresses will also continue to be used long-term as we move into this new structure.
- Finance or general admin requests
Please continue to use oue_admin@gatech.edu as the primary email for all financial and administrative requests so that we can coordinate and triage requests accordingly. Do not directly email Tammy or De’Angelo with requests, and do not circumvent them. There may be delays given the timing and staffing changes.
- HR requests (including student hiring)
Transactional HR matters, including hiring processes, searches, etc.- should use oue_hr@admin.gatech.edu. I will be working with Brandi and her team on these matters. For higher level HR issues, please consult with me to determine the best steps.