From the Desk of Dr. Louis M. Weiner

As a guest blogger for Cancer Center Administration this week it was really exciting to participate in an administrative retreat Friday, which brought staff and some faculty together for most of the day and focused all our attention on strengthening and improving all administrative aspects of Georgetown Lombardi. In addition to better understanding and prioritizing important issues in the cancer center, we discussed the role of administration in a comprehensive cancer center and how we all fit into our May 2013 CCSG submission.

After opening presentations from Mike Atkins, Carolyn Hurley and me, we broke into groups to conduct SWOT analyses of all aspects of our administrative functions, and then rolled up our sleeves to do the hard work of creating action plans to address our challenges and weaknesses. Besides accomplishing a great deal, we all got to know everyone better in the spirit of collaboration and teamwork, and had a chance to learn a little more about the people we work with every day. For example, we now know that our new deputy director, Mike Atkins, enjoys boating and skiing (water and snow) and is looking for those interested in tennis matches. Many of us, including Dr. Atkins and Carolyn Hurley, our faculty coordinator for planning and evaluation, come from the Midwest and enjoyed a Midwestern reunion.

For my part, it was difficult to withhold my enthusiasm of talking about my family’s new Springer Spaniel puppy, Winston.  After our 8 ½ year old springer passed away from a lymphoma last year, we were pleased to recently welcome Winston to our family. Winston has just completed a type of obedience training called “Obedience Advanced Teamwork” – at title that could just as easily be used to describe our CCSG-related efforts. The other type of training is called “Versatility.”  Both seem like they could be part of our Cancer Center “essential characteristics” that factor so prominently into our CCSG submission.

Enjoy the attached photo of Winston. And have a great week.

As we prepare for the holidays I would like to thank everyone for their dedication to defeating cancer.  I hope to see everyone next Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 5 pm at our holiday party in the Lombardi Atrium and wish you all a very happy and safe holiday.

Along with season’s greetings, this month marks the beginning of a long awaited upgrade to our university systems, beginning with payroll and human resources.  Our system was already a bit dated when I started working here in 1996 so it is exciting to see a new web-based system—along with less paper. 

The new system, known as the Georgetown Management System (GMS) goes live on January 3 right when we return from the holiday recess and will replace Genesys and Employee Access+.  The system will enable all employees to better manage, access and view pay, benefits and financial information.

Lombardi’s Human Resources Administrator Annie Alston (ext. 7-1615; email ama3@georgetown.edu) has been preparing for this transition for the past several months and is our internal resource in addition to the team manning the help lines (ext. 7-4949) for University Information Services (UIS).

Details about GMS can be found here. There is also a central Q & A email address at gmsinfo@georgetown.edu.  The Medical Center contact is Deborah Bassard (bassardd@georgetown.edu; ext. 7-8226).  For information about how GMS will affect you, please be on the lookout for upcoming email correspondence from Annie.

Best wishes for a happy holiday!