Welcome

Heather Haberaecker, Executive Assistant Vice President, Chicago

On behalf of the Office of Business and Financial Services (OBFS), let me welcome you to your role as an employee with business and finance responsibilities at the University of Illinois at Chicago. You play a very important part in helping the University efficiently and effectively manage its business operations which support the University's core missions of teaching, research and service. Since it is OBFS' mission to provide business and financial management services of exceptional quality to the University community, I believe it is critical for us to work together and support each other.

It will become clear to you very quickly that the University is a large and complex institution, and it is not always easy to determine who to contact to resolve an issue. Even within OBFS, certain units have University-wide responsibilities while others have campus-specific responsibilities. Furthermore, there are many Federal, State and University policies with which you need to comply and that you will need to learn.

With that in mind, the purpose of this orientation is to introduce you to our services and the resources, information and contacts you may need. The Getting Started page provides you with quick and concise information that you need to get started in your role, and that can serve as a reference throughout your tenure at the University. We hope you find this to be the case and ask that you let us know if you have suggestions for improvement.

The OBFS Web Site is a critical repository of information and the main communication tool used by OBFS units. I would encourage you to take advantage of the web-based and in-person training opportunities listed on the OBFS Training Center page soon and practice. The sooner you learn the basics of your position, the more you can contribute to your unit.

My office is here to support you in your efforts and can help expedite contacts and solutions if you have a complex or time-sensitive issue to resolve. I would also encourage you to attend the UIC Business Managers Group meetings to learn more about policies, procedures and issues that are relevant to your position and to meet your colleagues in other departments and learn from them. We also host an annual Bringing Administrators Together Conference which is designed to provide you with knowledge, resources, and networking opportunities to enable you to manage the challenges before you.

I wish you much success in your new role. I would also encourage you to seek a mentor to help you acclimate to UIC. Please contact the Academic Fiscal Officer in your school/college/administrative unit to see if they can recommend someone to you. Feel free to contact my office at (312) 996-2860 if you have any questions or are in need of assistance. We are here to help you succeed. Again, welcome to UIC. I look forward to meeting you in person in the near future.

Sincerely,

Heather J. Haberaecker
Executive Assistant Vice President for Business and Finance / Chief Business Officer
312-996-2860
hjh2@uillinois.edu

The Office of the Executive Assistant Vice President

Last Updated: May 15, 2013