Shared Services

The College is organized into shared services teams in an effort to better support departments, programs, centers and institutes and to improve and streamline processes and procedures. 

The shared services model provides strategic, accurate, efficient and consistent high-quality service delivery across all departments at all times. It balances the workload, reduces duplication and redundancy and maintains continuous service for all departments.

In the shared services model, departments send process-oriented and compliance-based work to specialized teams. The teams include staff who are subject matter experts in particular areas critical to the operation of the College. 

Overview of Teams

Student-Centered
  • Department Support
  • Graduate Application Processing
  • Undergraduate Student Support
  • Graduate Student Support
  • Course Scheduling
Business Functions
  • Department Support
  • Reimbursement and Procurement
  • HR Appointments
Other Support
  • Department Support
  • Grants Management
  • Communications
  • Events

Team Descriptions

  • Department Support
    1/27/23
    Department support is focused on the work that is not completed by operational teams, including budgeting and reporting. Department support includes department administrators. They will help departments navigate the shared services model by completing tasks and/or delegating/collaborating with teams.
  • Graduate Application Processing Team
    3/2/23
    This team focuses on both master’s and PhD recruitment and application processing across the College, excluding the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences.
  • Events Team
    7/20/23
    The Events team facilitates events within the College. This shared services team will allow departments and offices within the College to utilize our services in planning for and executing events.
  • Communications Team
    6/12/23
    The communications team will collaborate with departments by responding to requests for website maintenance and updates that will continue to be submitted through the existing work request system: Website Maintenance and Updates and Communications Request
  • Graduate Student Support Team
    6/23/23
    The graduate student support team is invested in the success of graduate students by helping to make student’s lives easier and more productive. It also enhances the work of the community of staff that currently work with graduate students, they will have more resources and the ability to be nimble when technological and organizational changes occur.
  • Human Resources Appointment Team
    3/16/23
    The HR team will help manage appointments and related human resource activities for faculty, staff and students.
  • Course Scheduling Team
    6/26/23
    The course scheduling team will provide strategic course scheduling. Course schedulers will have a community of schedulers that work together to support the College to provide excellent programs.
  • Undergraduate Student Support Team
    6/23/23
    The undergraduate student support team will support the following goals; improve the student experience and ultimately retention, by assisting them across related majors and not within the context of just one; provide services the way students want to receive them and not how we have traditionally delivered them by leveraging technology and communication strategies, improve consistency of messaging through tactical coordination with CAS Advising Services and 1Capen.
  • Reimbursement and Procurement Team
    6/1/23
    The Reimbursement and Procurement (RP) team initiates transactions in both Concur and ShopBlue on behalf of faculty and staff for reimbursements and procurement needs within the College. This team also provides helpdesk services for all questions related to travel, reimbursement and procurement.
  • Grants Management Team
    8/25/23
    The Grants Management Team assists with pre- and post-award needs for sponsored (externally funded) awards including interfacing with Sponsored Projects Services as needed. The team also provides general guidance and support in research administration.

Department Support

Department support is focused on the work that is not completed by operational teams, including budgeting and reporting. Department support includes department administrators. This work strategically supports the Department Chair/Program Director, faculty and the overall department/unit, College and university’s strategic vision. They will help departments navigate the shared services model by completing tasks and/or delegating/collaborating with teams.

Shared Services Model

  • Follows the UB mandate to move forward with shared services
  • Provide strategic, accurate, efficient, and consistent high-quality service delivery across all departments at all times
  • Balance the workload, reduce duplication and redundancy, and maintain continuous service
  • Reduce the impact of temporary vacancies
  • Create promotion ladders for staff
Zoom image: Support Diagram Circular organization chart showing the relationship between Department Chairs and Faculty (center), Department Support (second ring), Student Support (third ring) and College Support (outer ring) levels.

Support Diagram

Sector Administrative Directors

The Sector Administrative Directors are vital administrative support roles for each sector. The administrative directors work closely with the Associate Deans in their respective sector as a strategic partner and advisor. The Sector Administrative Directors assume responsibility for key administration functions and management of processes for the sector. 

  • Carol Ciaciuch, sector administrative director for social sciences and arts
     ciaciuch@buffalo.edu
  • Kelly Thuman, sector administrative director, humanities and natural sciences and mathematics
    kthuman@buffalo.edu